Here are
some basic strategies for different types of Video Poker games:
If your hand is not worth money, follow these guidelines, in order of
preference:
- Keep any
two suited high cards. Get rid of unsuited high cards.
- Four mixed-suit
high cards:
- Keep any three suited, get rid of the suited
- Otherwise, keep them all.
- Three
unsuited high cards:
- keep all three of Jack-Queen-King.
- Get rid of the Ace, when you have Ace-King-Jack
or Ace-Queen-Jack.
- Keep any
two unsuited high cards.
- Keep any
single high card.
Keep any paying hand. The exceptions to this rule, in order of value are:
- Hold four
card Royal Flushes to make Straights or Flushes.
- Four card
straight flushes, inside or outside.
- High card
Pairs rank here.
- Three
card Royal Flushes.
- Four card
Flushes.
- Low Pairs
rank here, try to build Three of a Kind.
- Four card
Flushes.
- Four card
Straights. Hold inside Straights only if you've got there or more high
cards (Jack, Queen, King, Ace).
For this type, we suggest this general strategy, in order of preference:
- Hold any
5 of a Kind of Royal Flush.
- Keep four
2's.
- If you
have three 2's:
- hold any made 5 of a Kind or Royal Flush
- in other cases, keep the 2's and get rid of the
rest.
- If you
have two 2's:
- hold any made Straight, Five of a Kind or Royal
Flush.
- Hold any 4 of a Kind.
- Hold any 4 of a Royal Flush.
- In other cases, keep the 2's and get rid of the
rest.
If you have
a single 2, keep any made hand, aside from:
- hold four card Royal Flushes over made Straights,
Flushes and Straight Flushes.
- Keep four card Straight Flushes of all types.
- Hold three card Royal Flushes.
- If you have pairs, keep one, not both.
- Hold four card Flushes.
- Hold four card Straights.
- Hold three card Straight Flushes, including gaps.
- Hold four card inside Straights.
- Keep two card Queen or Jack high Straight Flushes.
- Get rid of two card Royal Flushes.
- If you got to this last option, get rid of everything
and start over!
Since this type of Video Poker pays well for Straights and Flushes, the
general strategy should be in their favor, as follows:
- Prefer
inside Straights over one or two high cards.
- Prefer
4 card outside Straights and 4 card flushes over pairs, including high
ones.
- Hold any
three cards to a Flush.
Betting is simple in this slots version of Poker. You can usually choose
$.25, $0.50, $1, or $5 games. Bets range from 1x through 5x (the maximum
bet). For example, if you're playing a $5 game, you can place bets of $5,
$10, $15, $20 or $25.
Since the maximum bet usually pays off better than the lower multiples,
go for a lower value machine, but maximum bet. For example, a $1 machine,
played at the Max Bet of $5. This is a lot like Slots strategy.
Payoffs are displayed on the Video Poker machine face, making it easy to
learn which hand ranks are best. Generally, all types of Video Poker rank
hands the same, though some types may add extra ranks.
Payoff ratios may vary in different types of games. For example, for four
of a kind note that:
Jacks or Better: may pay 25:1
All American: may pay 30:1
Joker Poker: may pay only 20:1
These ratios do not correspond to the true odds, so it is always important
to know your game.
The odds of winning are pretty good, provided that you know your Poker game.
The house edge is very low on Video Poker; sometimes even 0%. But, if you
do not understand Poker, or follow strategies, you may lose money. So, get
to know your Poker game inside out, before you embark on your Video Poker
journey.
|
