Category: Gambling and Casinos

The video poker machine is one of the most popular gambling machines in existence today. Part poker, and part video game, it’s the perfect combination to make it a modern day gambling sensation. Although today’s video poker machines are the epitome of our current high tech in gambling, they have existed in simpler form for about two hundred years.

Video poker is of course based on the card game of poker. The video poker machine of today is the result of the game of poker being manifested into different types of games at varying levels of technology through the generations. The game of poker has been played in America since the early 1880s, with the game being referred to as ‘Poker’ in 1834 by a man name Jonathan Green.

The earliest recorded ancestors of the video poker machine were coin operated machines which used poker cards. These machines came into the scene in the late 1800s, and were manufactured by a company by the name of Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn. The poker card machines were placed in liquor stores and cigar shops, and shortly worked their way across the U.S.

These machines worked by the player putting a coin into the poker machine and pulling a handle, which spun five drums that held the poker cards. The player would wait for it to stop, while hoping for a winning hand. A winning hand was paid out in cigars or drinks. Sadly, and unbeknownst to the players, the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts were left out of the deck to reduce the chances of winning.

In 1901, Charles Fey made the next big improvement to the poker machine by adding the first ‘draw’ feature to the already wildly popular machine. Fey’s addition to the poker machine allowed the player to actually use their poker skills in the game, as opposed to being left to the mercy of blind luck.

Charles Fey’s improvement allowed the player to hold certain drums still after the first spin, while pulling the handle to spin the remaining drums. This in effect was the first ‘hold’ and ‘draw’ combination.

Over the following years, people’s interest in poker card machines diminished, with only an occasional hiccup of interest every now and again. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that the poker machine was reborn into the video poker machine, thus rekindling the love of video poker.

The first of these machines appeared along side of the personal computer. It was this technology which made the video poker machine a reality. With its solid state circuitry, and its television like monitor, this clunky machine would give rise to the poker machines of today. These machines have made their homes in bars, casinos and even online.

That beautiful Royal Flush!
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a kind
Two pair
One pair of jacks or better

Let’s begin your basic Video Poker Education.

The two techniques that are mandatory to becoming an educated and prepared video poker player are:

1) how to read a pay schedule with additional education to know the difference between short/partial pay and full-pay versions, plus

2) strategies for all the VP types/games.

Pay Schedules:

In a grouping of video poker machines, known as banks or carousels, all of which may look exactly the same, casinos will often ‘mix-in’ several VP machines with inferior pay programs (short/partial pay). Often, in a bank of regular non-progressive, non-bonus VP machines, only 1 or 2 may be the Jacks or better 9/6 (nine coins for a full house, and 6 coins for a flush), while the rest are 8/5, 7/5, or even worse, 6/5.

This means that one player, on the 9/6 machine, will be winning more for the same hands than the other players.

If you bet 5 coins, all winning hands are paid out multiplied by a factor of five, except for the royal flush. This is a bonus amount designed as an incentive to play five coins. All those players who play less than maximum coins are setting up the best payoffs for those who do.

Below is the average overall payback percentage for ten of the best VP versions.

These percentages are maintained with maximum coins per hand, ‘full-pay’ schedule play and perfect strategy.

1) 10/4 Loose Deuces–4 Deuces pays 2500=100.97%
2) 9/5 Deuces Wild=100.76%
3) 7/5 Jokers Wild–5 of a kind pays 1000, Quad pays 100=100.64%.
4) 9/6 Double Double Jackpot Poker–2 pair pays 1=100.35%
5) 10/7 Double Bonus–2 pair pays 1=100.17%
6) Pick ‘Em Poker–pair of 9’s+ min. payout=99.95%
7) 11/7 Triple Bonus Poker–Kings+ min.payout=99.94%
8) 9/6 Jacks+–2 pair pays 2= 99.54%
9) 8/5 Bonus Jacks+–2 pair pays 2, Four Aces pays 400=99.17%
10) 9/6 Double Double Bonus–4 Aces with 2, 3 or 4 pays 2000=98.98%

The first two numbers reflect the payouts for a full house and flush as per one coin payout.
Therefore, a 10/7 Bonus VP version #5, would pay 10 coins for a full house and 7 coins for a flush for a one coin bet.

The exception being for Deuces Wild versions–#1 and #2, which reflect the payouts for a straight flush and 4 of a kind as per one coin payout. The minimum payout for Deuces games is 3-of-a-kind.

#4 ‘Jackpot’ version is also known as Aces and Faces where the higher payouts are reserved for Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks. In addition, because Bonus VP versions offer higher payouts for four aces and four 2’s, 3’s and 4’s, the pair and two pair payouts are often the same–1 coin. VP versions that pay 2 for 2 pair are #8 and #9 Jacks+ and Bonus Jacks+ in the guide above.

It bears repeating that these percentages are maintained with maximum coins, full-pay schedules and perfect strategy in play. The actual payout of any video poker machine is determined not only by its schedule but also by how you select discards. Since playing errors can reduce the payout, just sitting down in front of a full pay machine won’t help you unless you learn the correct strategies.

Until we meet again to continue your VP education, may all your VP choices turn out to be ‘royalty’.

There are many out there among you, myself included, that at times simply want to sit down at the computer and play a thoughtless game that has a little kick to it to make my day a little more exciting. These are great days for simple slot machines. If you really want to get fancy you can go from a three reel machine into the five reel machines, or more, and maybe make things a little more exciting.

But for many there is only one answer to a slot machine fix and that is Video Poker. Now you may be wondering what Video Poker has to do with slot machines, but the truth is that the two are very similar. They both have the same type of gaming interface and both are fairly easy to play. But the Video Poker aficionado can certainly tell you that the two are very far from the same.

Video Poker is for the Poker enthusiast that doesn’t really want to get involved in a full blown Poker game but also wants elements of the excitement that goes along with a great Poker game. Let me clarify. In a full on Poker game, be it at a live dealer online casino where there is a real person there dealing the cards, along with real players, or at a computer generated online Poker game there is the expectation that you will have to interact with someone at some point of the game. Most of the time that is a good thing, unless you are just anti-social (which isn’t bad either).

Video Poker takes away all of these elements, yet provides the player with the exact same game. In fact, in many ways it is much better than a traditional Poker game because it can be played much faster. There is absolutely no wait time while the new hand is dealt. A player has to really be on their toes if they are trying to play quickly because it can be overwhelming if someone isn’t paying attention.

For example, the online Poker world is one of convenience in and of itself. You never have to wait in line to play, or wait for a dealer to sit down to begin playing. Or even worse, wait for some inexperienced player to figure out what they are doing. Even in a live dealer online casino a player is at the whim of the online dealer and all of the real players that join. Video Poker is at the whim of the player playing the game anytime, anywhere, and any place.

There are those that will always love their slot machines, but if the urge strikes Video Poker, even just a little, is a great distraction-and you might never go back.

Don’t know about you, but the idea of free stuff in Vegas conjures of the images of old when Vegas was Vegas. They knew you by name there (if you were a decent player). It was far less corporate than today. One constant is you can still get free cocktails pretty much anywhere in the casino-even the penny machine area.

Getting free rooms and other perks in the old days was tough for machine players. You basically had to catch the eye of the pit boss. Today, that’s all changed. Comps, which is just a short way of saying complimentary or free stuff, are easier to get because all play can be tracked through player cards.

One day the player card was introduced and video poker and slot machines that could read them started showing up. The system progressed into a fine-tuned compensation machine. You play $x and you get Y points to spend on stuff, like free rooms, clothes, food, cash back, etc.

I guess the downside to all of this is the tight line casinos follow. They really follow a compensation rule set and don’t deviate from it at all. It’s nice, but the personal touch has left the place. But the upside is you can play anything in the casino and get points toward free stuff. Whether you like Keno, Bingo, slots, poker or sports betting, you’re earning points toward free stuff.

Of course, all of this has moved online. Many online casinos now offer player rewards and all sorts of goodies. Dare I say, they’ve outdone Vegas. It’s a toss up. Brick and mortar casinos can give you free rooms and shows. Online casinos can give you most everything else, but they also give bonuses that offline casinos don’t-like cash bonuses for playing, depositing, etc.

Whether you’re playing in the real world or a virtual one, make sure you’re getting rewarded. In the real world, player cards also work as coupons. You can get discounts on shows, buffets and all sorts of stuff. And I wouldn’t play at any online casino that didn’t offer bonuses of some sort.

One nice feature of player cards is the ability to get a printout of your wins and losses for the tax season-if you want.

In the end, Vegas and online casinos offer all sorts of free stuff for players. The one constant is that you have to get into the system to get it. Before playing anywhere, do a little research and find out how to get free stuff and what you get.