We have written quite a bit about video
poker to get everyone started in this
entertaining casino game, from
how to play video poker to
different variants of the game, but
today we will take it a step further and
list some of the most popular video
poker tips to help the play succeed. As
always, our casino guides would apply
not only to the internet casinos, but
the land-based casino, as well. And
while video poker is rather
straightforward game, there are still
some tips and tricks, so to say, certain
things you can do to improve your chance
of winning when playing this very
popular casino game.
We are going to start with the
tried and true, the maxim of video
poker, namely – always bet the max wager
possible. Most video poker machines have
five levels of wager, most often
referred to as “coins”. These are the
familiar 1 through 5 coins you can wager
at nearly all simple video poker
machines. The rule of max bet here
refers exactly to those coins, in other
words you should always play all 5 coins
when at the video poker machine. The
reasoning behind this rule is simple. If
you take a look at the payout table of
any video poker machine you will
undoubtedly see that the top prize in
the max bet column is much larger in
proportion to the rest. For example, the
payout of a Royal Flush for 1 coin bet
could be 250, for 2 coins 500 for 4
coins 1,000, but if you make the max bet
the payout for the Royal Flush would be
not 1,250 as you would expect from the
progression of coins 1 through 4, but
4,000 times your bet instead! Of course,
Royal Flush doesn't come often in video
poker, but when it does, you want to get
the 4,000 prize instead of the 1,000 if
you only bet 4 coins instead of the max
five.
And while we are on the Royal
Flush and the probabilities, now it's
time to mention the next of the tips –
every single video poker hand is chosen
at random, every time you place a bet
and deal the cards. This means that the
Royal Flush can come at any time,
literally, and there is nothing built
into the machine that would prevent a
player getting two Royal Flush prizes in
a row. Nothing but the odds and
probabilities of this to happen, of
course. The same randomness of the cards
being dealt in video poker also applies
to the fact that there are no streaks
when playing this casino game, whether
hot or cold. So don't chase losses
thinking that the machine is due for a
big win. It just doesn't work like that.
Another good video poker tip is to
look for the machines which offer the
double-up feature and chose those
instead of the basic video poker
machines. The double-up let's the
players chose if they want to risk and
double up the winnings from a hand (most
often by choosing a card out of four and
if that card is bigger than the one
drawn by the machine - you win) or
simply collect them. While the double-up
video poker feature is not for everyone,
it's a good option to have, if you want
to get some blood flowing through your
veins with this risk feature. Some video
poker machines have limits on how many
times you can successfully double up,
while others will let you go until you
either collect or lose.
And if you prefer to play video
poker at the internet casinos, it's
always a good idea to try the free
version of the video poker machine you
are interested in, before risking real
money. This way you can take a look at
how the machine plays, what are the
options and winning combinations, etc.
Since the free-play and real money video
poker machines are literally the same,
you can get a pretty good feeling about
how the video poker machine will play
when you invest some real money.
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