Video Poker

 

Video poker machines first appeared when personal computers started to gain ground. It was then that it became viable to hook a TV screen up to a processing unit which ran the machine’s random number generator, and play poker on it.

Draw (specifically the 5-card variant) proved to be the best suited poker variant for video poker machines, although nowadays even Texas Holdem can be played in a VP format.

 

Like slots, video poker machines take up little space in a casino, and thus a huge number of them can be crammed into a relatively tiny space. Because of this, the house edge featured on most VP machines is as tiny as that on slots.

Because they are a lot less intimidating than live poker games with real opponents and dealers, video poker machines quickly became some of the most popular casino games.

To add to their attraction, some VP variants can even be played with a tiny positive expected value.

 

Unlike slots, video poker does feature strategy. Optimal video poker play looks a lot like basic blackjack strategy on paper.

Here are some VP variations:

In Deuces Wild, deuces act as bugs, and can therefore substitute any card from a hand. Played with perfect strategy, Deuces Wild can offer a return of 100,76% provided one plays with maximum credits. (the payout for a natural royal flush will be bigger when playing on max credits than otherwise).

 Jacks or Better is the most common video poker variant. Hands are only paid out if they’re made up of at least jacks or better cards. In Jacks or Better, the max theoretical payout one can achieve with perfect strategy and playing max credits is about 99.54% which isn’t too shabby either.