Video Poker Basic Strategy
Video Poker Basic Strategy
Experienced video poker players know that you need to employ a proper strategy if you plan on doing well. If you don't have at least a basic strategy, you will be relying solely on luck, which is never a good thing. There are many video poker strategies out there; some are great, some suck. The best way to choose a strategy is to use an existing one, and if you feel it's not as good as it could be, add to it. Below you will find a video poker strategy for novice players. It works well, and it's still easy enough to use - there is no one set of guidelines that will guarantee that you will win all the time, so don't waste your time looking for one.
The most important step in any video poker strategy, regardless of the variation, is choosing the cards you discard. If you don't already know, you will be dealt 5 cards at the beginning of a round. You will then have the opportunity to discard. You can discard as many as you want - from 0 to all 5. Unless you are dealt the perfect hand (royal flush), then you should always discard at least one card. The problem is choosing the right card(s). Since this is a basic strategy, we're going to keep it simple. There are much more advanced systems out there, but it's easier to learn them step by step instead of just jumping in. So, we will start with some basic things to remember.
First, there are certain cards or combinations of cards that you should always keep in your hand. For one, you should always keep winning cards. For most games, this would be a pair of jacks or better, although it could be as low as a pair of tens in certain variations. There is no rational explanation for throwing out a hand that would have won you money. If you are the adventurous type, there are 1 or 2 occasions (which are very rare) that it may be alright to discard a winning pair. These occasions would be if you have 4/5 cards that contribute to a Royal Flush. If that happens, then it would be a good idea to discard the card that does not contribute and go for the flush. Yes, you'll probably lose and be stuck with nothing, but you'll only lose 5 coins, and you have a 1/52 chance of winning 800-4000+ coins, depending on the game.
You should also keep high cards just as a rule of thumb. If you are dealt a hand with no winning hands and no pairs/straights, keep whatever high cards you have. A high card is considered anything over a jack, or "face" cards. You should always keep a high card because you have a 1/13 chance of getting a matching card, and an even better chance of getting a winning hand.
Another thing to keep in mind is that discarding all your cards should be your last resort. If you have anything that looks like it could lead to something (3+ cards that could develop into a straight, 2+ consecutive, suited cards, etc), you should keep them in your hand and discard the rest. The only time you should discard your entire hand is if you have absolutely nothing of value.
In video poker, straights can be confusing for some people. Usually anything that contributes to a straight should be kept, as the payouts are very high. However, the odds against getting a straight are pretty high, so it's often better to keep a pair than to go for a straight. Also, you should understand the difference between an outside straight and an inside straight. An outside straight is "open ended", meaning it is 4 consecutive cards, and it could be completed by a card on either end. For example, a hand of 4, 5, 6, 7 would be considered an outside straight because it could be completed by a 3 or an 8. An inside straight is 4 non-consecutive cards that require an "inside" card to be completed. For example, 4, 5, 7, 8 would be an inside straight because it requires a 6. Outside straights are obviously easier to get.
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