Types
of Video Poker Games
The
following is taken from Power Video Poker,
the Only Video Poker Book You'll Ever Need!
There
are three broad types of video poker games.
The
first video poker "family" uses 52 cards and pays on a
high pair of Jacks or Better.
We have already discussed this version of the game in our
earlier examples. There
are many versions of this game with the payouts varying slightly
with each version.
We
are going to concentrate on learning two versions of Jacks or
Better well. The
first version called 9-6 Jacks or Better, is one of the most
common versions of video poker in Nevada.
Variations of this game, with reduced payouts on the Full
House and Flush, variously called 8-5 Jacks or Better or 6-5
Jacks or Better, can be found around the world. While we prefer the 9-6 version, we will find that we can
profitably play on the other versions.
Another
version of Jacks or Better video poker that we will cover in
some detail is called 10-7 Double Bonus Poker.
This version of video poker pays 10 for a Full House and
7 for a Flush as well as offering bonuses for different
combinations of Four of a Kind.
These
are the only versions of video poker not offering wild cards
that we will discuss. In
the earlier days of video poker, there were many more versions
of video poker without wild cards.
Some versions didn't offer payoffs on any pairs, with the
lowest paying hand starting at Two Pairs.
Others paid for high pairs, but paid on Ten or Better.
Nearly everywhere video poker is offered has a version
paying on High Pairs of Jacks or Better, and we will limit our
analysis of how to play and beat the non wild card games to the
9-6 Jacks or Better and the 10-7 Double Bonus versions of the
game.
The second video
poker family uses 53 cards with a Joker added to the deck. Five years ago there were dozens of this version of video
poker being offered. Because
it was possible for players to beat some versions of the game,
there are many fewer Jokers Wild games offered today.
We will concentrate on learning about two beatable
versions of the game.
Our
final video poker category is played with a 52-card deck and
counts all deuces (Twos) as wild cards.
This version is quite popular and is also beatable.
We will concentrate on learning a version of the game
whose lowest paying hand is Three of a Kind.
I
want to clarify where we are going with our analysis of these
selected versions of video poker.
We are going to offer two levels of play for each of the
games chosen.
For
the long-term or professional level of play, only versions of
video poker where the player can gain a mathematical edge over
the game will be analyzed in detail.
An exact playing strategy must be learned for each
version of the game, and a long-term player will only play a
beatable version of the game.
Looking at the Jacks or Better family of video poker, we
will present the exact long-term playing strategies for two
versions of the game that are beatable over the long run.
These are the versions of the game you must look for if
you plan on playing video poker as a long-term strategy.
Unfortunately,
the best long-term versions of video poker are not as readily
available as we might like.
For example, you may not be able to find many 9-6 Jacks
or Better machines anywhere but in the state of Nevada.
This does not mean that you will not be able to play
video poker profitably. But
I want to point out that the relative rarity of some machines
will restrict the number of persons who will chose to become
long-term players.
If
I were presenting this as a "good news, bad news"
story, I might say that "the bad news is that the number of
machines offering theoretical paybacks of over 100% is very
limited, and you may not be able to find one. However, the good news is that if you chose to concentrate
on short term play, you will not need to find one of these
machines in order to win."
We
are going to take a look at two categories of play, long-term or
professional play and short-term or weekend play.
The long-term play will have very detailed strategies
presented for a limited number of versions of video poker.
My reasoning here is that the only successful long-term
players I know limit their play to these machines, using these
proven strategies, and there is no reason to analyze inferior
versions of the game on a long-term play basis, as it makes no
sense to play these machines if you are a long-term professional
player.
Fortunately,
the short-term weekend playing strategies are more flexible.
You will be able
to play on just about any version of poker paying on Jacks or
Better or offering Jokers or Deuces Wild and be successful.
The playing strategies are much simpler because you don't
need the degree of refinement used for professional play for
weekend play.
Probably
98% of the people who read this book will opt to use the
short-term playing strategies.
That is why I will spend more time on these strategies.
Nearly every video poker analysis I have seen only allows
for long-term play, while hardly anyone wants to spend thirty or
forty hours every week playing video poker.
That is why we will spend more time discussing short-term
strategies and much less time on long-term play.
I
do recommend that you read the section of this book called
Professional Video Poker Play.
Even though you have probably already decided that you
are a Week-End player, you will find the analysis of the
different versions of the video poker games helpful in
understanding how to be a successful short-term player.
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