Let’s Talk Video Poker

Lately I’ve been curious about video poker. It’s kind of like a mix of slots and poker – you get 5 cards on a screen, pick which ones to keep, and then it deals the rest. If you make a poker hand, you get paid.

The payouts depend on the hand and the version you play. For example, in Jacks or Better you need at least a pair of Jacks to win. The higher the hand, the better the payout – and the Royal Flush is the jackpot.

What makes it interesting is it’s not totally random like slots. Your choices actually matter. And depending on the pay table, the house edge can be really low – some versions are under 1% if you play perfect strategy. That’s way better than most slot machines.

👉 Have you ever played video poker?
👉 Do you just play for fun, or do you actually try to use strategy?
👉 Any favorite variations (Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus)?

Would be cool to hear some of your stories or opinions on it.

Well yeah they can have a low house edge... def use strategy, Jacks or better has a pretty low house edge and

it's easy to find most places, ... it really depends on the pay table of each game.. for instance a 9/6 is much

better than an 8/5 or lower... so always check out the full pay table in each casino👍

MK_ said:

Well yeah they can have a low house edge... def use strategy, Jacks or better has a pretty low house edge and

it's easy to find most places, ... it really depends on the pay table of each game.. for instance a 9/6 is much

better than an 8/6 or lower... so always check out the full pay table in each casino👍

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Thanks for the input, but would like to know the strategy you have used while playing it

maronza1 said:

Have you ever played video poker?

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About 35 years ago
The machine looked like this:


That was the time when no-one really cared if under age kids were stuffing their money into gambling machines. Sometimes we skipped class and played this in the near by gas station.
I didn't lost a fortune but didn't make one either.

Tero said:

About 35 years ago
The machine looked like this:

That was the time when no-one really cared if under age kids were stuffing their money into gambling machines. Sometimes we skipped class and played this in the near by gas station.
I didn't lost a fortune but didn't make one either.

Click to expand...

Wow, that’s some real vintage video poker history right there 😄 Crazy how much things have changed – now it’s all digital with different paytables and house edges. But the excitement of hitting that good hand never really changes!

I played video poker quite a lot, especially 10-15 years ago. Sometimes I made a decent profit, but more often than not, I lost my salary.
I had my own individual approach to the game. Video poker can be very different, and in my opinion, each slot machine is different from the other and has its own characteristics.

R.Holynskyi said:

I played video poker quite a lot, especially 10-15 years ago. Sometimes I made a decent profit, but more often than not, I lost my salary.
I had my own individual approach to the game. Video poker can be very different, and in my opinion, each slot machine is different from the other and has its own characteristics.

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Wow, losing a whole salary to video poker must have stung 😅. Shows just how tricky it can be even when you’ve got your own approach. I like that you had a system though and curious if you felt it helped sometimes, or was it more of a “kept me in the game longer” type of thing?

I have not played in a long time, but before I played I would try to review the strategy for the specific game.

I would really try to take my time on the decisions and enjoy the comps.

In the olden days you could find some really good RTPs, but I dont think thats the case anymore.

I have never done real well on Poker slots. Definitely not as thrilling as regular slots. When I worked at the Casino in San Pedro, somebody hit the jackpot on the first night. My boss was not thrilled. LOL.

I played video poker years ago in a local bar. There were 2 "Fruit" Slot machines and the one with poker.
I only played the latter from time to time and even won a couple hundred dollars a few times (4 of a kind 2 or 3 times a session).

Did I play for fun? What else would I play for? If you happen to win anything at any "machine", consider it a bonus on top of the fun.
It mostly is a draw game. If you flop a pair, you draw 3, if you flop 3 of a kind, you draw 2 and so on. If you call that a strategy, then yes, I've used it .
As to a favorite variation, if I had to play again, I'd choose 2s Wild if available. But overall, I consider video poker just another kind of Slot machines.

I usually play video poker (especially Jacks or better), but like in poker and gambling, you have to know how to get out. I think everyone needs to learn bankroll management, otherwise you are guaranteed to lose your bankroll.

I don't think the term ‘perfect strategy’ can be used in the context of such games. No matter how ‘perfect’ your strategy is, casinos will always find “perfect” specialists who will adjust the machine to take your ‘perfect strategy’ into account

I rarely play video poker. However, now that I have read quite a lot of new and interesting material, I am considering changing my approach to this game and trying to play more based on strategy and tactics rather than luck.
Everything is described in more detail here:

I would like to ask a question on video Poker. If you are playing Jacks or Better what would you do here: 2 J Q 2 4. Not suited for flush draw. Keep the pair of 22 or keep the JQ and try to break even? To me its a difficult choice. odds are better at pairing the JQ but if you hit the pair 22 It would pay , I believe 3 to 1? What would you do?

Peace,
Tony