Video poker
Our Extensive Video Poker Guide for Australia
Video Poker is a very popular game worldwide. In Australia, video poker pokie machines are an integral part of online casinos.
And this already since the first computers have made their way into the world of casinos. In principle therefore since the 70’s.
The success of video poker lay in the fact that the inhibition threshold to the poker game was clearly smaller.
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After all, the classic poker game sits together with other players. Some of them are professional poker players. And just as a beginner one feels in the spotlight and embarrassingly touched if one makes mistakes.
Video poker doesn’t do this. And the playing principle of video poker is similar to that of classic poker.
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Video Poker is a Simple Game
Video poker is not as difficult as you might imagine. It’s the classic poker game that’s been played in the Wild West. In other words, Video Poker is usually based on a simple and simple variant. Here you are dealt five cards.
The game itself lasts two rounds. After the cards have been dealt to you, you have the opportunity to select the cards you want to keep. The other cards in your hand will then be replaced by the Video Poker machine. And the hand you then hold is for the rating.
Your winnings are not dependent on another player’s hand. In Video Poker, for example, the pokie machine does not play against you. Rather, your winnings depend on the combinations of cards you have.
The following tip is very important. If you are dealt a winning interplay in the first round, the Video Poker machine will show you that. Don’t forget to hold all your cards. Otherwise, all cards will be replaced in the second round.
Video Poker with a Progressive Jackpot
Some games have a progressive jackpot. What kind of jackpot is this? The incredibly big jackpot that keeps rising. The winning combination Royal Flush can give you more than $100,000. It’s incredibly great, isn’t it?
If you want to hit a progressive jackpot, the first thing you need to do is find a progressive video poker machine. The progressive jackpot is won when you create a Royal Flush. This combination is very complicated and rare to make, so it’s not so easy to get the progressive jackpot in video poker.
But it’s worth playing video poker with the progressive jackpot!
Video Poker Strategy
Video Poker is one of the most popular casino games worldwide, of course also in the online world. Simply put: Video poker is a mixture of gambling, as we know it from gaming machines, and games where skill is required, such as the popular poker game Texas Hold’em.
Every poker player knows that luck can be very important in the short term, but in the long run, skills and knowledge are critical to controlling and influencing long-term game results.
But can you increase your chances of playing video poker at all? And if so, how does that work?
Finding the ideal balance between luck and skill is not easy in video poker. Of course, if you’re a total video poker beginner (or already have too many soft drinks) and you can’t tell the difference between a royal flush and a nice pair of blue eyes from your waitress, then you’ll hardly be able to earn a royal flush.
Card Combinations in Video Poker
In the following, we have listed the usual card combinations in Video Poker.
- Pair – The pair are two cards of the same value. For example, two sixes, two queens, or two kings. It doesn’t matter what suit the cards are. Only the value counts. So a queen of hearts and a queen of spades count as a pair.
- Two pairs – Two pairs made up of your five cards. By the way, there is normally no restriction here that pairs count from the Jacks. Make sure to check the special Video Poker pokie machine you are playing at.
- Triple – You have a triple if you have three cards that have the same value. Again, the suit doesn’t count. Examples would be three sixes, three queens or three kings.
- Straight or Straight – You have a straight if you have a sequence of five cards. Again, the suit doesn’t matter. The important thing is that it is a sequence. So the values occur in successive order. Spades 6, Hearts 7, Diamonds 8, Clubs 9, Diamonds 10 would be an example.
- Flush – You have a flush if you hold five cards with the same suit. An example would be five “check” cards. Or five “Heart” cards. And so on. So the card values don’t count here, but mainly the card suits.
- Full House – The Full House is a mixture of the pair and the threesome. So if you have a pair and a threesome, you have a full house. The only thing that matters is that the threesome and the pair are valid. So they don’t need anything to do with each other.
- Fours – Similar to the pair and the threesome. With a four, it’s just that you’re holding four cards of the same value. The suit of the cards does not matter, as with the other combinations.
- Straight Flush – You have a straight flush if you have a sequence of five cards with consecutive values. And they have the same suit of cards. An example of this would be an eight to the queen in the suit “Heart”. If even one card does not have the same suit, it is still a straight.
- Royal Flush – the Royal Flush is like a Straight Flush. The only exception is that the sequence of suited cards ends on the highest card, the ace. Specifically the combination: 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. And all cards in the same suit. If only one suit differs, you have a straight.
Determining the Video Poker Strategy
Using the right video poker strategy helps us to make the right decisions in various tricky situations that can occur in the video poker game.
We let the computer do the calculations for us and based on the expected values of different card and combination probabilities and the resulting results, we can put together a priority list that will show us exactly which cards to hold and which not.
Example #2:
Are we walking on a road or holding a small pair?
We’ll use another example to show you how the video poker strategy is built. Here we have another rather difficult situation. So there are two obvious ways to play:
- We can either hold a pair of fives and hope for a thee of a kind, a full house or even poker,
- or we can hold the “open street leaf” and hope to enter a street.
Based on the expected amount of both options, we have calculated the following values, which are 4.118 in the case of holding the pair of fives and 3.404 in the case of the “open” street leaf.
So in this case we can see that when playing the original version of the video poker “Jacks or Better” a small pair in the paytable has a better expected return than playing a street in this example. This will most likely not be the case if you are playing other video poker games with different payout rates.
This depends on the differences within the games. If there are only small differences in payout tables between video poker games, this video poker strategy can be used universally.
However, if there are major differences in paytables between the different game types (e.g. if the games have wild cards), then a completely different strategy must be used.
The Simple vs. The Optimal Strategy
There are two types of video poker strategies that are applied by players. The simple (or basic) video poker strategy groups some combinations with similarly expected returns.
The conclusions and results that result from this strategy are much more compact and therefore easier to learn. If you use this strategy then the difference in the expected payouts will be very small when compared to the maximum payout that can only be achieved using the optimal strategy.
The difference in the theoretical payout in the full version of “Jacks or Better” between the simple and the optimal strategy is only 0.08%. The difference is due to mistakes that players will make because the strategy has been simplified.
The Dangers and Errors of Video Poker Strategy
As you can see, video poker still is quite a complex game and you can seriously jeopardize your chances of winning, especially if you use the wrong strategy for a long time.
What We like is Control over the Outcome
Even if some Jacks or Better games offer a payout of up to 99.54% – but only if you follow the optimal strategy – the payout will actually be much lower. This is based on the number of mistakes you make and the number of hands you will play. That’s why you need to set priorities.
Do you want control over the outcome of the game? Of course, this is mostly at the expense of bad decisions, or at least the ability to make bad decisions.
Or do you just want to have fun and rely on your luck at the casino? If that’s the case, you’re definitely better off with pokie machines. They don’t require any skill, nor can individual mistakes be made. If a pokie machine has a theoretical payout of 95%, you will get it no matter how long or how hard you press the start button.
Return to Player (RTP) in Video Poker
Compared to many other pokie machines, the Return to Player (RTP) Video Poker is comparatively high. So you can increase the RTP up to 99.5%. This depends not least on your playing strategy.
But the wager they place on the Video Poker machine also has something to do with it. Because the higher their stake in Video Poker is, the higher the payouts that receive seven win cases will be.
So the casino’s RTP drops while their chances of winning increase.
Where Can You Play Video Poker?
Most online casinos today offer you the opportunity to play video poker in its different variations. In any case, make sure that the pokie machine where you enjoy Video Poker pays out winnings if you have two pairs.
You will normally see this marked as “Two Pairs” in the top paytable. Because most winnings are made by pairs.
Don’t let the antiquated look of most Video Poker pokie machines put you off. Once you’ve arrived, Video Poker is an extremely entertaining undertaking. And the fact that it’s one of the casino games that offers the highest payout doesn’t hurt either.
Just scroll up to find one of the best online video poker casinos. Or filter for a casino that suits you perfectly by browsing our homepage for online casinos. By the way, many casinos today also offer e-wallets as a payment method.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve told you in detail about Video Poker’s winning odds and game strategy. As you can see, video poker strategy is not complicated in all the game variations mentioned. It doesn’t matter whether you want to play Deuces Wild or Jacks or Better, all these games of chance are clear.
Video poker machines with a progressive jackpot play a special role among the game variations. Every gambler dreams of huge jackpots, which he can crack with such a game.
Finally, we would also like to say that in Australia you can try all kinds of video poker. Visit our offer on Australian online casinos and find the game you like!