Video Poker Pay Schedules
Video Poker pay schedules reveal some of the secrets the game it represents,
hides. The biggest problem though, is that nobody can ever tell you how
to read the pay table - how do you know which machine is a good choice
just by checking out that simple payout schedule? The quick answer is,
you can't tell just by looking at it, you'd have to run it through a computer
to really know. Computer programs are quite capable of producing Video
Poker Strategy Cards for particular video poker pay schedules. Most
people simply buy these strategy cards from experts, or find a few online.
Michael shackleford, a gambling mathematician provides good video poker
coverage in his dedicated section, located
here.
The basic valuable information (that is, how much a machine pays back)
isn't printed right on the pay table, but hidden within it. You can either
learn how good a particular machine is by reading websites like this one,
books, or from computer software. A big part of your strategy will be
finding video poker machines with pay schedules that match those of your
basic strategy card. Have a look at this pay schedule:
The table itself shows the payoffs being scaled according to the number
of coins you play. This means that if you pay two coins, you get paid
twice as much as playing one. But the odds of winning don't change with
the number of coins, as they might with a slot machine. In this pay schedule,
a flush will pay five coins per coin played. This concept holds true for
every hand except the royal flush. The royal flush is the equivalent of
the progressive jackpot on a slot machine. You are ineligible for it unless
playing full coins.
You will still win on any Video Poker machine when you hit a royal regardless
of the number of coins you put in, but you win significantly more when
you hit a royal while playing full coins. Because of this, a great number
of books and resources recommend you always play video poker with full
coins. For the most part this is the better choice. The numbers in a Video
Poker pay schedule include your original bet. This means that in a game
of Jacks or Better when you get a pair of jacks, the 1 in the pay table
indicates that you're paid back your bet, but nothing more. Don't be fooled
into thinking the numbers on the pay table represent dollars, they only
represent coins. If you're playing a quarter machine, a 1000 on the pay-schedule
will indicated 1000 quarters are paid back.
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