Video Poker is a game that requires some skill to play and bridges the gap between slot machines and table games and are easy and simple to play.

This article will show you how to play video poker slot machines and give you some tips to help you maximize your winnings.

In most casinos video poker machines, (when played with strategy), give a lower house edge than other online slot machines, an added bonus is they are fun and the graphics are suburb giving a very visual playing experience.

How to Play

Video Poker is based on draw poker and has the same rules; the only difference is that you are not playing against other players, just the machine.

The machine deals five cards on the screen.

The player can, take up to five new cards if they wish. The player keeps the cards they want to keep by pressing the "hold" button that corresponds to individual cards shown.

When the player has decided what to do he hits the "deal" button, and the cards discarded are replaced by new cards.

The result of the game is determined by the outcome after the final hand is completed.

How much a player wins (if at all) is shown on the pay table that is on the machine.

The Pay Table & Return

The major advantage that video poker has over other slot machines is that the return of the game can be calculated by reading the pay table on the front of the machine.

Most video poker games use the combinations of hands that can be made from a 52-card deck. There are some Joker Poker Games that use one / two Jokers added to the deck and a game such as Deuces Wild uses a 52-card deck but the deuces are wild cards.

The number of combinations that can be made from the cards used in the game means the payout can be worked out by what the machine pays for each winning combination.

There are 2,598,960 possible hands from a 52-card deck.

The chip in a video poker machine is set to simulate the probabilities of drawing any of these combinations.

Because this is a set probability, the casino simply adjusts the pay table of the online machines to produce the house edge.

Tips to win

The basics are easy to master here are some tips to win which you can research more on the internet or in our other articles

1. Look for favorable payouts

Only play machines with the most favorable payouts. The payouts for all video poker machines are the same, except for the payout on the flush, full house, or royal flush.

A 9 / 6 will generally hit the royal flush once for each 40,000 hands. The 8 / 5 odds are once for each 45,000 hands etc