Our aim at Casino Manual is for you to understand about Video Poker via the previous articles and that you ultimately feel confident to play Video poker at the recommended online casinos. However, we’ve explained the history of the game, how to play the game and how the house edge works. The next step is to present a strategy you can take with you and use when playing.
When it comes to Video Poker, Casino Manual thinks you should stick to the simplest form of the game initially. The game is Jacks or Better Video Poker. To start with, there is table below that highlights the frequency of receiving a particular hand in the game:
What this table shows you more specifically is that the big hands, such as a ‘Royal Flush’ or a ‘Straight Flush’ don’t come by very often. There is a good chance you will receive ‘Jacks or Better’ or ‘Two Pair’ so it’s important you know what do when you are drawn with your first 5 cards. In terms of a strategy to follow, we recommend you follow the below table in order to maximise your chances of winning:
1 Royal Flush – Number of Cards to Discard: 0
2 Straight Flush – Number of Cards to Discard: 0
3 Four of a Kind – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
4 Four Card Royal – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
5 Full House – Number of Cards to Discard: 0
6 Flush – Number of Cards to Discard: 0
7 Three of a Kind – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
8 Straight – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
9 Four Card Straight Flush – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
10 Two Pair – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
11 Pair of Jacks or Better – Number of Cards to Discard: 3
12 Three Card Royal – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
13 Four Card Flush – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
14 ’10’, ‘Jack, ‘Queen’, ‘King’ Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
15 Pair of ’10’s or less (Low Pair) – Number of Cards to Discard: 3
16 ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’, ’10’, ‘9’ Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
17 ‘Jack’, ’10’, ‘9’, ‘8’ Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
18 ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’, ‘9’ Suited – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
19 ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’, ’10’ Suited – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
20 Four Card Straight Suited/Unsuited (No High Cards) – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
21 Three Card Straight Flush, Two Gaps, Two High Cards – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
22 ‘Ace’, ‘King’, ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’ Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
23 Two Card Royal – Number of Cards to Discard: 3
24 Four Card Straight, One Gap, Three High Cards – Number of Cards to Discard: 1
25 Three Card Straight Flush, Two Gaps, One High Card – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
26 Three Card Straight Flush, One Gap, No High Cards – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
27 ‘King’, ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’ Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 2
28 Two High Cards Unsuited – Number of Cards to Discard: 3
29 Two Card Royal Flush with ’10’ and no ‘Ace’ – Number of Cards to Discard: 3
30 One High Card (‘Ace’, ‘King’, ‘Queen’, ‘Jack’) – Number of Cards to Discard: 4
31 Nothing – Number of Cards to Discard: 5
As you can see from the table above, there are some hands that are very obvious as to how you should proceed. If you get a low pair of cards (for example two ‘4’s) this is not necessarily bad as it’s ranked 15th out of 31 possible hands. There is a decent chance you will win when you ask for three more new cards.
Furthermore, you won’t be recommended to ‘hold’ three cards in order to try and get a ‘Straight’ or ‘Flush’. The odds are extremely low and it’s not an avenue you should pursue. However, if you have three cards that could result you getting a ‘Straight Flush’, you should go for it as the pay back is extremely high and worth the risk. Saying that, if you have two ‘Jacks’ or above, you shouldn’t take that chance as it’s a guaranteed win. You will have a much better chance to get a third ‘Jack’ or a ‘Full House’ that the ‘Straight Flush’.
An inside ‘Straight’ is hard to achieve so if you are dealt a ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘6’ and ‘7’, you shouldn’t hold those cards in search of the ‘5’. However, if you are dealt a ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’, your odds automatically double as you can achieve both a ‘2’ or a ‘7’. The former hand appears twice on the table above whilst the latter appears four times (double the probability).
The last piece of advice is regarding kickers. A kicker is defined as a card held along with a pair. For example, if you had the following ‘5’ of diamonds, ‘5’ of hearts and an ‘Ace’ of hearts, you should never keep the ‘Ace’. This will not in any way improve your chances of improving your chances of winning as you are reducing the number of cards you are replacing.
Playing Video Poker requires luck (being dealt a decent hand) and a slight bit of skill – this is more commonly known as common sense. You will get your stake back if you get two ‘Jacks’ or better so if you have nothing to keep, keep a face card as there is a pretty good chance you will get your stake back. Just be sensible and more importantly don’t chase the high value hands without just cause.
We recommend you print off the table above and apply this. If you want to put it to the test, play for half an hour with no strategy in mind. Make a note of your hands and decisions and then compare to your activity using the chart above. We are confident and sure you will see the difference in a positive way. If you want to ask us anything about Video Poker or want to share your strategies, please feel free to contact us.