Tips to Win at Video Poker

Video Poker players can be divided into two groups: those who have an understanding of the game, and those who play by blind luck. The ones who play based on luck don't always lose. In fact many times, they are big winners. However, those who have an appreciation and understanding of the finer points of the video poker game seem to win more often than those who base their decisions on luck.

A Few Tips To Win At Video Poker Can Come In Handy

How can a beginning (or even an experienced) player gain a better appreciation of video poker? Well, following a few simple tips is one of the best ways to do better. Think of the following tips as a kind of Video Poker 101 tutorial. Some may seem obvious, and others are more intricate. Just remember, all these video poker tips are designed to increase the likelihood of winning. No tips can guarantee results. There will always be an element of chance that sometimes works with you and other times works against you.

Different games have different rules. Make sure to be aware of which cards are wild and when. Deuces Wild has a different premise than Jacks or Better. The odds are also affected.

Know the payouts from different hands in different games. If you hit a Royal Flush, playing with five credits in Jacks or Better, you will win 4,000 credits. That means a ten dollar bet will give you a payout of forty-thousand dollars. In Deuces Wild, the payout is the same unless you hit the Royal Flush using a wild two. In that case the payout is just one hundred twenty five to one. So your ten dollar bet would give you one thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars.

The theoretical return is higher when you bet the maximum number of credits. That is because the difference in payout between hitting a Royal Flush with four credits and five credits is significant (one thousand to one instead of four thousand to one).

In Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, or Double, Double Bonus games, your theoretical return is above one hundred percent when playing with five credits. That means that the odds are actually with the player and against the house if the player uses perfect strategy and play for a significant amount of time.

The best theoretical total return is a five credit Deuces wild game. Theoretical return is actually as high as 100.762%. Once again, this is only when employing a perfect strategy.

There is no bluffing allowed in video poker. Actually, you can try, but you will lose since the computer pays out only based on what you have, not what you fake having.

Your Internet Connection can sometimes have an impact on the game. That is why some games are better when you download them to your hard drive.

About Video Poker Hands

Royal Flush is the best hand you can possibly have in all versions of video poker.

Straight Flush is the second best hand, followed by four of a kind. Four of a kind with all Aces is the best possible hand.

Full House (a three of a kind plus a pair), flush, and straight are the next best hands in that order.

If you have no straight or flush and all your cards are different numbers, your hand is rated by the highest single card (i.e. "King High")

All the suits are even. Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, and Spades are considered equal in video poker. A King of Diamonds has the same value as a King of Clubs.