Video Poker Strategy - Play video poker properly

One of the first things you need to know about video poker strategy is that you must be familiar with the rules and regulations of the game that you will be playing. In addition, it is important to know which machines have the best payout rate. A lot of people, with little or no knowledge of the game, will think that they are ready to play video poker and will generally just jump on the first machine they find. This is not always the best decision.

Because your payout is decided upon your bet and your hand, you will need to consider your intended wager as well. If you are trying for that big payout or jackpot then you will need to bet higher to get it, but it is best to stay at least a bit higher than the minimum possible bet. It really depends on your goal and how much money you have at your disposal. Be sure that the amount that you are betting is safely with in your means as this game is very easy to get caught up into. It is easy to lose everything that you have and so much more.

After you have decided on the machine you are going to use and the game you are going to play, you will now need to decide what cards you will need to discard. It is good if you are just beginning to decide on a strategy card because it will tell you what card or cards to discard for most hands. What you basically need to know is what cards gives you your best possible combination, and then you need to discard the ones that don’t go with your chosen combination. Here, we have provided you the list of possible winning combinations- learn these, they will be important:

• Jacks or better-this is a powerful pair. Anything less will not win the hand.
• Kings or better-similar to jacks or better. Must comprise of king and aces
• Two pair- two sets of pairs with the same value
• Three of a kind-three cards any suit that have the same value, such as three fives
• Four of a kind-just like the three of a kind except that you will have four cards with the same value
• Five of a kind-is a four of a kind with a wildcard
• Straight-five consecutive cards running in consecutive numbers but not the same suit.
• Flush-five non consecutive cards of the same suit, hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs.
• Straight flush-five consecutive cards of the same suit
• Royal flush-five consecutive cards of the same suit that will have a ten as the low card and an ace as the high card.
• Wild royal flush- the same as a royal flush but with a wild card thrown into the mix.

Many believe it is best to discard all of your cards if you have a bad hand, but it is possible that once you are good enough to pick out a card or two, that might prove to be a good strategic move or payout in the end. When no other plan seems a sure thing, keeping the best combo while you discard all the other ones is a good strategy.

More video poker info:

• Video Poker Rules - Learn to play video poker
  
• Video Poker Strategy - Apply video poker strategy to your game
• Video Poker Strategy Part II - More video poker strategy info