How To Play Video Poker Machines
Ruth | January 4, 2023 | Updated on: July 31st, 2023
Recently updated on January 4th, 2023
Understanding how to play video poker is one of the best ways to ensure getting the most out of the casino game. The reason for this is that it helps you know how to play the hand you are dealt, and therefore, possibly result in a win.
Video poker is a fun casino game which is easy to learn. There are different variations of this game, therefore, learning how to play the basic game is one of the best decisions that you can make for yourself. While each variation will have its own set of rules below, we teach you the basic objective of playing video poker online.
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How To Play Video Poker At Casino
If you are new to video poker, this is the perfect place to learn to start playing. The process of playing video poker online is simple to understand if you follow our simple steps. But, before we get into the steps, we advise that you play online video poker at regulated casino sites that offer the game, for the best gambling experience.
More so, before you can play for real money, we advise that you try the game out for free before committing cash. Once you’ve found a casino site you prefer, you will deposit into your casino account then follow these easy steps.
- Decide the number of coins that you would like to bet between 1 and 5.
- Click on the deal button.
- Decide which cards you would like to hold.
- Click on the draw button.
- Should your final hand qualify for a payout, you will be paid out accordingly.
How To Play Video Poker And Win
To enjoy great payouts in video poker you need to have a clear understanding of each game you’re playing. Luckily with video poker each game will display the paytable where you can see what each hand pays out. When deciding which cards to hold and discard you must take the paytable into consideration.
You will find that some hands have better payouts than others depending on the variation you are playing. Here is a list of some of the most common hands that you will find in video poker game that payout.
- Royal Flush – this is the highest paying hand in many video poker variations. The hand consists of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 card all in the same suit.
- Straight flush – this hand consists of five cards that are from the same suit and in a sequence.
- Four of a kind – with this hand you will hold four cards of the same value.
- Full House – this hand consists of three similar cards as well as one pair.
- Flush – with this hand you will have any five cards from the same suit but they don’t have to be in sequence.
- Straight – the hand consists of five cards in numerical order from different suits.
- Three of a Kind – with this hand you will hold three cards of the same value and any other two cards.
- Two Pair – this hand holds two sets of pairs.
- One Pair – this particular hand includes one pair and any other cards.
- High Card – the video poker hand includes one high card out of all the other five cards that you. hold. These cards don’t have to be in numerical order or from the same suit.
Paytables In Video Poker
Apart from knowing the ranking hands, another important thing that you’ll find about the paytable is that video poker games are classified in two ways.
There are full pay and short pay video poker machines. Full pay machines will boast an RTP percentage of over 99%. Some machines go over 100% and while that may seem impossible it can be achieved with the perfect strategy.
Basically, how the house edge or return to player rate works is that if you have made a bet of 100 coins on a table with a 95% RTP, it means you can make back 95% of your investment in that game. This 95% in no way means that you will win 95% of the time. It is simply how much you stand to make back over time at this machine
For instance, if you’re playing the Jacks or Better variation of video poker it maybe labeled as a full pay game or as a 9-6 machine. 9-6 variation means it has a 9 to 1 payout for the full house, and 6 to 1 for a flush. Of course, for each variation of the game these payout machines will read differently, therefore, paying out differently.
How To Play Video Poker Like A Pro
The more you play video poker the better at the game you will become. Once you have familiarized yourself with the basic video poker game and are comfortable playing for real money you can move on to playing with a strategy. When using the optimal video poker strategy, you can improve your chances of winning.
There are two ways in which you can improve your odds. Firstly, you can use free video poker games to continuously improve your gameplay. Secondly, you can use a video poker strategy is you can also use a strategy chart which shows you a straightforward ways on how you can win when you are presented with a particular hand. Each video poker game will have its own strategy card. This card will show you which card to hold and discard when playing that game.
Money Management
Lastly, playing like pro will require you to have great money management. One important thing to remember with video poker is that you don’t want to over-bet your bankroll. Video poker is one of the casino games where you can easily get comfortable and end up making more bets than what you can afford.
For example, if you have a bankroll of $20 you should not be playing at a $1 machine as if you were making a five-coin bet you will be playing for $5. this means you can only sit through four rounds at this machine. video poker machines do have a high payback percentage this does not mean that your wins will be guaranteed. So, making great money decisions is one of the most important part of being able to play Like a professional.
Best Video Poker Strategy
Below we show you what a regular strategy in video poker would suggest you play a particular hand.
- 4 cards to a Royal Flush – only draw one card.
- If you hold three cards to a Royal Flush you will draw one card.
- If you hold two cards to a Flush which includes a 10 card you will only draw three cards.
- Two cards to a flush without at 10 card you will still draw three cards.
- Should your hand include only one high card you will draw Four cards.
- If you hold it two high cards you will need draw three cards.
- Should you hold a Jack, Queen and King you will draw two cards stop.
- If you hold two pairs you only draw one card.
- should you hold no valuable cards it’s best to just discard all five.
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