Video Poker Strategies
Video Poker has grown to be one of the top casino games played online. There are many different versions of Video Poker that can be played but they can all use the same underlying strategies.
Understand the GameBefore you even attempt to play any Video Poker game it is important to understand the game and the terms of each winning hand. You must know how each winning hand is built and with this knowledge you can begin to play out the different strategies that are proposed.
There are a few terms that need to be understood and with these you can proceed to learn the strategies:
Royal Flush - this is a hand of five cards of the same suit, made up of the highest cards, Ace, King, Queen and Jack. Straight Flush - this is a hand of five cards of the same suit in sequential order (not including the high face cards). Flush - this is a hand of five cards of the same suit. Four or three of a kind - these are four or three cards of the same numerical value. Full House - this is three cards of the same value and a pair, they do not have to be of the same suit. Two pairs are as it sounds two pairs of the same value. "Tens or better" are cards that have a value of ten or more.
Basic StrategySince there are many different versions of Video Poker there are different strategies that can be used for the different games. But, there are some basic points that apply to all games and should be followed. After studying the pay tables you will see which hands pay the most and therefore when your first hand of cards is drawn, you will see if you have any winning cards or not. If on the first draw of cards, you have a hand that can give you a win, even if it is the lowest win, hold that hand and take advantage of the win.
| If your initial hand does not have any winning cards in it then you need to study it carefully. If you have at least two suited high cards (face cards for Jacks or better and tens are included for other games with tens or better) hold onto two of them and discard the rest of the cards. If you are dealt four mixed suit high cards then keep any three suited cards and discard any of the non suited cards. If you have three unsuited high cards, keep all three of the King, Queen and Jack but if you have and Ace King and Jack or an Ace, Queen and Jack, get rid of the Ace. If you are only dealt one high card and no other good cards, then just hold on to your high card. |
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A Trick to Double CheckRemember that there are 32 different ways to play a hand but only one optimal hand. Take your time when making your decision as to which cards to hold and which to discard. Most hands apart from the obvious winners offer two or more different options and could be winners. Another trick to work out the best way to go is to work out the gaps( number of cards that are discarded or that are left to get a winning hand) that there are in order to achieve the optimal hand. If the ratio of gaps to high cards is greater than zero, then keep the gaps.
An example of this strategy is that if you take a hand of eight of spades, Jack of spades, Queen of Spades, three of diamonds and five of hearts, you are only two cards (gaps) away from getting a flush if you hold all of the cards that are from the spades suit but if you only hold the Jack and Queen you could possibly get a Royal Flush, that would be getting rid of three other cards, i.e. the gap would be three. So in fact the first option which does not involve just high cards is a better option. The ratio of the gaps is 2:3, i.e. the higher card ratio is larger and should not be used. If the higher card ratio is better then you should go with that option. This is a general rule that can be applied to all of the Video Poker games.
Always remember when playing Video Poker that there are slightly different rules depending on which game you are playing. Check the pay tables and if there are wild cards, be aware of what they are and their significance. If you stick to the basic strategies then you have a good chance of winning large amounts of money. Always remember to keep any winning hand and if there are high cards, study the possible combinations that they can give you in order to get winning hands. This will always lead to good results.
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