Close Video Poker Hands

29 July 2023

By Jerry Stickman

From Ray:

Hi Jerry,

I've written you before about the close decisions on video poker hands.

I know this may be sacrilege, and I may have mentioned this before, but are the holds on close hands different if max coin is not played?

My wife especially, and many people I know, can't afford in their budget to play $1.25 per hand and there are too few nickel games (none that have a good pay table) for them to play. Giving up the long shot royal payoff is a good trade-off when they only play for a short time once a month or so, to have a better full house and flush payout.

Many times. the proper play is the one that includes the royal, but many of your readers (me) might think that the other close play might be better if the royal was only 250-1.

Thanks again for doing these hands. I find them interesting, challenging, and informative.

Ray

Hi Ray,

I appreciate the comments about my articles.

As you are probably aware, I am a strong proponent of playing max credits in order to get the royal flush bonus. I have written several articles admonishing players to build their bankroll to the level necessary to play at that level – or forego a trip to the casino.

As I mature (age, not lifestyle), I find myself become less adamant about this.

Let’s see what the tradeoffs are between playing max-coin at $1.25 per hand and single-coin at $0.25 per hand.

First, let’s check the returns and variance of 9/6 (full-pay) and 8/5 jacks or better games.

Jacks or better – 9/6

• Max-coin – 800-for-1 royal flush: return – 99.54 percent, house edge – 0.46 percent, variance – 19.51
• Single-coin – 250-for-1 royal flush: return – 98.37 percent, house edge – 1.63 percent, variance – 4.33

Jacks or better – 8/5

• Max-coin – 800-for-1 royal flush: return 97.29 percent, house edge – 2.71 percent, variance – 19.32
• Single-coin – 250-for-1 royal flush: return – 96.06 percent, house edge – 3.94 percent, variance – 4.66

The return for less than max-coin is around 1.25 percent less than the max-coin return.

The variance is considerably less. This is because there is no jackpot-sized winner if there is no royal flush bonus.

Now, let’s assume our casual, low roller video poker player spends four hours playing. We will assume a fairly slow rate of play – around 200 hands per hour. That amounts three and a third hands per minute or one hand every 18 seconds.

At $1.25 per hand, 200 hands played amounts to $250 through the machine every hour – four hours = $1,000.

At 25-cents per hand, 200 hands played amounts to $50 through the machine every hour – four hours = $200.

To figure the average loss, multiply the dollars played by the house edge.

Jacks or better – 9/6

• Max-coin – $1,000 times 0.46 percent equals $4.60.
• Single-coin – $200 times 1.63 percent equals $3.26.

Jacks or better – 8/5

• Max-coin – $1,000 times 2.71 percent equals $27.10.
• Single-coin – $200 times 3.94 percent equals $7.88.

If you are lucky enough to find a full-pay 9/6 jacks or better game, the average loss is not that different playing $1.25 per hand versus 25-cents per hand - $4.60 versus $3.26.

On an 8/5 jacks or better game, the difference is dramatic - $27.10 versus $7.88.

It is also important to remember that the variance is considerably higher on the max-coin game. That means bankroll swings will be more dramatic when playing max-coin.

What about playing strategy?

Since the only thing different when betting one coin versus five coins is the pay for a royal flush, hands favoring a royal flush will rank lower when playing less than max coins.

There are only a few changes in the strategy necessary to accomplish this.

For example, in both 9/6 and 8/5 jacks or better, holding four cards of a royal flush outranks a flush hold and three cards of a royal flush outranks four cards of a flush with a max-coin bet. They are reversed when betting less than max-coins.

Faced with the above information, would I recommend betting one coin versus max coins for a low roller?

If the best video poker available is 8/5 jacks or better, possibly. However, I would probably not play 8/5 jacks or better due to the higher house edge.

The bottom line: each video poker player must decide whether the higher house edge is worth it. Is he or she satisfied with the long-term results?

I cannot answer that. You decide.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker! You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerryg@gmail.com