Video Poker first appeared on the casino floors in the late 1970s. It has since become a very popular game, which has provoked casinos to devise and add more variations of the game to the floor. The only variations offered in the 1970s were Jacks or Better Draw Poker. Today, there are over 100 variations of Video Poker.

Video Poker is often considered a type of slot machine. The truth is, when it comes to gameplay, the two are very different. The outcome of table games, such as Blackjack, is determined by luck and the decisions made by the player. By using various tactics, the player can reduce the house edge substantially. Playing slots is solely based on luck. Money is slotted into the machine, the Spin button is struck, and whatever happens next is totally out of the player's control. No decisions can be made to alter the outcome of the game. Video Poker bridges the barrier between table games and slots, as, although in effect a slot machine, the decisions that are made can determine the outcome of the game. In fact, if Video Poker is played correctly, the house edge can be reduced significantly. It is for this reason and the fact that it can be played alone that Video Poker has gained so much popularity.

Basic Gameplay

Playing Video Poker is relatively easy; it is calculating which machine to play, based on best payout, which is a little difficult (see Calculating Payouts below).

Video Poker is based on 5 Card Draw Poker. It has virtually the same rules, except that players do not play against other players. The object of the game is to get a hand that offers the highest payout. Different hands of course offer different payouts. Payout tables are displayed at the top of the video poker screen.

Every round begins with a fresh deck of shuffled cards, and after the player makes a bet. The bet is taken from the number of credits allocated to the player. Once the bet is made, the Video Poker machine deals five cards to the player. The player then has the option of drawing up to five new cards or none at all. The player keeps the cards that s/he wants by pushing the cards' corresponding "Hold" button. By pushing the "Deal" button, the cards that were not kept are replaced by new cards. This new hand represents the player's final hand. If the hand is good enough to be one of the payout hands, the number of credits allocated to the player will immediately be incremented by the amount specified in the payout table. The machine then waits for the player to place his/her next bet to start another round.

Calculating Payouts

Players can determine the return of a machine by referring to the Pay Table displayed at the top of the screen. Most Video Poker variations use the combinations of hands that can result from a 52-card deck. "Most" is emphasised here as some Joker Poker games also add two Jokers to the 52-card deck. As there are a set number of combinations which can result, payouts can be calculated by observing how much the machine pays for each winning combination.

2,598,960 hands can result from a 52-card deck. The machine's RNG (random number generator) is set to simulate the probabilities of drawing any one of the combinations. As this is a set probability, the casino secures its edge by adjusting the pay table of the machines. It is therefore important to be able to read pay tables and determine the return of a particular machine so as to ensure that the machine with the best payout is chosen to play.

Mentally calculating a machine's return is of course very difficult. Many players use software programs or strategy cards, or they refer to books or webites where they can obtain the information necessary to determine machine payouts. Some casinos will put two identical machines that have different pay tables next to each other, which makes the ability to calculate returns even more important.

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