Although the massive crowds of casual gamblers play the penny slots, a smaller, much quieter, and significantly smarter group of players are firmly planted at the bar tops. They are focused on Video Poker machines. They play video poker for a massive mathematical advantage: if you play perfectly, it has the lowest house edge available anywhere. The classic version is called "Jacks or Better.". This strategy breakdown will detail how to play and provide the foundational strategy needed to win and stretch your money.
The Basic Rules and The Paytable
Different from playing against humans, Video Poker is not played against other people. It is just you and the math. Should you loved this post in addition to you would like to obtain guidance about pokiesurf casino australia generously go to the web-page. You are dealt a hand. You press buttons to select what to hold and which to replace. The machine replaces your discarded cards with new ones, and the paytable determines your win. As the name implies, in "Jacks or Better,", the minimum hand required to win any money is a single pair of Jacks.
Read the Screen
Before you ever insert a single dollar, you must look at the paytable displayed on the game. Casinos change the payouts for a Full House and a Flush to increase their house edge.
- A 9/6 machine is the holy grail
- The house edge is only 0.46%
- If the machine pays 8/5 or 7/5, the house edge is much higher, and you should find a different machine
Playing a bad paytable completely ruins the mathematical advantage of playing video poker in the first place.
Basic Strategy: The Golden Rules
After sitting at a good game, you must play mathematically perfectly. You cannot play based on "hunches.". Here are a few absolute golden rules:
- Take the guaranteed money
- Keep the low pair
- Protect your initial wager
| The Scenario | Bad Play | The Mathematically Perfect Hold |
|---|---|---|
| Pair of 10s | Throwing them away because they don't pay anything (not Jacks or Better) | Keep the low pair always |
| 4 cards to a Straight, but you have a High Card (e.g. King) | Playing safe | Drop the high card |
| The ultimate dilemma | Taking the small win | BREAK the Flush. Hold the 4 cards to the Royal. The math of the massive jackpot dictates you must take the risk |
Finally, playing 9/6 machines is a fantastic strategy to stretch your gambling dollar. If you do your homework and play like a computer, you will have a long session with a microscopic house edge.
