Video Poker: Why Players Lose More Than They Need To
Ask any casino executive and they’ll inform you that video poker is really a real money maker for the casino. Nevertheless, several video poker games feature a house edge of less than 1 percent, and others nevertheless can actually yield over a one hundred per cent payback if the gambler uses an optimal betting strategy. Thus, the question needs to be asked: How can these to seemingly contradictory facts be reconciled?
The answer lies in the fact that the ideal system for several video poker games is counter-intuitive. Sure, you can find lots of palms that everyone plays optimally; if someone is dealt the As King-S Queen-S J Spades 3h, for instance, you’ll search prolonged and challenging prior to you uncover a video poker gambler who would insist on discarding 4 and keeping the 3 of hearts. Except you will find are myriad palms where what would appear to be the correct strategy in fact costs the player money. And in some cases this loss could be significant.
To far better illustrate let’s look at a casino game that most of us are familiar with; Jacks or Better. At initially glance this casino game looks like a breeze to play. There are only 9 palms that qualify for a payback, and it’s usually pretty easy to tell if you possess a draw to one of those nine hands. Yet everyday video poker players across the nation are throwing money away by making poor (however ‘intuitively correct’) wagering decisions. Let’s look at a handful of distinct arms, and see how the optimal system varies from the intuitively right strategy.
Mistake One) Keeping ‘Ace-face card-face card’ instead of just holding the 2 face cards.
You see this bet on made all the time, and nevertheless handful of gamblers know what a disaster it genuinely is. The idea behind holding the ace is that you just possess a greater likelihood of creating an ace-high straight, and you also have three high cards which you can attempt to pair up around the draw. On the other hand, by maintaining the ace you are eliminating your chances of creating 4 of a form or even a full casino, and reducing your odds of making 2 pair. The slight gain you receive by means of your increased odds of constructing a straight don’t start to compensate for these other significant losses.
Error Two) Not trying sufficient extended shot draws at the direct flush.
The directly flush may well be probably the most misunderstood hand in Jacks or Better. It doesn’t come around quite typically, and it doesn’t have the sex appeal of the royal flush, and as a result most gamblers neglect it. When dealt a hand like the 9c seven clubs five clubs three spades 2 diamonds many gamblers will merely discard all five and redraw. The assumption here is that the directly flush will nearly never come in, so they would rather ‘cut their losses’ and try to pick up a huge pair on the redraw.
Again, this makes sense at first glance. Nonetheless what is forgotten in this sort of analysis is the fact that by maintaining the 9c seven clubs five clubs the player also has a likelihood at a directly or even a flush. Now it’s true that a draw like this isn’t a true moneymaker. But it’ll nonetheless pay more, in the long run, than drawing 5 new cards.
Error Three) Keeping a suited AT as opposed to just maintaining the ace.
This is one of the most widespread errors made by video poker players at Jacks or Better. Now I’ll be the initial to admit that holding the ace and the ten is far more fun then just drawing to the ace. After all, once you hold the ace and the 10 you’ve got at least a small chance of some thing actually excellent happening; namely, hitting the royal around the draw. You also have a greater possibility of constructing a straight or even a flush. However as using the hand we examined in Error #1 these gains don’t outweigh your decreased odds of making 4 of a form, 3 of a variety or perhaps a major pair. If you want to bet on optimally you’ll have to discard that ten; I know it is tough, except it must be done!
These are three of the most vivid examples of bad play, although you will find plenty of other errors that a video poker player frequently makes in the course of a wagering session. If your objective is to reduce the house edge as much as achievable I recommend picking up a book that contains charts detailing the finer points of optimal play. You’ll find a quantity of books like this out on the market, and they’re undoubtedly worth the sticker price. Pore over the charts, and compare the plays they suggest with the plays you are currently making. I guarantee it will probably be a actual eye-opening experience.
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