How do you win at Video poker?

[Senacchrib]

I saw some strategy cards in the store that said the return is 99.17% at 8/6 Video poker, but I have heard of people making a profit on it. Could someone explain the general concept to me? Also, has anyone had any success within THIS community with dice control?

[Mikeaber]

Originally Posted by Senacchrib

I saw some strategy cards in the store that said the return is 99.17% at 8/6 Video poker, but I have heard of people making a profit on it. Could someone explain the general concept to me? Also, has anyone had any success within THIS community with dice control?

I'm not sure of your 99.17% on 8/6 JOB (Jacks or Better). I know that 9/6 JOB is 99.5% if played perfectly. But, in general, VP can be beatable if you are willing to play only positive return machines and that involves a lot of research in finding them!

With JOB, you are pretty much playing the game to hit a Royal Flush which pays 4000 with max credits played. Those hands hit on the average, once about every 40,000 hands. But, JOB is probably the game easiest learned and it seems to me to have the least variance of the VP games.

[KenSmith]

Winning at video poker is possible by learning the optimal strategy, selecting a game that is above 100% return including cashback from the player's club, and being sufficiently bankrolled and disciplined to reach the long run.

Almost all video poker opportunities require the addition of cash back from the player's club to be positive. Even then, it's a tough game. It is psychologically much tougher than blackjack, because most of your sessions are losers, even when you are playing a winning game overall. It's basically lose, lose, lose, lose, win a little, lose, lose, lose, hit a royal to get positive again.

Very tough on the psyche. However, comps are a lot easier with video poker, and with a few exceptions, players aren't generally backed off by the casino while playing video poker. (yet)

[Senacchrib]

So how do you find a positive machine? Is it kind of like finding a bias on a roulette wheel?

[KenSmith]

Selecting a good video poker machine simply means knowing the paytable. Unlike slots, you can tell the exact theoretical return for a video poker machine just be looking at the paytable. For example, the "full-pay" version of the popular Jacks or Better game returns 99.54% with perfect play. (And, the perfect strategy is not all that tough.)

There are other games that legitimately return over 100%. Full Pay Deuces Wild is still available around Las Vegas in 25c versions, and it returns 100.76%. At the dollar level, you can still find Double Bonus full-pay games that return 100.17%.

Add in cashback, and you have a large enough edge to make a noticeable profit over the long run.

For lots of info on paytables, check here: http://videopoker.fws1.com/

[Mikeaber]

If you do take up VP though, get ready for a roller-coaster ride! There are a lot of swings both up and down....but mostly down. You have to have a pretty significant bankroll to ride the out.

I usually look for a nickel or quarter VP machine to kill time when I need a break from the BJ tables.

[Senacchrib]

This really helped a lot. However, why do they have positive paytable games? Just because they don't expect people to wait out the long bad runs till a royal?

[KenSmith]

Very few players ever learn the correct strategy to play a winning game. That way, the casino can advertise games that return over 100%, but few players will achieve that. However, there are enough savvy players out there that the really nice opportunities don't last long. For example Wynn Casino in Vegas had 100.76% deuces wild in dollars for a couple of weeks. They were played virtually non-stop, by smart players. They're gone of course.

If you intend to pursue video poker take Mikeaber's comment to heart. It's a MAJOR roller coaster ride. The best way to learn the games is to use software. Check the store here if you're interested.

[Quinc]

is there any kind of basic strategy cards for video poker? also how do you know if its 8/6 or 9/6?

[KenSmith]

Yes: Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy Card

To find the right machines for full-pay Jacks, look at the 1-coin payoffs. They should be:

Royal Flush 250 (4000 for 5-coins, check this too)
Straight Flush 50
4-of-a-Kind 25
Full House 9 <- This is the "9" in 9/6
Flush 6 <- This is the "6"
Straight 4
3-of-a-Kind 3
Two pair 2
Pair of Jacks or higher 1

How much difference does it make?
9/6 Jacks pays back 99.54%
8/6 Jacks pays back 98.39%
9/5 Jacks pays back 98.45%
8/5 Jacks pays back 97.30%