Video Poker Strategy

If you’re visiting an online casino or heading to a land-based venue, the chances are you’ll play video poker. One of the most popular games in the gambling industry, video poker is beloved people around the world. Because of its enduring popularity, there are always newcomers looking for the excitement of video poker. For those who are new to the video poker experience, the following information is essential. Let’s take a look at a beginner video poker strategy you can use to get the most from video poker and potentially win more money along the way!

Know About Video Poker

If you’re unfamiliar with video poker, here’s what you need to know. It is based on five-card draw poker and comes in several variants, including Jacks or Better, Tens or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker’s Wild, Bonus Poker, and Bally’s All American. Five-card draw is a good choice because it is the simplest form of poker.

Since first arriving in land-based casinos in the 1970s, video poker has become one of the most popular games. In fact, only slots are played more. The success of video poker continued at online casinos where iGamers can have instant access to games.

Needless to say, to play video poker you’ll need to at least have a basic understanding of poker hands and which is best. This should be the base of any video poker strategy! You can use the table below to help you decide the quality of the cards you have during a video poker game. This table shows the possible poker hands from best to worst:

Hand (Cards) you have	How many you should keep	How many you should discard
Royal Flush	5	0
Straight Flush	5	0
4 of a Kind	5	0
Full House	5	0
4 to a Royal Flush	4	1
Flush	5	1
3 of a Kind	3	0
Straight	5	0
4 to a Straight	4	1
2 Pair	4	1
High Pair	2	3
3 to a Royal Flush	3	2
4 to a Flush	4	1
Low Pair	3	2
4 to a Straight	4	1
3 to a Straight Flush	3	2
2 to a Royal Flush	2	3
2 High Cards	2	3
1 High Card	1	4
Nothing	0	5

Play Maximum Coin Bets

There are three reasons why people play video poker:

To win money
To have fun
To win money and have fun

We guess most fall into that last category. You probably like playing poker and enjoy the game, but also want to win some money. After-all, you need to spend money to play video poker games online and in land-based casinos. So, your goal should be to have a good time and win as much as possible. One of the simplest video poker strategy tips for doing this is to always bet the maximum coin value. Let’s be clear, winning big is rare and in fact you should remember the old rule “the house always wins”. That’s why you should always manage your bankroll and only bet with money you can afford to lose.

Still, if you bet with the maximum coin value you will get a full value return should you get a high-paying hand. Think about it. There is a chance on every game that you get a Royal Flush, the highest hand in video poker. If you get this hand on a maximum coin bet, you could win a massive amount.

Check Pay Structures

Whether you’re wagering the maximum coin amount or another value, it’s best to know the pay structure of the video poker game you are playing. Taking some time to familiarize yourself with the pay table of the game you play will give you a better chance of winning.

Why? Well, you’ll be able to make better decisions about hands and whether it’s worth taking risks on certain bets. If you know the payout is worth it, the risk may be too!

Understanding a game’s pay structure is something we recommend for all online casino games, such as slots. It is also worth remembering a paytable can help you decide which video poker game to play and which to avoid. Naturally, you should be looking for games with larger payouts.

Practice Makes Perfect

One of the best ways to get good at anything is to practice, and that’s certainly the case with video poker. Whether you enjoy heading to a land-based casino or like to play from the comfort of your home, the more video poker you play the more you will understand the game.

If you are playing online video poker, you have one clear advantage. Many games at online casinos can be played for free. Of course, you won’t be able to win any money but playing for free lets you practice without the danger of losing a bankroll.

Be warned, playing for free sometimes means you will make decisions that you wouldn’t when real money was involved.

Learn to Maintain Your Bankroll

A bankroll is the amount of money you must spend on the game. This is important and should be based on the amount of money you can AFFORD to spend. One way of creating a bankroll you can manage is to only spend funds that are a part of your disposable income.

When you find a budget, stick to it! Let’s say you have $30 to spend per day on video poker, when you reach this daily limit, walk away. It’s better to be able to come back the day after than burn through your bankroll in one go.