Video Poker Game Strategy

Game Description

Video poker at online casinos is a simple variation of five card draw. The user places a bet of anywhere between one and five coins and draws a five card hand. The user may then choose to keep any combination of the five cards dealt. After a selection is made, the user draws again and the discards are replaced with new cards.

If the remaining five cards after the second draw form a winning poker hand the user is rewarded with a pre-determined payout based on the rank of the hand. The following table describes winning hands and payout's for the popular Jacks or Better online video poker variant when five coins are played:

Poker Hand Description Example Payout

Royal Flush Ace, king, queen, jack, and a ten of the same suit 4000
Straight Flush Five cards of the same suit in a sequence 250
Four of a Kind Four cards of the same rank 125
Full House Three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another. 45
Flush Five cards of the same suit 30
Straight Five card sequence of mixed suits 20
Three of a Kind Three cards of the same rank 15
Two Pair Two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank 10
Jacks or Better Single pair of jacks or higher 10

Simple Jack’s or Better Basic Strategy

This strategy should be used with a common ‘9/6’ Jack’s or Better non-progressive machine. ‘9/6’ refers to the single coin payout's for a Full House / Flush. In addition, make sure the 5 coin payout for the Royal Flush is 4000 coins. This strategy does not work with other video poker variants such as Deuces Wild.

· Always play 5 coins.
· Never keep ‘kicker’ cards.
· Never draw to the inside of a mixed suit straight, such as 3 clubs,
4 diamonds, 6 hearts, 7 spades, Q hearts, unless you have 3 high cards.

Never draw to the outside of an open-ended mixed suit straight, like A clubs, 2 diamonds, 3 hearts,
4 spades, 7 hearts, unless you have 3 high cards.
Always keep a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, or straight with one exception. Always break a pair, straight, or flush to draw 1 card to a royal.

Consider adopting a more sophisticated strategy after you get the hang of this one. The purpose of this strategy is just to cover the basics and give you a head start.

Hand Draw
4 card royal Draw 1
Three of a kind Draw 2
4 card straight flush Draw 1
Two Pair Draw 1
High Pair (Jacks or Better) Draw 3
3 card royal Draw 2
4 card flush Draw 1
Low pair Draw 1
4 card straight Draw 1
3 card straight flush Draw 2
2 card royal without a ten Draw 3
3 high cards without an ace Draw 2
2 high cards Draw 2
2 card royal with a ten Draw 3
1 high card Draw 4
Nothing Draw 5

Examples: C Clubs D Diamonds S Spades H Hearts

10c ,Ks, Qd ,4c, 10s

Tempted by the 2 card royal? Your much better off keeping the low pair. Think of the possibilities. You could draw two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or even four of a kind!

6h ,7s, 8h ,3h , 5s

Looks like a straight, but it’s always good to go over the exceptions. You won’t be drawing to the inside and it isn’t open-ended so the exceptions do not apply. Keep the 4 card straight and good luck!

3c, 2d, 8h, 6c, 4s

Not a good draw. So what do you keep? According to the table, the best thing to do is keep nothing, draw 5 new cards, and keep your fingers crossed.

7c, Jd, 7h, 2s, 6c

Use the table. A low pair (the 7s) has more value than just keeping the single high card (J).

10s, Js, Qs, 7s, Ks

Just keeping the flush is tempting, but you are 1 card away from the royal flush! Remember the exception – keep a flush unless you can draw 1 card to a royal flush. This may seem obvious, but in an internet casinos setting the machine is going to tempt you to keep the flush with lots of bells and whistles. Some online video poker machines may even auto-select the flush for you.

Keep your head and go for the big payout!