Switching Video Poker Variations

February 20th, 2011 by Eliza Desailly | Print

One of the most attractive things about video poker is that many of the games offer near-even money payout percentages; in some cases, you can even beat the house with perfect play. But the truth is that most players don’t play nearly well enough to capitalize on the favorable payout percentages offered in video poker. And a big reason why is because they don’t change their strategy when switching video poker variations. But as you’ll find out, it’s crucial that you adjust to every different video poker game you play.

A Change in Variation means a Change in Strategy

No two video poker variations are the same, so you can’t play them the same way either. Your strategy for Jacks or Better needs to be different than your strategy for Double Bonus.

For instance, let’s say that you’re dealt 6s-6h-7c-8s-9h in both games; here you can either hold the two 6’s and go for a three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, or two pair, or hold 6-7-8-9 and go for a straight. In both Double Bonus and Jacks or Better, your fundamental odds of hitting the hands remains the same. However, the cards you keep will be different because the payouts in both games are different.

Straights in Double Bonus pay out at 5:1 while Jacks or Better only pays 4:1 for straights. On the other hand, you are paid 2:1 for two pairs in Jacks or Better while Double Bonus only pays 1:1 for a two pair. After looking at the different payouts in both games, you can see that it’s better to hold two 6’s in Jacks or Better and 6-7-8-9 in Double Bonus.

Sticking with the Same Variations

Seeing as how your strategy will change from one game to the next, it’s never a good idea to go hopping around different video poker variations. If you have any hopes of playing close to the maximum payout percentage, you should stick with one or two video poker variations. After all, it’s a lot of work learning strategy for one video poker game, so why make things harder on yourself by trying to learn several different games?

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 20th, 2011 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Gambling Articles. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tagged as: Poker, Video Poker

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