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is what you get if you cross Stud Poker with a slot machine and throw in a few wild cards.
It's fast, almost like playing Stud, and you've got a huge range of options. You can
choose Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, All American, Joker Poker or a number of other
variations. Each game has its own personality and rewards a particular kind of play. Also,
the machines let you play anything from 1 through 5 coins, with the payoffs improving at
the high end of the scale. So if you know your Poker hands and take the time to learn your
game, Video Poker can be fast, fun, and rewarding.
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Old Poker salts
should keep in mind that each game has its own strategy. All American, for example, pays
better than the others on straights and flushes, so that will effect your approach to card
selection. When I first started playing Video Poker I thought it would be a lonely hearts
version of the real thing. Not so. The games do indeed have their own individual winning
strategies and taking the time to learn your game means better payoffs
Video Poker
instruction on how to play
HOW TO PLAY
Objective
As with all forms of Poker the player aims to get the best hand possible. The payoffs are
marked right on the face of the Video Poker machine so it's a fast lesson in what the hand
ranks are. All Video Poker variations rank hands the same, though a given variation may
add an extra rank or two.
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Betting
As you would expect from a slots version of Poker, betting is pretty straightforward in
Video Poker. On any given machine you can typically choose $0.25, $0.50, $1, or $5 games.
And the bets are 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x (Max Bet) whichever game you're playing. So if
you're playing a $1 game, you can place bets of $1, $2, $3, $4, or $5.
Payoff
The first thing to note is that the game face shows you the payoff for each betting level.
Invariably playing Max Bet pays off better, overall, than any of the lower multiples.
Smart players pick the betting level they are comfortable with and choose their game
accordingly. In other words, if you're comfortable with a $5 bet, then pick a $1 machine
and play at Max Bet for $5. If $25 bets are more your speed, pick a $5 game because Max
Bet (5x) puts you at the $25 level. In either case, you're getting the best payoff odds
you can for that game. This is similar to Slots strategy.
Also of key importance
is the fact that the payoff ratios vary from game to game. Where Jacks or Better may pay
25:1 for Four Of A Kind, All American typically pays 30:1 and Joker Poker only pays 20:1.
These ratios do not necessarily reflect the true odds, so again, knowing your game helps
you play smarter.
