Video Poker

History
Types of machines
Rules
Strategies

History

There are many variations on where exactly Poker started. With so many varying stories, there seems to be no clear or direct early ancestor of the game. Most likely, Poker evolved to its present day form from elements of many different games. Many think that because of its basic principal, it has been around a very long time.

The game he explained was played with 20 cards, using only the aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens. 2 to 4 people could play, and each was dealt 5 cards. By the time Green wrote about it, poker had become the number one cheating game on the Mississippi boats, surpassing the ever popular game of 3-Card Monte. Most of the people that enjoyed playing 3-Card Monte thought the 20-card poker seemed to be a more legitimate game, and they played it more and more.

The origin of the word Poker is also a topic of conflict. Most dictionaries and game historians say that it comes from an 18th century French game, poque. However, there are other references to pochspiel, which is a German game. In pochspiel, there is an element of bluffing, where players would indicate whether they wanted to pass or open by knocking on the table and saying, 'Ich Poche'! Some say it may even have derived come the Hindu word, pukka.

Another though is that the term 'poke' probably came from 'hocus-pocus', a phrase widely used by magicians.

The game of Poker later evolved to include 32 cards, and eventually the modern day deck of 52 cards.

The game of Poker has changed throughout the years. It has literally gone from a backroom game to the present day casinos around the world. The history of Poker is synonymous with famous places and famous people. For example, during the Wild West period of United States history, a saloon with a Poker table could be found in just about every town from coast to coast.

Presently, Poker is a carefully regulated game governed by many laws, and saloons have given way to casinos and card rooms, but Poker is played more than any other card game in the world. It has grown into a sporting event, with competitions and tournaments all around the world. Tournaments take place almost every week of the year somewhere in the world.

Today, Poker is thriving and it will continue to thrive. There will always be a game to play and money to be won.

The game of Video Poker was made possible by of the invention of the computer chip, thus its origins can be traced back to the mid 1970's. The actual term 'Video Poker' is used to refer to the many variations of the original Poker game.

Video Poker is a combination of Slot Machines and the normal 5-card draw Poker game. The obvious differences are that Video Poker is played against a machine opposed to humans. The primary goals are still the same; to achieve the certain hands indicated on the payout table for the particular game you are playing.

Types of machines

Jacks or Better

This is a game of Draw Poker where the dealer will deal you 5 original cards face up. At this point you should decide which cards to keep and which ones to discard.

Once you have decided and chosen to deal again, the dealer will deal the replacement cards. Whether you win or lose is determined by the rank of cards in your poker hand. The minimum rank for a winning hand is one pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces, hence the name Jacks or Better.

Joker's Wild

This game is played with the standard 52-card deck, with a joker thrown in as a wild card. This wild card can be used as a substitute for any other card, or can be used to create a five of a kind. The machine will automatically compute the best hand when a joker is present, and it can be expected to show up about 10% of the time. Because of the added bonus of the wild card, the minimum rank for a winning hand is 2 pair.

Deuces Wild

The standard 52-card deck is used, with all deuces designated as wild cards. Because of the added bonus of the 4 deuce wild cards, the minimum rank for a winning hand is three of a kind.

King of the Decks

In this game, 5 sets of the standard 52-card decks are used. If you get 5 kings of clubs you will win the progressive jackpot. Because of the added bonus of the increased number of potential pairs, the minimum rank for a winning hand is 2 pair.

Rules

The rules for Video Poker are pretty simple to understand. The ranking of the hand in video poker is the same as in regular poker. Since it is not possible to bluff, because the game is played on a machine, of course, the only goal is to get the best paying hand. Start to play by pressing the Deal/Draw button. The poker machine deals a 5 card hand. Underneath each card will be a button where you can decide which cards you want to keep and which you want to throw away.

You can hold or throw away as many cards as you like. After you make your selection which cards you want to hold or discard, you may press the Deal/Draw button again and the machine will replace the cards you choose to throw away with new ones. If you have a winning hand after this second deal you get paid.

Underneath are lists of ranking hands and pay outs for the most common video poker games.

Jacks or Better

Winning hands starting with the lowest:

Jokers Wild

Winning hands starting with the lowest:

Deuces Wild

If you play Deuces Wild you always have to remember that you can use the 4 Two's (Deuces) as Wild Cards. You can use them as any card you want to, in any Suit and in any Rank. So you could use the 2 of Diamonds to complete a Straight Flush in Hearts. Make sure you always keep that in mind when you play. This feature increases your winning chances a lot. Due to this higher chance of winning the lowest winning hand is a Three of a Kind.

Winning hands starting with the lowest:

The hands above pay the same whether they contain 2's or not. The hands below, however, need to contain at least one 2 :

Strategies

Each Video Poker game has its own strategy , based on the rules and the payout schedule. Pay particular attention to the payout schedules before playing a video poker game, as certain games pay better on straights or flushes or special hands, which may affect your decisions. Also, since the payout ratios do not necessarily reflect the true odds, familiarity with basic poker rules and odds will help you play smarter.

You should notice that the payout schedule almost always favors the Max Bet column. So if you are comfortable with betting the maximum, you will have slightly better overall odds of winning. But ultimately, the only way to beat a Video Poker game in the long run is to win a Royal Flush. In this way, it is quite similar to slot machines.

If you are a player that likes to play the games with the best odds, online Video Poker is one of the best games you could have chosen! Did you know that some types of online video poker are better than others?

Below is the breakdown (by strategy type) of the best types of Video Poker games to play;

You may ask, 'How can a game return over 100%'? With online Video Poker the player is rewarded when he/she plays better than the average player. Please keep in mind that you must have a very large bankroll and play every hand perfectly in order to produce the type of returns stated above. The optimal strategy is really intended for professional Video Poker players. The main point of the list above is to show you that Deuces Wild has the best odds of all the online Video Poker games.