Author: T

When video poker was first introduced, few people realized that the pay tables would play such a large role in determining how much and how frequently the machine made payouts. Since serious players began to analy e the pay tables, it has become apparent that choosing the correct machine to play makes all the difference.

There are generally two types of video poker games – non- wild card games, such as Jacks-or-better and Bonus Poker, or wild card games, like Jokers Wild and Deuces Wild. While this is a general classification, there are many versions of these machines, and that’s why it is so important to understand what makes a good pay table.

To begin with, let’s concentrate on the non-wild card games. The first rule of thumb is never play a machine that does not return your investment on a high pair – a pair of Jacks to Aces. Although these machines are thankfully disappearing, it used to be common to find machines that required the players to make a two pair before returning their bet. This is an unacceptable option, and there really is no need to play these machines given the proliferation of Jacks-or-better machines.

Let’s examine a Jacks-or-better pay table. This is usually located above the screen, and it generally gives you the payouts for the number of coins inserted, usually from one to five. On most modem machines, the pay table is located on the screen itself, just above the area where the hands appear. Look at the various rewards. You’ll notice the hands correspond with the poker hands we discussed earlier. But because you’re not playing against opponents, you get paid back at a progressive rate beginning with the high pair
.
The area you should concentrate on is the payout for the full house and the flush. In Jacks-or-better games that do not have any bonus for four-of-a-kind hands (ie, all four-of-a-kind hands pay 25-1), the best machines are ones that pay nine coins (for one coin) on the full house, and six coins for the flush. This is called a “9/6” machine. This machine, of course, is preferable to an “8/5” machine that pays eight coins for the full house and five for the flush. Other
machines – 7/5 and 6/5 machines – are far less favourable and should be avoided unless there is no other choice.

Bonus Poker and its variants, most notably Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus, increase payouts for different four-of-a-kind hands, and have different full-house and flush “keys” to watch for. The best Bonus Poker machines
offer a payout of eight for the full house and five for the flush. The best Double Bonus Poker machines offer payments of ten for the full house and seven for the flush. In Double Double Bonus, go back to the original 9/6 pay table. Machines that don’t reach these levels have a lower payout percentage. You will note that in Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus, the two-pair hand returns the same as the high pair – a return of your initial wager. This is more than offset, however, by the huge returns for four-of-a-kind hands. The best Double Bonus pay table, for instance, returns over 100 per cent payout with optimal play.

One other factor is important when choosing the best video poker machines. Las Vegas, and other areas in Nevada, are video poker heaven, where you’ll find the best and most generous pay tables in the casinos in the Silver State. Generally, these machines cannot be found anywhere else.

Atlantic City is improving, but finding 9/6 machines requires a diligent search because very few casinos offer them. On the other hand, Atlantic City is far superior to some riverboat or dock side casino jurisdictions or Indian casinos (with the notable exception of the two Connecticut Indian casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun), for a couple of related reasons. Most of these new casinos cater to relatively new players, who usually gravitate to the slot machines because they are not intimidating, and it takes little knowledge to play them. When they do wander into the video poker area, they don’t really understand the game, so the slot executives have little reason to offer them the best payouts. Even if a player is educated, he most often has no alternatives.

In the UK, video poker is one of the most popular A WP games. Players will sit for hours in the slot arcades or in their local pubs playing these machines. But the same principles we’ve discussed in this chapter apply to thes machines. Pay attention to the pay table. Understand how a small change in one category on the pay table can affect your chances of winning. Educate yourself, and you’ll have a better chance of winning.

You’ve decided that your starting hand is strong enough to continue to play, and you’ve matched the blind and any raises to see the flop. You’ve entered the area which will determine how far you go – the crucial stage in Texas hold’em.

If you’ve entered the flop with two suited cards and the flop contains two more of your suited cards you should definitely bet. While your hand currently has no value, there are two reasons why you should bet as if it did. First, you may get that fifth card for the flush, which will give you an almost certain winner. Second, by betting, you may chase some or all of the other players out of the game, allowing you to steal the pot. If you don’t improve your hand on the flop, it’s probably a good idea to fold and look ahead to the next hand. In most hold’em games, you’ll encounter a raise on the betting round following the flop. If you’re dealt something like there’s not a lot that can happen in subsequent rounds that will improve your hand sufficiently. And with two suited cards on board, you may be blocking a flush by an opponent.

Occasionally you’ll have a great starting hand, such as a high pair, but the cards that fall from the flop do you no good. Even worse, they seem to have helped one of your opponents to a hand that will crush your pair unless you’re willing to spend a lot of money to find out whether your opponent has a straight, a flush, or even worse, a straight flush, you have to bite the bullet and throwaway your pair.
Like high pairs that face a completely different situation on the flop that may aid an opponent, low pairs that aren’t helped by the flop should usually be folded. For instance, if you hold it’s going to cost you substantial bets and rai es to ee the last two cards, and the chances are that you’re not aoine to match those Sixes. Save your money and get out gracefully. When you’re drawing for a flush, and a pair how on the flop, you should continue to play, even though ‘ou may be eventually beaten by a full house.

If your opponent has a three in the hole, or another pair, he simply has to match one more card to obtain his full house. But because you’re only facing 2-1 odds, although you’ll lose to a full house, the risk is worth it. Sometimes, you may get what you’re hoping for, but by observing the betting of other players, you have to conclude that what you have probably isn’t enough to win. For instance, if you hold you’re working on a flush, which in most cases is a valuable hand. But if someone is holding a Five-Nine in the hole, there’s a good chance you’ll get beat. Or even worse, a Nine-Ten will be almost unbeatable.

Because Texas hold’em uses the five community cards, there are many combinations of cards possible, creating many different hands. That’s why it’s very important to pay attention to the community cards and the action taken by all the players to be able to discern exactly what hand your opponents are pursuing, or what hands they actually have.

The following hand will demonstrate how the game unfolds and the possible results of each hand. This is a perfect illustration of how you must be aware of all the potential hands created by the community cards, and the players’ individual hole cards.

In Texas hold’em, it is important to understand the relationship between the cards on the table and the cards in your hand. It is rare to hold a hand that couldn’t be beaten by someone else playing that hand. Sometimes when it appears you can be beaten, you may be holding a card that can block your opponents hands. Maintaining your composure, and examining every possible outcome of a particular hand, is crucial to success in hold’em.