When the cards are dealt to you in Video Poker, you could receive any
one of about two and a half million possibilities. Furthermore, the possibilities
of you getting a royal flush after drawing additional cards is one in 40,000,
and a straight flush one in about 9,000 hands. So you have about a 63% chance
of getting at least one royal flush and about a 27% chance of getting two in
the same 40,000 hands.
To play 40,000 hands in a casino will take you about 80 hours which could mean
anything from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on how often and how long your sessions
last.
All video poker machines have an identity which shows their type and payout schedule.
So in the slots area of the casino you might see a Jacks or Better 9/6 machine
sitting alongside a Jacks or Better 8/5 machine. The difference between a 9/6
and an 8/5 machine is that the 9/6 machine, with maximum coins played and using
perfect strategy, will return 99.5%. An 8/5 will return only 97.3% under the
same conditions. However, over a long period that minor 2.2% difference will
have an effect on your overall win-rate. The chart below shows the differences
between other various types of machines.
How do you choose one machine in preference to another? They all play the same
way, regardless of the payout schedule, but one will pay more for the same hand
than the other machine. In order to tell the difference, look at the payout schedule
on the front of the machine. You should always play the video poker machines
with the highest payout schedule.
Here is the Payout table:
Odds between different machines |
Machine type |
Payout |
10/7 (double bonus) |
100.2% |
9/7 |
100.7% |
9/6 |
99.5% |
8/5 |
97.3% |
7/5 |
96.3% |
6/5 |
95.2% |
Note: the above figures are based on playing the maximum
five coins.
Note: these percentages assume a royal flush is hit once during
the period of play.
The type of machine you are playing will also dictate how often a specific hand
appears. A Deuces Wild machine will be different from a Joker’s Wild, which in
turn will be different from a Jacks or Better machine. Listed in the chart below
is a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine to give you an idea of the payout, along with
the frequency of receiving specific hands.
Frequency of hands (9/6 Jacks or Better machine)
Frequency of hands (9/6 Jacks or Better machine) |
Hand |
Payout |
Frequency |
Royal Flush |
4,000 |
1 in 40,390 |
Straight Flush |
250 |
1 in 9,148 |
Four of a Kind |
125 |
1 in 423 |
Full House |
45 |
1 in 86 |
Flush |
30 |
1 in 90 |
Straight |
20 |
1 in 89 |
Three of a Kind |
15 |
1 in 13 |
Two pair |
10 |
1 in 7 |
Jacks or Better |
5 |
1 in 4 |
Note: the above figures are based on playing the maximum
five coins.
Note: these percentages assume a royal flush comes up once during
the period of play.
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