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Poker Room – Basic Strategy

Basic Strategy Rules

To assure that you are getting the highest return from a video poker machine, a certain amount of playing discipline must be used. The following basic rules have to be followed to assure that the best strategy is effectively applied:

Play the Maximum Coins

Last year, while waiting for somebody, I was killing time by idly playing a jacks or better machine, one quarter at a time. When my friend appeared, the machine had five credits showing, so I hit the PLAY 5 CREDITS button, just to be done with it. To my amazement, I was dealt three high spades and made the royal on the draw. The payout was 4000 coins ($1000), or the equivalent of 800 coins per quarter. Had I continued to play one quarter at a time, the payout would have been only 250 coins, or a measly $62.50. The moral to this story is to play the maximum coins (usually five), unless you have a very good reason not to.
The one consistency in all video poker machines is that the per-coin payout for the highest hand is always enhanced when the maximum number of coins (or credits) is played. Although there are situations where single-coin play is advisable (such as Second Chance machines), the following playing strategies are based on five-coin play, unless otherwise noted.
Many recreational stud poker players find that dollar machines deplete their bankroll too quickly. Therefore, if you feel uneasy playing for $5 a hand, move to a quarter machine. If you insist on playing fewer than the maximum coins, be aware that the long-term payback will be reduced by 1% to 2%—and much more if you hit an early royal, as I did. However, there is one caution: If you move from a quarter machines to a nickel machine, be sure that the payout schedule is the same. Although there isn’t much variation in schedules between quarter, dollar, and five-dollar machines, most nickel machines have significantly poorer payout schedules.

Never Hold a Kicker

A kicker is an unmatched card held in the hand when drawing replacement cards. Some video poker players hate to discard an ace, even if keeping it doesn’t improve their hand. This is a throwback to the table game where such strategy is sometimes appropriate. In video poker room, however, holding a kicker is disastrous because it significantly reduces the chances of improving a hand. For instance, on a full-pay jacks-or-better machine, keeping a kicker with a high pair reduces the overall payback by over 1.5%. If you are dealt a low pair, discarding two instead of three cards reduces the payback by almost 4%. Don’t do it.

Stick to the Strategy

Do not try to outguess the strategy table. The table is based on mathematical probabilities and your hunch is not. Occasionally you may guess correctly, but over the long run, the strategy table will serve you well. If you don’t like the idea of breaking a straight or a flush in order to draw one card to a possible royal, you may be doing mistakes
Take this book or copies of the strategy tables into the casino and refer to them frequently. Until you are familiar with a particular version of video poker, don’t depend too much on your memory. After you have played a particular game for a while, you will get to know the strategy by heart.