In a recent video, Brian Christopher showcased a $20,000 Video Poker win:
He often talks about how when it comes to slots, It’s All About Timing, but what happens with other games?
Curious if you have the same philosophy of timing, or is video poker different and have strategy.
Natalie R.
It’s technically a bit of both, but ultimately strategy plays a key role.
There’s still a random number generator (RNG) that handles the shuffling and outcome of cards. But strategy also plays a role because there is a “best” move to make for each hand you’re dealt to maximize the return based on the possibilities.
The pay table for Video Poker is front and center, similar to old school slots. The difference is that there are a specific number of cards with an equal chance of coming up, unlike the reels on slots where lower paying symbols can be more frequently appearing than higher paying ones.
Smarter math people than us worked through the odds of various things happening, and based on the cards that are dealt and the possible outcomes, have created strategy guides that help you know the best cards to keep and discard for the draw.
Playing to correct strategy maximizes the expected return to player, and so playing incorrectly costs players in actual money over time. As such, knowing strategy is important. And each variation of Video Poker can have its own strategy.
If you’re new to Video Poker, you can use training software that helps you improve your skills and practice, so you can do so without the pressure of putting real money on the line. You can also practice on true replicas of the games you’ll find in the casino, to ensure you are praticing exactly as it will be set up at your home casino.
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