Don't fear video poker

5 May 2018

By Henry Tamburin

I receive many communications from slot players who want to play video poker but don’t know how and don’t even know where to start. Many think the games might be too tough for them to learn. This is not true. Video poker is fun and the games are relatively easy to learn.

A big problem is that many players are indeed confused by the myriad of different video poker games in different denominations that they see on the casino floor. If you are in this boat don’t panic . . . this two-part primer will explain the ABCs of video poker.

Video poker is actually a simple game. Here is the general scheme of the game:

The machine will randomly deal you five cards from a 52-card virtual deck (for the moment, let’s ignore Joker Poker, which is dealt from a 53-card deck). You get to hold as many cards from the initial five-card hand that you wish (you could hold one card, two, all five, or even none of them).

Once you decide which cards you want to hold, you hit the draw button and the computer will randomly deal you the appropriate replacement cards to replace the cards you discarded. That’s it, game over. If those cards show that you win, that's good. If you lose? Well, then just try again!

How much you win (if anything) depends on the rank of your final five-card poker hand.

Usually, you will need at least a pair of jacks through aces to get your bet back (even money payoff). If you have two pair, you’ll be paid more. Ditto for a three-of-a-kind, a flush, all the way to the highest hand, a royal flush. You must pay full coin/credits in order to get the biggest payout on the royal flush. Royal flushes are somewhat rare, but they do come and they do give you a big monetary boost, so play maximum coins/credits.

The pay schedule for the winning hands are posted on the video screen for each game.

In the next issue I will explains four important aspects of video poker play. Video poker can be a fun and challenging game and is definitely worth playing.

Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. Visit his website at www.smartgaming.com.