Entering any casino in Vegas, you will surely see lines of poker machines filling any free space. Sometimes you may be lucky to find some vacant machine and have a try.
Some people perceive slot machines as the reverse of cash machines. You insert coins, look into the screen, press a few buttons and…voila! You have just made the casino happy. Others think it is a great way of relaxing with a handful of change money and a glass of drink. The truth is that video poker is more than you think at first sight. There is a reason why video poker machines are the favorite sources of entertainment to most casino visitors. As opposed to many other games, poker requires skills, thanks to which you can dramatically raise likelihood of winning and double your funds. Thanks to Casino, you have an opportunity to test any of six poker machines at any time and with or without your favorite drink.
Video Poker is just an electronic version of the popular five-card draw in which you can make a fortune by exchanging cards. Similar to ordinary poker, your task is to have the strongest hand value. By observing your cards and estimating their usefulness, you can exchange any of them. The better the arrangement after exchange, the higher the odds on winning. For example – if you have three eights, queen and the six in the first dealing, you keep three eights only (three is paid 3 to 1) hopping that drawing another eight give you four of a kind or pair of other cards to have full house.
The idea of poker is to estimate which cards should be retained and which ought to be exchanged. Rarer hands assure bigger wins. If you have ace, king, queen and jack of spades and the nine of clubs, you can keep all cards and have flush paid at 6 to 1. Remember that you can always get rid of the nine and get the ten of spades, you will form a rare royal flush paid at least 250 to 1.
Lucky jack
The most popular video game based on poker is Jacks or Better (understood as jacks or higher). The name is self-explanatory: it is all about collecting at least a pair of jacks. If you fail to do so, the casino wins. Always look for machines which pay nine to one for full house and six for flush (frequently called 9/6 machines). Such machines assure a rate of return of 99%, as opposed to 8/5 or 6/5 machines which offer a way less attractive 97 or 95%. In Casino Jacks or Better machines guarantee 9/6 wins and give you freedom when choosing strategies. It is a common practice to insert five coins and lower the rate at the same time.
If you insert five 20-cent coins instead of one dollar and manage to get a royal flush, the payout will be substantially higher. In such dealing you can expect 1250 coins (250:1 x five 20-cent coins), but in reality the machine will pay 4000:1 mainly thanks to the fact that casino will charge a little lower margin than in the case of higher amounts with lower rates.
Regarding strategies, how you play widely depends on your initial cards. Look at the table below, compare it with your cards and reject cards you will surely not use. You will soon realize that it is more advisable to keep a lower-paid hand than try your luck. In the short term such careful decisions may reduce emotions but in the long-run are likely to boost your profits.
It is essential that you are aware that poker machines do not have a memory. This is why you should consider every game as a new adventure and forget about previous experiences.
Casino also provides five other kinds of poker, whereas average casino in Las Vegas even more than that. The biggest differences between them is structure of payouts and additional rules. In Deuces Wild poker the twos can replace any other card. In such game it is a way easier to have a good dealing, but cards are paid from the three upwards (5:1). A royal flush is a way more frequent but if it includes at least one „two” – wins drop to 125:1.
Do you like gambling?
At some machines you can increase every win two or even four times. All you need to do is press DOUBLE, instead of instant payout, and guess if the covered card is black or red (paid 2:1) or guess its precise suit (4:1).
Table
Basic strategies in Jacks or Better.
| INITIAL CARDS BEFORE EXCHANGE | STAY | EXCHANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 5 | 0 |
| Straight flush | 5 | 0 |
| Four of a kind | 4 | 1 |
| Four-card royal flush | 4 | 1 |
| Full house | 5 | 0 |
| Flush | 5 | 0 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 2 |
| Straight | 5 | 0 |
| Four-card straight flush | 4 | 1 |
| Two pairs | 4 | 1 |
| Jacks or higher | 2 | 3 |
| Three-card royal flush | 3 | 2 |
| Four-card flush | 4 | 1 |
| Pair lower than Jacks | 2 | 3 |
| Four-card straight | 4 | 1 |
| Three-card straight flush | 3 | 2 |
| Two-card royal flush | 2 | 3 |
| Three high cards | 3 | 2 |
| Two high cards | 2 | 3 |
| One high card | 1 | 4 |
| Low card | 0 | 5 |
