You are dealt a hand of cards and must pick which ones you want to hold.
Video poker may use thesame hands as poker, but it is a completely different pop in of game.
It has the potential to pay out a whopping 800x your bet in a single hand.
And with an optimal video poker strategy, you might decrease the house edge to just under 0.5%.
However, this really depends on which video poker game you choose and how its paytable is built.
There are variousvideo poker strategiesthat you could learn, which only take a few minutes to master.
you might choose which cards you want to hold onto and which you want to discard.
When you are ready, the discarded cards are replaced with new cards.
If you have a winning hand, then you receive a payout, according to the paytable.
Generally, games have 9+ paying hands.
The principle is the same across each game, but the optimal strategy varies a little.
So does the paying structure, and theprobabilityof scoring a winning hand.
It is a simple game that can be learned by all.
Then, there is Deuces Wild and Joker Poker, which introducewild cardsinto the mix.
This has a far more direct impact on your video poker gaming strategy than the paytables.
It simplifies the gameplay as only 4 cards are drawn initially.
The last card is only drawn at the end.
The higher hands pay out better, but in return, you have fewer winning combinations.
But so to will the paytable, as they will dictate a lot of your decision making.
Not all Jacks or Better have the sameRTP, and the same goes for any video poker variant.
In Jacks or Better alone, the RTP can range from 95% up to 99.54%.
That is quite a serious difference inhouse edge, from 5% down to just 0.46%.
Now, we will go into each video poker variant and point out the anomalies.
It becomes more obvious when we list out their paytables.
Often, you may find adjusted lines to pay higher on bigger hands but smaller on lower rankings ones.
Yet the first one is still better.
The second Bonus Poker game pays out 2x on Two Pair whereas the first only pays 1x.
Knowing where to look is vital, and considering how often these hands payout.
Jacks or Better (9/6)
The RTP of this game is 99.54%.
The other variants pay out Full House/Flush at 9/5, 8/6, 8/5, 7/5, and 6/5.
The worst (6/5) has an RTP of 95%.
Other variants pay out the Full House/Straight at 7/5, 6/5, and the version we talked about before.
That one has 10/8 but pays out Two Pair at 1, taking the RTP down to 94.18%.
Double Bonus Poker (10/7/5)
The RTP of this game is 100.17%.
Other variants pay out the Full House/Flush/Straight at 9/7/5, 10/7/4, and so on, down to 7/5/4.
The worst has an RTP of just 93.11%.
Double Double Bonus Poker (10/6/4)
The RTP of this game is 99.96%.
Other variants have the Full House/Flush/Straight priced at 9/6/4, 8/6/4, and down to 6/5/4.
The last variant has an RTP of just 94.66%.
Other variants price the Four of a Kind at 18, 17, and 15.
But be careful, as the Natural Royal Flush may be priced higher in some of the lower-RTP variants.
Video poker uses complex algorithms to come out with fully randomized results for each round.
It uses the same RNGs as slots, and RTP is a value tested under laboratory conditions.
The computers generate hundreds of thousands of outcomes in a short time to determine RTP.
But it is good to know that the game you are playing has a higher Return to Player.
Your decisions during each round can reduce the house edge considerably.
All you need is a goodbetting strategyand you will be playing video poker like the pros.
And remember, to play responsibly.
Daniel has been writing about casinos and sports betting since 2021.
