Video Poker Strategies

In video poker your decisions make a difference and learning video poker strategies will increase your chances of winning. The most important decision in video poker is decide what cards to discard. You must check the rules and the payout table of each video poker game to decide cards to discard because the rules and the payout table will affect your decision.

There is only one ideal strategy to play a particular hand, even though there are 32 different ways to play each hand. The best way to apply the correct strategy is to use a strategy card table that has a list of the possible hands that you could get. So as soon as you get a hand that is on the table, stop and play it the way the strategy card says to play it.

In your tactical approach, there are 2 main rules that apply to all online video poker machine games:

1. Understand the pay tables for all the video poker games that you play.
2. Never bluff… you playing against casino software and not against real players. Video poker is different to traditional poker.

To win at video poker you need to know how to play it correctly in order to gain every possible edge. Below is a video poker strategy that I use on the most popular online video poker game played…

Jacks or Better Video Poker

Strategy Card Table List:

1. Four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush
2. 4 to a royal flush
3. Three of a kind, straight, flush, full house
4. 4 to a straight flush
5. Two pair
6. High pair
7. 3 to a royal flush
8. 4 to a flush
9. Low pair
10. 4 to an outside straight
11. 2 suited high cards
12. 3 to a straight flush
13. 2 unsuited high cards (if more than 2 then pick the lowest 2)
14. Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K
15. One high card
16. Discard everything

Terms to know:

High card:
High cards are a Jack, Queen, King, or Ace.
These cards are retained more often because if paired up they return the original bet.
Outside straight:
An open ended straight that can be completed at either end, for example 4,5,6,7.
Inside straight:
A straight with a missing inside card, such as the cards 6,8,9,10.
Also… A,2,3,4 and J,Q,K,A count as inside straights.
Example:
Suppose you have the following hand:
    

The top 3 plays are:

1. Keep the low pair.
2. Keep the 4 to a flush.
3. Keep the 2 suited high cards.

The 4 to a flush is listed highest in the above Strategy Card Table List (number 8) and is the best play. So the play would be for you to discard the 3 of hearts.

Comparison to Optimal Strategy

The table below compares the probability and return of each hand under the simple and optimal strategies:

Simple Strategy to Optimal Strategy Comparison
Hand	Pays	Probability		Return
		Simple	Optimal	Simple	Optimal
Royal flush	800	0.000025	0.000025	0.020076	0.019807
Straight flush	50	0.000111	0.000109	0.005552	0.005465
Four of a kind	25	0.002363	0.002363	0.059067	0.059064
Full house	9	0.011517	0.011512	0.103657	0.10361
Flush	6	0.011087	0.011015	0.066521	0.066087
Straight	4	0.010637	0.011229	0.042547	0.044917
Three of a kind	3	0.074543	0.074449	0.223629	0.223346
Two pair	2	0.129552	0.129279	0.259104	0.258558
Pair	1	0.214437	0.214585	0.214437	0.214585
Nothing	0	0.545729	0.545435	0	0
Total		1	1	0.99459	0.995439

Best Online Casinos

See the top ranked online casinos in the table below.

Quick Guide To Getting Started

Top Online Casino Jackpot Games