Online Video Poker

Basics of Video Poker

Playing Video Poker

Nevada casinos average about 60% of their hold from slot machines, and in some casinos up to two-thirds of those machines are now video poker. It's not uncommon for a large casino to have more than one thousand video poker machines.

Video poker is unique in being one of very few games that were developed for casino use before being played privately. As in live draw poker, you are initially dealt five cards from a randomly shuffled deck. Most machines beep and indicate if you have a made paying hand, but you do not have to hold that hand. You select which cards to hold, then press the Draw button, and new cards are dealt off the top of the deck to replace the discards. If the final hand is in the payoff schedule, the machine makes the payoff, either by counting up credits or dropping coins; otherwise, your bet is lost.

If you are familiar with how to play video poker, there is a usefull applet that you can download to practice & learn how to play video poker in a 'real' game. This program will help you understand the game of poker better, it will help you decide which cards to hold. You can download the video poker analyzer for free, but please be sure to send an email to Jesse to show your appreciation.

The main attraction of video poker to the neophyte is that the player's wits are pitted against the machine in fast action with a chance at a big jackpot. To the skilled player, however, the attraction is that some games offer an opportunity for a long term profit. Just as in a live poker game, there is a considerable amount of risk and luck involved in the short term, but it is a player's skill that will make the difference between a winner and a loser in the long run.

You may already know that some video poker games offer over 100% potential long term payback, but you will achieve a game's rated payback only if you always hold the cards that will give the highest expected value (the average payback for all possible outcomes) for each hand you are dealt. That is why I call video poker "The Intelligent Player's Slot Machine."