Playing video Poker can be a much different experience than it's real
life counterpart. The biggest of these differences is that you are only
playing against yourself. This means that you do not need to worry about
if a fellow player is bluffing or really has a better hand than you.
This can work to your advantage or against you. For example, although it
may give you more control over whether you win or lose with a good
hand, you also cannot win big on a poor hand. Below are four tips that
may help you win while playing video Poker at an online casino.
If you decide to go for a straight, your chances will be much better if
it is an open-ended straight (such as 4, 5, 6, and 7) rather than a
gut-shot straight (such as 3, 4, 6, 7). This way there are eight
different cards that can give you the win that you want instead of just
four.
Furthermore, if three of those four cards are the same suit, you would
have a better shot at throwing away that fourth card and going for a
flush instead. Although the prize for a flush may be smaller, if you win
7 out of 10 flush hands and only 3 out of 10 straight hands, you will
win more money in the long run with the flush hand.
If you like to hold face cards, remember that if you hold only two that
are of different suits then it will usually not pay off. Either pick one
of the two to hold incase of a pair or make sure you have at least
three that would help make a run or flush.
Lastly, once you get reasonably familiar with the game, you may want to
stick with high-dollar machines rather than penny or nickel video Poker
games. For the most part, you should be playing machines that are at
least 25 cents and play two or more credits at a time; otherwise you may
only accomplish recycling your own credits. You will win less, but when
you do it will be worth it. You may also want to wager a different
amount of credits on each hand.
Beating video Poker can be more difficult than playing in a real game
with other players because you must have a good hand to win and you
cannot rely on bluffing. On the other hand, you also don't have to worry
about losing a good hand to someone with nothing because you decided to
fold. Knowing what to hold to give you a good shot at winning is the
best asset when it comes to video Poker because, even if you don't end
up with big money, you still have a great shot at walking away even.
