Video Poker Gambling – The best secrets for beating the casino
In video poker gambling secrets, using the correct strategy, limit your play to machines offering around 99% you can be a net winner in the long run. The key is “long-term” which means tens of thousands of hands. Not only do you have to seek out games with the best pay schedule, you also have to be able to make exactly the right hold/discard decision as you play each and every hand.
For successful video poker gambling, it is of utmost importance to have mastered the rules of perfect play. Your actual long-term results you will depend on your personal skill level. The more expertly you play, the better your chances of never losing at video poker, in the long run.
Most video poker gambling games return considerably less than 99%. Play such machines over extended periods and you will never be a long-term winner. To have any chance of success you need to know perfect strategy for the games you play and never play machines with less than “full-pay” pay tables. Your day-to-day results will still be erratic but you will do all right over the long term.
Whether online or in live casinos, you should not play any machine that does not offer the following minimum payouts. Avoid games where the payout for any hand is lower than what’s shown here:
Jacks or Better (rated 99.54% payout)
- Royal Flush 4000
- Straight Flush 250
- Four of a Kind 125
- Full House 45
- Flush 30
- Straight 20
- Three of a Kind 15
- Two Pair 10
- Jack or Better 5
Expert video poker strategy for Jacks or Better
Deuces Wild (rated 98.91% payout)
- Royal Flush 4000
- Four Deuces 1000
- Wild Royal 125
- Five of a Kind 75
- Straight Flush 45
- Four of a Kind 20<*
- Full House 20*
- Flush 15
- Straight 10
- Three of a Kind 5
*If Four of a Kind pays 25 and Full House 15, you have found the very best machine, returning 100.7%. Such pay tables are rare, even in Las Vegas.
Expert video poker strategy for Deuces Wild
Jokers Wild (Joker Poker) (rated 99.07%)
- Royal Flush 4000
- Five of a Kind 1000
- Royal with Joker 500
- Straight Flush 250
- Four of a Kind 100
- Full House 30
- Flush 30
- Straight 25
- Three of a Kind 10
- Two Pair 5
- Kings or Better 5
Optimal video poker strategy for Jokers Wild
If games with pay tables as good as the above are not available, but you want to do some video poker gambling anyway. The advice is risk only a relatively small amount of money and hope to get a big payout in short order. Do not keep feeding coins into machines with inferior pay tables for extended periods.
In video poker gambling, on average, a Royal Flush occurs about once every 40,000 hands, but there is absolutely no guarantee. You could go 100,000 hands and not hit one. Some calculations to ponder:
If you play maximum coins at a moderate speed of 400 hands per hour, it takes 100 hours to play 40,000 hands. At five quarters, or $1.25 per hand, times 400 hands that’s $500 going through the machine each hour. At only a 1% long-term hold, the machine keeps an average of $5 per hour. Play 100 hours, (40,000 hands) and your loss will total $500.00!
Video Poker Secrets to break even
So how can you possibly hope to at least break even when you’re video poker gambling? In live casinos the slot club benefits can make the difference. Exploit the slot club freebies to the maximum. Keep a record of the value of everything the casino gives you for free and include that sum in your winnings. If you received free accommodation, restaurant meals, show tickets and other complimentaries, add up the estimated dollar value. Chances are the value of all the freebies will much more than what you lost on the machines.
If you do your video poker gambling at online casinos, there might be even better opportunities for coming out ahead. For example, you can exploit the sign-on or welcome bonuses offered by practically every online casino. It doesn’t matter whether your favorite game is Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, Jokers Wild or another video poker variation, as long as you pick a good pay table and play accurately.