Video Poker Tips

Selecting machines that work to your playing strengths and offer good payouts are strategies that can pay off big time.

How to Maximize Success

• Check the Payouts
  Although casinos tend to offer standard payouts, many video poker machines have payout bonuses for certain hands. 

  Another tip is to look at the payout table to establish the lowest winning hand. Generally this is a pair of jacks, a two pair or three of a kind. Your chances of winning lower paying hands are higher – you have a 42% likelihood of getting a pair. The payout improves (but your chances decrease) for obtaining specific pairs, as listed in the payout table.

• Play Maximum Bets
  The single most effective piece of advice for maximizing your success is to select a machine with a high maximum bet and then fully utilizing this – the highest payouts follow the highest stakes.

  In addition, it is not just how much you bet that matters, but taking advantage of the full betting options available that can tip the odds in your favor. Put another way; it is better to place a maximum bet on a lower stake machine than to place a lower stake at a machine offering higher betting options.

Understanding the betting

Every machine will give you the option of different coin denominations to select from, typically $0.25, $0.50, $1, or $5. The bets available tend to be 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 times the maximum bet.

If you want to stick to a $25 betting level;

- Pick a $5 machine and

- Select the Max Bet – giving you a stake of $25

- This way you're in line for the best payoff odds for that game.

Each online video machine displays the payoff for each betting level. Pick the betting level you feel comfortable with and stick to these machines. Payoffs vary from game to game but at the same time each game will have its own advantages and disadvantages.

The key rule, for any type of gambling is; never gamble more than you can afford and never try to recoup your losses –quit whilst you are ahead.

What to Hold and What to Discard

There's a lot of advice on playing strategies for individual video poker games. Use the search engines to dig out tips on these, to find out the expert views.

There are two pieces of general advice:

• Don't split up a winning hand – don't get tempted to play for a higher ranking hand. The odds are in favor of you ending up with nothing. Don't be greedy!
• Base your playing decisions purely on your hand. Chase the most likely combination based on the cards you have as opposed to seeking a higher paying hand.