Video Poker: Winning Strategies and Top Tips

By Jette | September 30, 2024

Video Poker: Winning Strategies and Top Tips

Video Poker Strategy: What You Need to Know
How Does Video Poker Work?

What Is Video Poker?
The Pay Table

Video Poker Strategy: What You Need to Know

Understanding Pay Tables: Different video poker games have different pay tables. Learn to identify games that offer the best returns to increase your winning chances.
Choosing the Right Game: Decide which video poker variant suits your style and strategy. Popular variants include Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and Double Bonus Poker.
Bet Max Credits: Most video poker machines reward betting the max credits with a significantly higher return on a Royal Flush, a crucial aspect of video poker strategy.
Strategy Charts: Use strategy charts specific to the video poker variant you’re playing. They tell you the best action for every possible hand.
Practice Makes Perfect: Free video poker games are a great way to practice your strategy before you start betting real money. This can also help you get a feel for the game.

When it comes to video poker strategy, it’s important to remember that a video poker machine is NOT a slot machine. In video poker, there is an element of skill as well as chance. The choices you make will increase (or decrease) your odds of winning.

As such, video poker rewards knowledge and skill: If you find the right machine, use the right strategy, and have the right bankroll, it’s possible to play near-even with the house or perhaps be a long-term winner. In this article, we will focus on the Jacks or Better variation, which is the bread-and-butter game among video poker offerings.

How Does Video Poker Work?

Video poker is the thinking person’s slot machine. Let’s learn the basics of how to play video poker.

What Is Video Poker?

There are many variations of casino video poker, but most machines are based on the classic poker game of five-card draw. The gameplay is simple. You are dealt five random cards from a 52-card deck. You get one opportunity to improve your hand by drawing cards.

You decide which of the five cards you want to keep and are dealt random replacement cards for those you choose to discard. Check out our how to play poker article for a more detailed explanation of the play mechanics and poker hand rankings.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Pay Table

The key to decoding a video poker machine is its pay table. The pay table below is for a classic game of Jacks or Better, where one must have at least a pair of jacks to get paid. The pay table shows how many credits you’ll receive for winning hands.

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Video Poker Strategy: What You Need to Know

Understanding Pay Tables: Different video poker games have different pay tables. Learn to identify games that offer the best returns to increase your winning chances.Choosing the Right Game:

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