When playing online slots, your strategy options are limited to deciding on the quantity of your stake or maybe purchasing the bonus feature, if offered. You simply set your stake, press play, and pray for the best. And the house always has a higher edge in slot games than in video poker, which may influence your choice of casino game to play.
If you decide to play poker, you should be aware that video poker differs from traditional poker played at land-based or online casinos. The most apparent distinction is that it is played on a machine with no opponents, requiring you to rely on your instincts, game knowledge, and a little luck to win.
That’s where a strong video poker strategy comes in helpful. When you have a strategy in place, it is easier to create your game and make decisions regarding your cards and future moves. But what strategy do you employ, and how do you implement it? To learn more, read our video poker strategy guide.
Why Use a Video Poker Strategy?
While poker, like other casino games, is a game of chance, it is also a game of skill and strategy that can be learned and perfected through practice. Video poker was one of the first games to arrive in online casinos, providing players plenty of opportunity to develop methods or adapt them to the online environment.
Using a strategy in video poker is critical to increasing your chances of winning. When you have a clear strategy, you are more likely to succeed if the cards fall in your favor. Of course, you must first understand all of the game’s rules, as well as the strength of the cards you hold, in order to control them and decide what to play.
The proper approach for your game will be determined by the game variation you choose and the cards you are dealt at the start of the game.
What is the best strategy for video poker?
Video poker should not be a guessing game, and we recommend that you study as much as possible before you begin playing. It’s not that difficult, but it takes time and, of course, practice to comprehend all of the combinations and what to do with the cards you receive. So what is the best video poker strategy?
The answer is the famed “it depends.” There is most likely no perfect video poker strategy that works for all game variations, but it is determined by your personal playing style and the cards you receive in the initial hand. Let’s start with some basics.
1. Understand the Video Poker Pay Tables
Video poker machines include pay tables, which are displayed when you choose which machine to play on. You’ve certainly noticed that slots feature pay tables as well, and video poker paytables are similar, indicating how much you may win for each winning poker hand.
The pay tables begin with the most valuable wins and work their way down to the lowest-paid hands. Video poker machines have varying pay tables, so look for ones that offer higher payouts, as this is especially important in the long run. The payoff will also vary depending on whether you play with one or more coins, with the biggest prizes available for five coins each game.
2. Use a video poker strategy chart
A strategy chart is a wonderful tool for beginners, since it helps you comprehend your hand and tells you which cards to keep and which to discard. The chart, like the pay tables, normally begins with the best, highest-paying hands and progresses down to all other possible combinations and alternatives.
A video poker strategy chart can tell you if your hand has room for development and how many cards you should replace in order to improve it. The chart displays the names of the starting hands (which you should know by the time you start playing, or at least have a reminder next to you) and suggests what hand they can improve to if you replace your cards and get the correct ones in the next dealing.
3. Learn the Poker Hand Rankings
It goes without saying that you should understand what a poker hand combination is and how valuable it is in the game of poker. The best poker hand possible is a Royal Flush, which requires an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten from the same suit. To be honest, it is an exceedingly rare hand, but it consistently outperforms all other hands.
A Straight Flush is a rare but valuable hand. It is a hand in which you are dealt five cards of the same suit in sequential order, regardless of what they are. Only a Royal Flush beats a Straight Flush, which is why it’s such a valuable hand.
Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, and Straight are all high-ranking poker hands since they cannot be improved further. A full house is when you have three cards of the same rank and another two of the same rank, such as three queens and two nines. A flush is five cards of the same suit, while a straight is five cards in chronological order, regardless of suit.
Aside from these powerful hands, there are other hands with a high chance of winning, so learn them so you can spot them and swap the appropriate cards when a video poker strategy chart instructs you to do so.
4. Understand the Role of RTP
First and foremost, what exactly does RTP mean? RTP, or theoretical Return to Player, refers to the proportion of invested cash that players might expect to receive from a casino game over time. It is the proportion that game developers determine depending on game mechanics and other criteria.
The RTP could also be understood as a means to calculate the house edge or the online casino’s profit margin. So, if the RTP sits at 95%, for example, the house edge for that game is 5%. That doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get the RTP value of your invested funds every time you play, but theoretically, it’s what players could get over time.
Video poker, again theoretically, has a higher RTP than most slots, especially because it requires some knowledge of the game, skills and strategy to play. When you look for a machine to play video poker, make sure to check the RTP it indicates on the pay tables. The higher the RTP, the better, especially over time. Lower payouts on the pay tables also mean that the RTP for the game is lower, and you should probably find a better option.
