The Basics or Video Poker

Video poker shares some of the characteristics of a slot machine. The gam- bling gear itself is housed in a similar cabinet, and most have a coin slot and a payout hopper. Many have a slotclub card reader and/or a bill acceptor. The important difference is that on a reel slot you just pull the handle and hope for the best, but video poker involves an element of skill.

To the novice player, the main attraction of video poker is the prospect of pit- ting wits against the machine in fast action with a chance at a big jackpot. To the skilled player, however, the appeal is that some games offer an opportu- nity for a long-term profit. Just as in a live poker game, you can expect a con- siderable amount of risk and luck involved in the short term, but a player's skill can make the difference between a winner and a loser in the long run.

Unlike the no-brainer reel slots, the maximum payback of any video poker

game can be ascertained from the game's payoff schedule. No, you don't have to do any math; just compare the payoff schedule shown on the glass or the screen of every machine with the tables below. A game's rated payback - the statistically projected return on money played - generally assumes perfect play. But leave perfection to the pros; we won't even attempt it here, yet we will easily get very close to the rated payback for a much higher return than is possible on any other low stakes casino game. The rated payback of each game is discussed in the individual sections that follow in this chapter.

Getting started

First, find an attractive game by comparing its payoff schedule with Tables 11-1 and 11-2. Then, insert your player's card. The slot-club rebate may make up a significant portion of your expected win rate, or it may even turn a nega- tive expectation game into a positive situation. If the casino has a slot club and you don't have a card, you should get one before you begin playing.
Nearly every casino has a slot club, and membership is free. Before playing, go to the slotclub booth, fill out an application, and get your card. You may want to ask for two cards so you have a spare in case you leave one behind, or if you want to play two machines at once. In some casinos, your friend or spouse would be on the same account, and in others each of you would have a separate account.
Slot clubs have a variety of inventive names, but they all serve the same pur- pose of enticing you to play more at that casino by offering comps (compen- sation) and/or cash rebates for your play. Check out the club brochure for information on what you can get for your loyalty to that casino.
Video Poker Versus lZegular Poker

Video poker uses the same 52card deck (or 53 cards with the joker) as table poker, and most video poker games deal the cards pretty much like the (almost extinct) table game of five-card draw. Also, the hand ranks and the card combinations that make up those hands are generally the same, but the similarity ends there.

So just how is video poker different? Consider the following:

In video poker, the house is banking the game, yet the machine is not trying to beat your hand. The mechanical game is more like solitaire. Attempting to bluff or to "read" your opponent is pointless because no other players are involved.
In live poker, the distinction between a straight flush and a royal flush is slim. Except for rare cases in Hold'em, either flush is almost certain to win the entire pot every time, but a royal flush in video poker pays at least 16 times as much as a straight flush.
In live poker, aces up (two pair) is a much stronger hand than 7s up; in video poker all two pair hands pay the same.
In live poker, any fouraf-a-kind always beats a lower fouraf-a-kind. In some video poker games, four 2s, 3s or 4s pays more than four 5s through four kings. Of course, special cases are exceptions, such as four 2s in a Deuces Wild video poker game.
You can't get a bad beat in video poker. Your flush can't lose to that full house on another player's machine. It will always win according to ths payoff schedule.
Some plays that may be correct in table poker become costly mistakes in video poker.

Full chapter only in the printed book