Video Poker is what
you get if you cross Stud Poker with a slot machine and throw in a few
wild cards. It's fast, almost like playing Stud, and you've got a huge
range of options. You can choose Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, All American,
Joker Poker or a number of other variations. Each game has its own personality
and rewards a particular kind of play.
Also, the machines
let you play anything from 1 through 5 coins, with the payoffs improving
at the high end of the scale. So if you know your Poker hands and take
the time to learn your game, Video Poker can be fast, fun, and rewarding.
Old Poker salts
should keep in mind that each game has its own strategy. All American,
for example, pays better than the others on straights and flushes, so
that will effect your approach to card selection. When I first started
playing Video Poker, I thought it would be a lonely hearts version of
the real thing. Not so. The games do indeed have their own individual
winning strategies, and taking the time to learn your game means better
payoffs.
Objective
As with
all forms of Poker. the player aims to get the best hand possible. The
payoffs are marked right on the face of the Video Poker machine so it's
a fast lesson in what the hand ranks are. All Video Poker variations
rank hands the same, though a given variation may add an extra rank
or two.
Betting
As you
would expect from a slots version of Poker, betting is pretty straightforward
in Video Poker. On any given machine you can typically choose $0.25,
$0.50, $1, or $5 games. And the bets are 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x (Max
Bet) whichever game you're playing. So if you're playing a $1 game,
you can place bets of $1, $2, $3, $4, or $5.
Payoff
The first
thing to note is that the game face shows you the payoff for each betting
level. Invariably playing Max Bet pays off better, overall, than any
of the lower multiples. Smart players pick the betting level they are
comfortable with and choose their game accordingly.
In other words,
if you're comfortable with a $5 bet, then pick a $1 machine and play
at Max Bet for $5. If $25 bets are more your speed, pick a $5 game because
Max Bet (5x) puts you at the $25 level. In either case, you're getting
the best payoff odds you can for that game. This is similar to Slots
strategy.
Also of key importance
is the fact that the payoff ratios vary from game to game. Where Jacks
or Better may pay 25:1 for Four Of A Kind, All American typically pays
30:1 and Joker Poker only pays 20:1. These ratios do not necessarily
reflect the true odds, so again, knowing your game helps you play smarter.
Want more info?
See our video poker strategies and links.
As in
7-Stud, the best 5 card hand wins. Players may form their final hands
from any combination of the table cards and their own pocket cards,
even ignoring the pocket cards and using only the table cards if they
wish.
One point on which Hold'Em departs from other poker
games is the option for any player to see another player's pocket cards
once they've been mucked. Provided the requesting player has Called
or Raised the last Bet made, they simply ask the dealer and the mucked
cards will be retrieved and shown.
To the newcomer this move may seem incredibly invasive,
especially if they come from a Draw poker background where such a move
would be heresy. However, in the Hold'Em context, it's one of the few
ways to gain insight into an opponent's play style. And how and when
the pocket cards are played is a critical part of the game.
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