Video Poker Tips and Advice

Keep in mind that the more skillful a player you are, the better chance you are going to have to win at this game. That doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to shift the odds over into your favor simply by using skill.

You should get to know the rules for all the different video poker variations, but that doesn't mean you should spread your action across all of them. Your best shot is to play one or two of them and tailor any playing strategy you develop to aiming for the hands that pay out well in those game variations.

Try, if at all possible, to check out the payout percentages on the video poker games in any online casino. Most of those casinos should have that information on their website. There are third-party auditing services that most reputable casinos use in order to make this information available in unbiased form. Video poker games are somewhat like online slot games in that a certain amount of the intake is programmed to go back to the players in the form of winnings.

Embrace some subtleties in strategy that may dictate departures from what may seem to be sound play. For example, the situation may call for you to break up three of a kind. You may have to turn two pairs into no pairs, if need be. You'll have to decide whether it is worth it to try and add to three parts of a straight or flush.

If you are really in this thing to make money, or give yourself the best chance to, and you have enough bankroll to make it happen, you are going to want to play your hands as fast as possible. It is quite possible to play a few hundred hands of video poker an hour, and some software companies have made it possible to play up to 100 hands simultaneously.

If you want to be in the running to earn the maximum payout on any combination, and especially a Royal Flush, you are going to have to play the maximum number of coins on every hand.

Should you center your strategy on hitting Royal Flushes? That's the strategy that is followed by many skillful players; that is, most players who play video poker exclusively and are in it to make some money, in order to generate the big payouts that only a Royal Flush can. That will happen anywhere between .002% and .003% of the time. As you can gather, there's a long wait in between.