Ask any gambling establishment executive and they will inform you that video poker is a genuine money maker for the house. However, many electronic poker games feature a casino advantage of less than 1 per-cent, and others nonetheless can actually yield over a one hundred per-cent payback if the gambler uses an optimum playing strategy. Thus, the question needs to be asked: How can these to seemingly contradictory facts be reconciled?
The answer lies in the fact that the optimum method for a lot of video poker games is counter-intuitive. Sure, you will find lots of arms that everyone plays optimally; if someone is dealt the As Ks Qs Js 3h, for instance, you will search extended and hard before you uncover a video poker gambler who would insist on discarding 4 and maintaining the three of hearts. But there are are myriad palms where what would appear to be the appropriate method really costs the player money. And in a few cases this loss may be significant.
To better illustrate let’s appear at a casino game that most of us are familiar with; Jacks or Better. At 1st glance this casino game looks like a breeze to play. You will find only 9 hands that qualify for a payback, and it’s usually pretty easy to tell if you possess a draw to one of those nine hands. Nonetheless everyday video poker gamblers across the nation are throwing money away by generating bad (nevertheless ‘intuitively correct’) betting decisions. Let’s look at a few various hands, and see how the optimum strategy varies from the intuitively appropriate strategy.
Error One) Preserving ‘Ace-face card-face card’ rather than just holding the two face cards.
You see this play made all of the time, and nevertheless couple of players know what a disaster it actually is. The idea behind keeping the ace is that you possess a better possibility of constructing an ace-high directly, and you also have three high cards that you can try to pair up around the draw. Nevertheless, by maintaining the ace you are eliminating your odds of constructing 4 of a variety or a full casino, and reducing your chances of making 2 pair. The slight gain you receive by means of your increased odds of making a directly do not begin to compensate for these other considerable losses.
Mistake Two) Not trying sufficient extended shot draws at the direct flush.
The directly flush may perhaps be essentially the most misunderstood hand in Jacks or Better. It doesn’t come around extremely often, and it doesn’t have the sex appeal of the royal flush, and as a result most players neglect it. When dealt a hand like the nine clubs 7c 5c 3s 2 diamonds numerous players will merely discard all 5 and redraw. The assumption here is the fact that the straight flush will nearly never come in, so they would rather ‘cut their losses’ and make an effort to pick up a huge pair on the redraw.
Again, this makes sense at initially glance. Still what is forgotten in this type of analysis is the fact that by maintaining the 9c seven clubs five clubs the gambler also has a chance at a directly or a flush. Now it is true that a draw like this isn’t a authentic moneymaker. But it’s going to nevertheless pay additional, in the lengthy run, than drawing 5 new cards.
Error Three) Retaining a suited Ace-Ten as opposed to just holding the ace.
This is one of the most common mistakes produced by video poker players at Jacks or Better. Now I will be the first to admit that holding the ace and the ten is far more fun then just drawing to the ace. After all, if you hold the ace and the ten you have at least a little chance of something actually good happening; namely, hitting the royal on the draw. You also have a better possibility of making a directly or a flush. Yet as with the hand we examined in Error #1 these gains don’t outweigh your decreased chances of making four of a type, 3 of a type or perhaps a massive pair. If you want to play optimally you’ll have to discard that ten; I know it’s tough, but it must be done!
These are three of the most vivid examples of weak bet on, even though you’ll find a lot of other errors that a video poker gambler frequently makes in the course of a playing session. If your goal is to decrease the house advantage as much as achievable I recommend picking up a book that contains charts detailing the finer points of optimal play. You will find a quantity of books like this out around the market, and they’re definitely worth the sticker price. Pore over the charts, and compare the plays they suggest using the plays you are currently making. I guarantee it will probably be a genuine eye-opening experience.