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Video Poker Strategy |
Winning at video poker depends on following a proper video poker strategy. Video poker strategies involve two basic elements: choosing how many coins to bet, and choosing which cards in your video poker hands to hold and which to discard.
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Wild Jack Casino offers a variety of online video poker games. Each game has different video poker rules that call for slight variations in your video poker strategy. Nevertheless, the following basic video poker winning strategies are useful and adaptable to all the different games of video poker.
Smart video poker betting is an essential element of any winning video poker strategy. In most, if not all, online video poker games, you have a chance for the biggest video poker payouts only if you bet the maximum number of coins. In Jacks Or Better, for example, a Royal Flush pays out at 250-to-1 on bets of one, two, three, or four coins.
But on a bet of five coins, a Royal Flush awards you 4,000 coins, for an 800-to-1 jackpot. Now that's a whole lot better! It would be silly to bet less than five coins and forego the chance to win a big video poker jackpot like that.
Following this tip does not mean you have to bust your bankroll. Remember, you can always decrease your coin size to fit your budget. The only thing that matters is the number of coins, not their size. Five 20-cent coins doesn't cost more than one 1-dollar coin, but it does make you eligible for the 800-to-1 payout. So no matter what your budget or what your coin size, always wager the maximum number of coins.
It is always good video poker strategy to wager the maximum number of coins, but it is especially important when playing progressive video poker games. According to the progressive video poker rules, you are eligible for the progressive jackpot only if you wager the maximum number of coins. It would be tragic to get a diamond royal flush in Jackpot Deuces video poker game, for example, and not win the progressive jackpot because you were not eligible. So if you are going to play progressive video poker, play it to the hilt and bet the max.
Play Your Video Poker Hand WiselyIn all video poker games, you initially receive five cards. You must choose which cards to hold and which cards to trade in for new ones. This decision often determines whether or not you win video poker, and it requires giving careful thought to your video poker strategy. Suppose, for example, that you received these cards:
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In this case, you have two options. You can trade in the king of hearts in hope of getting another club to complete the flush, or you can keep the pair of kings and trade in the other three cards. The best video poker strategy is to keep the pair of kings, because it is a definite winner. If you get lucky with your new cards, you could end up with two pairs, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind. But even if you don't, you will at least end up winning something with your pair of kings. The other way, if you trade in the king of hearts and you are not lucky enough to draw a club, you will have lost your video poker game. Everyone knows the old saying about the bird in the hand. In this case, the pair in your hand is worth more than the flush that may or may not materialize.
Now suppose you have these cards:
In this case, the best video poker strategy calls for trading in the king of hearts and trying to draw an ace of clubs to complete the Royal Flush. True, you are giving up the sure thing of your pair. And it is true that the odds of drawing the ace of clubs are pretty slim, only 1 out of 47. Nevertheless, the chance of winning a 4,000-coin payout for a Royal Flush is so enticing that it is worth taking the gamble. If you continue to play video poker online, you are sure to get plenty of pairs, but you might never get another chance at a Royal Flush. So be a real video poker gambler, and take your best shot for one of those truly memorable video poker payouts.
When you receive you initial five-card video poker hand, one or more of the cards will be marked "Held." This is only the computer's recommendation of which cards you should hold. You are always free to override the recommendation and decide for yourself which cards you want to hold.
When playing video poker online, remember that you are the master of the machine, not the other way around. Granted, your computer is pretty smart, and its recommendations should be given due consideration and should often be followed. But winning video poker means exercising your own free will, not blindly following the computer. The bottom line in online video poker gambling is that it is your money at stake, so you are the one who gets to make the decisions.
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