Video Poker Genius
Introduction
VPGenius.com is an all inclusive video poker website, and plays host to several excellent video poker articles, half a dozen calculators and tools, and descriptions of hundreds of video poker games and variations. The site is free for its users, and also has info on online video poker games and software providers. Video Poker Action on your Windows Device Fast-paced dealing. Authentic “Full Pay” payout tables. Five game variations:. Jacks or Better – the classic. Aces and Eights – adds bonuses for quad aces, eights, and sevens. Deuces Wild – lots of wild cards to score big hands.
- Play the best video poker games - just like the casino, for free. Join the largest video-poker community and improve your casino play by learning at home.
- Of course, it’s mostly video slots, with well over 2,000 titles in the library. Titles range from popular classics to hidden gems and new releases, like Bonanza, Pink Elephants, Reactoonz and many more! While slots take centre stage, there’s also a selection of table games, live casino games, video poker.
Video poker was first introduced by casinos in the 1980s. What started as a simple electronic version of draw poker grew into a unique class of casino game with different variations and styles. It has become a popular form of gambling in casinos across the United States.
How to Play
The instructions on how to play are very simple. Video poker is similar to playing five-card draw poker. After inserting between 1 and 5 credits, the machine will deal you five cards. You will then have a chance to improve your hand by deciding which cards you wish to keep. When you are satisfied, you would then press the draw button and the machine will replace the cards you did not hold with new cards. If the final hand results in a winner, the machine will award you credits based on the value of the poker hand and its pay table.
There are three main categories of video poker games you will come across at a casino. Most of them fall in the category of no wild cards. In most cases, you must have at least a pair of jacks in order to win anything. The second category is deuces wild, which has a minimum requirement of at least three of a kind to win. The third category is jokers wild. Most jokers wild games require at least a pair of kings to win, though some of them may require a pair of aces or two pair.
Strategy
Unlike slot machines, video poker is a game of skill. The strategy you use to hold your cards will have an effect on the outcome of the hand. Now what is the best strategy in video poker? Fortunately, learning video poker strategy is somewhat similar to learning blackjack strategy because, based on a machine’s given pay table, there is always one best way to play any five card hand. When you are dealt a hand, there are 32 different ways that you can play that hand. The best strategy is to hold the cards that result in the highest expected value.
The best way to learn the proper strategy in any video poker game is to purchase software that allows you to practice the game for fun on the computer. When you practice, the software will notify you if you make a mistake. I use the software Video Poker for Winners when I practice video poker. You can also find strategy cards on the internet that you can take with you to the casino.
If you are a beginner, you have a choice on which video game to practice first. I recommend a game that does not have any wild cards, as they are easy to learn. Start out playing “Jacks or Better” as it has a very easy strategy. Once you are close to mastering it, you can branch out into other variations of “Jacks or Better,” such as “Bonus Poker.”
Best Video Poker Games
Not all video poker games are equal. Casinos will scatter games with high pay tables with lower ones. You should always look for machines containing the highest returns. For example, a “9/6 Jacks or Better” machine is called as such because the game pays you 9 credits for each 1 credit wagered on a full house and 6 credits on a flush. An example of a “9/6 Jacks or Better” machine is shown below.
Also, notice how the payoffs for each hand are proportional to each additional credit wagered, with the exception of the royal flush. Because the royal flush pays much more on a five credit wager, you should always bet the maximum credits per hand when playing video poker. The payback percentage of a “9/6 Jacks or Better” machine when wagering max credits and playing perfect strategy is 99.54%. This is one of the best video poker games you can find at a casino. Unfortunately, there are games with lower payback percentages. An “8/5 Jacks or Better” game is becoming more common. Here is the pay table shown below.
The payback percentage for “8/5 Jacks or Better” machine is 97.30%, much lower than 99.54%. Even when playing perfectly, you are better off playing Baccarat, which has a higher theoretical return for the player.
I am now going to provide a list of the best video poker games available today and what the theoretical payback is for each game, assuming optimal play. Not all of these will be available at your local casino. A great way to find out what the returns are at your favorite casino and where the location of each machine is would be to check the website vpfree2.com, which is a site I like to visit before my casino trips.
- Full Pay Deuces Wild (100.76%)
- Full Pay Joker Poker (100.65%)
- 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%)
- Full Pay Loose Deuces Wild (100.15%)
- 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07%)
- 9/5 Triple Bonus Plus (99.80%)
- Not So Ugly Deuces Wild (99.73%)
- 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.64%)
- 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%)
- 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%)
- 9/7 Double Bonus (99.11%)
- 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%)
Notice that there are video poker games that exist that pay out more than 100%. These are incredibly rare to find, but what it means is that, assuming you have the correct strategy figured out, you can actually gain an edge over the casino playing these video poker machines! These 100%+ games can only be found in the U.S. state of Nevada; most of them are in the Las Vegas Valley, just outside the strip. Again, vpfree2 can locate these games for you.
Here is the pay table for Full Pay Deuces Wild:
I hope the information above has got your interest in video poker. If you are still uncertain, I will be adding videos to YouTube explaining each game and playing through some practice sessions. I wish you good luck and many royal flushes on your next casino visit!
Video Poker is one of the best games you will find in the casinos. It's a much better game to play than a slot machine and there are two main reasons for this:
- You can tell what a video poker machine is programmed to pay back by simply looking at its paytable. This can never be done for a slot machine.
- Slot machines are games of pure luck, while video poker is a game of skill. So the better you are at playing your hands in video poker, the higher the return you will achieve on the game!
One of the best ways to improve your skills is to use video poker software. By practicing with software you will easily be able to identify the best-paying machines in any casino, plus you willbe able to practice playing those games so you can play at a near-perfect level.
Additionally, some programs will allow you to print out strategy cards that you can take with you into the casino.
Recommended Video Poker Software Programs
Below is information on our favorite video poker software programs available on the market today. Click on the name of each software program to learn the benefits of each and its price.
These are priced between $18-50. All of the software have a trial version you can download for free.
Optimum Video Poker Software - Mac/Windows Version
(see our review here)
Winpoker Software
Winpoker: WinPoker 6 is a training program that points out strategy as you go along. It gives you guidance that covers every single hand you could be dealt. Available here.
Video Poker for Winners: Software built on the strategies of video poker legend, Bob Dancer. This features over 20 video poker variations. You play within the software and choose which playmode you want: Test, AutoHold, Warn, Show, and None. Available here.