Tips for Creating Your Own Video Poker Strategy

Creating a video poker strategy is the first step to getting the most out of your video poker experience. Video poker is a rare game in the casino where the odds can be flipped in your favor with the right strategy and game.

Is this always going to be possible in every casino? No. Casinos have tightened up over the last ten years and finding full-pay machines isn’t as easy as it used to be. They’ve replaced the games with lower pay tables.

Having said that, video poker is still one of the best bets in the casino. The majority of casino games are horrible bets and have high house edges. Then there are games with decent odds, like baccarat, but you have no control over the game.

The game of video poker is simple. The player is presented with five cards and can hold or discard what they want for the second draw. Knowing which cards to fold and keep are how you can help yourself at the video poker machine. Let’s get into the best video poker strategies and how you can increase your odds of winning.

Video Poker Strategy

1. Find The Best Pay Tables

I don’t know how many times I’ve counted people playing video poker machines that have lesser payouts right next to a machine with a better pay table. This is a cardinal sin of video poker. Any video poker strategy must begin with finding the best pay table available.

This can be done quickly online, and if you do some casino shopping, you can find the best video poker games. The goal is to find as close to a full pay machine as possible. A payout rate of 100.76% is the ultimate machine for any video poker advantage player.

Deuces Wild Poker

For 100.76%, this will only be found at a Deuces Wild Poker machine. Deuces Wild Poker can vary greatly, from a 94.82% machine all the way up to a game that is the best in the world at 100.76%. In other words, you can either be the casino’s worst enemy or best friend.

These are going the way of the dinosaur, but they’re still out there if you look hard enough. No, there won’t be any on the Las Vegas Strip. The next best bet is a 25/15/11/4/4/3 pay table at 99.96%.

Jacks or Better

The most popular video poker game is Jacks or Better. These can be found virtually anywhere, with pay tables degrading in recent years. The worst pay table you can play is a 6/5 game.

Those are terrible odds and give the casino a considerable advantage at 95.00%. Your best bet for Jacks or Better is a 9/6 (9 = full house, 6 = flush) pay table. This has a payout of 99.54% for a razor-thin house advantage.

2. Learn Optimal Strategy

Like blackjack, there is an optimal strategy that can be employed to get the most out of your play. The percentages noted above take into consideration perfect play. Even if you play at a full-pay video poker machine, it doesn’t guarantee a winning session.

It’s important for any video poker strategy to include an optimal strategy. For video poker strategies, this is going to be much tougher and more complicated than a blackjack strategy. The basic strategy chart for blackjack is much simpler to follow.

That’s almost impossible to memorize every play, but you can get an idea with common hands and video poker strategies for what to do when you have a winning hand or an opportunity for a straight, draw, etc. for the second draw. The clear situations are easy, but borderline hands are where you should focus your attention for studying.

Another common first draw at the video poker machine is a four-card flush with a low pair (less than jacks). In this predicament, should you go for the three-of-a-kind or flush? The math suggests a flush.

This is another situation where you might be hung up: three cards to a royal flush (Aspade, Kspade, Qspade) against a pair. Hold the pair and give up on the royal.

3. Become An Expert At One Game

When it comes to sports betting, you should focus on sports that give you the best advantage. Trying to study and become an expert at every sport is not advised. Focus on what you are good at and the same applies to video poker.

There are several different variations of video poker. Study one or two games max, with the best odds, so Deuces Wild Poker, Double Bonus Poker, and Bonus Poker Deluxe Jacks or Better. This is assuming you find full-pay machines. Jacks or Better is the most simple game to implement a strategy, especially for beginners.

• Jacks or Better
• Bonus Poker Deluxe
• Joker Poker
• Deuces Wild Poker
• Double Bonus Poker
• Double Double Bonus Poker
• Super Double Bonus Poker
• Triple Deuces Wild
• Deuces Wild Bonus Poker

4. Set a Stop Loss

If your strategies for video poker don’t include a stop loss then it’s not much of a strategy at all. This is imperative before going into the casino.

At the next session, you can go in with a clear mind and your bankroll intact. Please apply the same rules for your next trip to the video poker machine, online or in-person.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

It’s easier than ever to practice your video poker strategies. This doesn’t require a penny of your money, either. There are free video poker app games to play in your free time. You can also search for free video poker machines online to play on your computer.

Here you can hone your optimal video poker strategy. Write down any tricky hands that are borderline and research what the perfect play is in that situation. Mathematically, there is always going to be one correct move.

Conclusion

Most casino games are money burners and should be avoided unless you are looking to have fun. However, video poker is one of a few games where you have the ability to influence the outcome and implement a strategy.

This is one casino game that isn’t a bad bet if you know what you’re doing and have the patience to follow a video poker strategy.