Best Video Poker

First, let me state at the outset that I am not necessarily writing here about the best mathematically ordained Video Poker machines, but am writing instead about the best kinds of machines to play in a regular casino, for short slices of overall probabilities, under actual playing conditions of in-casino play, and under the often-inevitable situations of less-than-always-perfect play.

There are a few items of knowledge that I will assume you already know, particularly the differences between 6/5, 7/5, 8/5, 9/5, 8/6, 9/6, 10/6 and 10/7 Video Poker machines, and how to spot this and what this means.

It used to be that Video Poker machines were only of one kind - a standard five-card-draw jacks-or-better machines. Then came various derivatives, the most popular of which became the Deuces Wild and Joker’s Wild machines, each with their own variances on pay schedules and programs. Now we have such a plethora of new machines available that to be able to choose the right one, the best one for your particular bankroll and playing time, has become somewhat of a challenge. A challenge perhaps, but for the informed player not at all a gamble.

In order to navigate our way through the maze of various kinds of Video Poker machines, with all their different programs, playing odds, rules, bonuses and so on, and the fact that numerous manufacturers are now coming up with an ever-escalating variety of new Video Poker versions of the standard game, and the fact that more often than not Video Poker games are now becoming part of multi-game touch-screen machines, it becomes necessary to first identify some of the most common Video Poker games, explain how they play, and then point to which of them is the best choice for your gaming dollar.

Standard Video Poker
This is the Five Card Draw poker game which began the Video Poker gaming revolution. In this game (as indeed with virtually all other Video Poker versions of this game) you are first dealt five cards. You then have the choice of keeping any or all of them, or throwing away any or all of them. For each card you throw away, you get another to replace it. The object is to improve your “hand” [the final set of five cards you decide to keep] and make it into a winning hand. This is the format currently used as the basis for the computer programs that runs virtually all Video Poker machines.

Bonus Video Poker
Also known as Double Bonus poker, this is a standard Draw Poker video game, with the added bonuses of 200 coins for any 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s four-of-a-kind, and 400 coins bonus for four Aces. Any other four-of-a-kind pays the regular 125 coins for a five-coin-maximum bet. This game is typically 8/5. If it isn’t at least an 8/5 machine or higher, don’t play it.

Double Double Bonus Video Poker
As the name indicates, Double Double Bonus Video Poker offers double the double bonus which is usually found on the Bonus Poker machines. What this means is that you will be paid twice the amount of that specific win.

On most Double Double Bonus Video Poker machines, the bonus pays are the same as on Bonus Poker - meaning: 2’s, 3’s, 4’s four-of-a-kind and four-Aces. But instead of only being paid 200 coins (maximum coin bet) for the 2’s, 3’s, 4’s four-of-a-kind winner, on the Double Bonus game you will be paid 400 coins for this same hand. And, for the four-Aces, instead of 400 coins for this winner on Bonus Poker, on Double Bonus poker games this winner will pay you 800 coins (maximum coins bet).

These Double Double Bonus Video Poker machines are typically 9/6 or 10/6 or 10/7 machines, which means that they are among the best slot machines to play, odds wise. Played perfectly, these games often return over 100% payback!

The catch is, however, that on any Double Bonus Video Poker game you will only be paid 1:1 - even money - for a two-pair hand, as opposed to 2:1 - ten-coins-for-five-coins-bet - as is standard on regular Video Poker and standard Bonus Poker. Over time, this often becomes not only frustrating, but can get expensive. You must therefore have patience, determination, bankroll and a good eye for spotting trends.

Double Bonus Video Poker machines, and their derivatives - such as Bonus-Aces - can be notoriously streaky. Often they can eat up a lot of your bankroll before you start getting into the pay cycles, and that requires you to be able to have certain game acumen in order to determine the relative ratio of investment versus potential and real profit, and result of playtime relative to bankroll. But once you do hit on a pay cycle, you won’t ever forget it, and playing these games can quickly translate into some very good profits.

The best advice I can give you is: No pay is a small pay.

Don’t habitually throw away paying hands just to try to draw to better hands. The only exceptions to this on these Double Double Bonus Video Poker games are when you have three-Aces dealt to you, or four-to-the Royal Flush. In these two cases, and only in these two cases, throw away whatever else you have and hold the three-Aces for the four-Ace draw, or the four-to-the Royal Flush for the Royal Flush draw. Otherwise, keep what you’ve got and try to improve it by drawing to the next available option without throwing away the pay you’ve already been dealt.

Deuces Wild Video Poker
This is a Video Poker game which employs the use of the “2” value card - called a “deuce” - as a “wild” card. Being “wild” means that the deuce cards substitute for all other symbols, thereby allowing you to get many more winning combinations than or regular Video Poker. But beware! Although you will get many more pays, you will also not get nearly as much for them as you would on a Video Poker machine which does not use the deuce cards as “wild”.

However, this game is by far among the best Video Poker games you can ever play. There are several reasons for this. First, the fact that you do get many more pays means that you will be able to play longer for less. And, depending on your skill level and choice of machine program, you can very likely play this game to better than 101% payback.

Second, on this game you have the opportunity of getting a 1,000 coin secondary jackpot by getting all four deuce cards on the screen at the same time.

Third, on most machines, also a pay of 125 coins for a Wild Royal Flush - this is a Royal Flush hand which was made as the result of using one or more of the “wild” deuce cards.

Deuces Wild Video Poker can be very profitable and is among my highest recommended Video Poker games. However, be very wary of precisely which kind of Deuces Wild game you happen to be sitting at. Look at the one-coin payout for the Straight Flush and four-of-a-kind. If the Straight Flush shows a pay of “9” and the four-of-a-kind shows a pay of “5” - then this is the best kind of Deuces Wild machine you can play. But many will show a 10/4, or 11/4 or even 8/4 pays for these same combinations. Be very aware, and do not play these versions of the machine. They will literally eat your money, and are there for the uninformed player.

Lately, some casinos have wised up to these suggestions, and have cagily kept the 9/5 symbols on the payoff display but altered the payouts! To be sure you have the right kind of Deuces Wild Video Poker machine, also look at the payout for the Wild Royal and the five-of-a-kind. If the Wild Royal is listed as paying 100 coins for a maximum coins bet (instead of 125), and the five-of-a-kind is listed as paying 65 or 60 coins per maximum coins bet (instead of 75) - stay away! This machine’s program has been altered, and regardless of whether it says 9/5, as previously indicated, this is not a good machine to play.

Okay - now we’ve listed some of the most recent and popular Video Poker innovations, and derivatives of the standard game. Which one is the best?

For the most fun and value for your gaming dollar, with the best expected frequency of pays-versus-coins-in, and most frequent secondary jackpots, I’d recommend Deuces Wild. But, as I’ve said above, be careful which Deuces Wild game you are choosing.

For some of the highest payoffs, relative to frequency of time-and-money-invested, I’d recommend the Double Double Bonus Video Poker machines by IGT in the 10/7 program version, or the 9/6 where the bonuses are further enhanced by the use of the kicker cards. Either of these machines will give you some of the best playing odds, and some of the highest return ratio of pays relative to investment, along with good, and often frequent, mini-jackpots and secondary jackpots.

Finally, for either of these machines, remember that you are playing to achieve the bonus hands, and not necessarily the Royal Flush. The advantage of playing either of these machines are the bonus pays themselves, and the fact that you can get several of them in the same session, cumulatively often quickly equaling -or even exceeding - the amount of the Royal Flush pay itself without having to hit it. In fact, Royal Flush payoffs on these machines do not happen very often - not because they are somehow corrupted by the bonus payoffs, but simply because the bonus options require players to often choose to hold and/or discard cards which would normally be held for correct play on standard non-bonus games when desiring to achieve the Royal Flush.

Playing these machines in this manner will assure you of the best possible win-expectation relative to your bankroll and time at play. Most people simply will not be able to play any of these machines to their mathematically correct odds, and with perfect play. This requires literally thousands, and even millions of hands played, and is all but impossible in the real-world of casino play. However, these machines do have the more liberal pay programs, and can therefore be played for profit even in the short-term exposure which any single playing session will offer. Particularly so if you target the bonus hands as the optimum object of your play. For more information about Video Poker, please read my book: Powerful Profits from Video Poker, available through this web site.