Why Slot Players Should Try Video Poker
If you have been playing with (and losing to) slots for years, it may be time to switch to video poker. What's that, you ask? Well, it's slot machines with a brain! Seriously. Without offense to slot fanatics, video poker really does offer advantages to thinking gamblers that slots can't.
Video poker has several things in common with slots. Like slots, they are housed in a metal casing, with slits for inserting coins (or some other means of accepting payment), buttons for play and a screen. Like slots, video poker machines also have pay tables.
The difference between the two lies in how they are played. With slots, all you do is bet and press spin hoping for a winner. With video poker, you are dealt five cards with the option to have some or all of those cards replaced in a second deal. You win if you are dealt a winning poker hand.
Because the probability of poker hands appearing can be predicted, it is possible to come up with a strategy for video poker. A video poker game strategy is a list of hold/discard card decisions that give the best theoretical return for that game. Not sure what that means? Let's put it this way: If you play video poker with a strategy guide, you stand to win the most money possible with it.
It's easy to play video poker. Just select the machine you want, insert coins or deposit money into the machine, and click "deal" when you are ready. When you are dealt your first five cards, choose to "hold" the cards you like and "discard" those you want replaced. You will be given replacement cards for your final hand.
There are many kinds of video poker games. Here are three of the most popular ones:
Jacks or Better - This game returns your bet if you make a pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces. For higher hands it will pay according to the pay table. Find one that pays 9 for 1 on a full house and 6 for 1 on a flush.
Deuces Wild - In this game, all 2's are wild cards. Because of the higher probability of good hands appearing, the pay table only pays a minimum of a three of a kind. Video poker enthusiasts love this game best.
Pickem Poker - In this unusual video poker variant, you are dealt two cards and then choose which of two other sets of cards (partially hidden) to add. Your final hand will be a combination of you starting cards and the "mystery" cards you choose.
Video poker is not only more mentally engaging than slots, they are also less costly. Just about all video poker machines have a lower house edge than slot machines. Give yourself a break from slots. Learn video poker for a more challenging and rewarding experience.
