Video poker versus regular poker
Video poker uses the same 52card deck (or 53 cards with the joker) as table poker, and most video poker games deal the cards pretty much like the (almost extinct) table game of five-card draw. Also, the hand ranks and the card combinations that make up those hands are generally the same, but the similarity ends there. So just how is video poker different? Consider the following:
- In video poker, the house is banking the game, yet the machine is not trying to beat your hand. The mechanical game is more like solitaire. Attempting to bluff or to "read" your opponent is pointless because no other players are involved.
- In live poker, the distinction between a straight flush and a royal flush is slim. Except for rare cases in Hold'em, either flush is almost certain to win the entire pot every time, but a royal flush in video poker pays at least 16 times as much as a straight flush.
- In live poker, aces up (two pair) is a much stronger hand than 7s up; in video poker all two pair hands pay the same.
- In live poker, any fouraf-a-kind always beats a lower fouraf-a-kind. In some video poker games, four 2s, 3s or 4s pays more than four 5s through four kings. Of course, special cases are exceptions, such as four 2s in a Deuces Wild video poker game.
- You can't get a bad beat in video poker. Your flush can't lose to that full house on another player's machine. It will always win according to the payoff schedule.
- Some plays that may be correct in table poker become costly mistakes in video poker.
These characteristics primarily make video poker a big winner for the casino, even on games that offer over 100 percent payback. The following sections show just how easy it is to keep the house edge to a minimum. You may even gain an advantage over the house with the prospects of being a long-term winner.