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 Video poker is a very popular casino game especially in Las Vegas. The video poker history begins in late 1970s when the first video poker machines were placed in several Las Vegas casinos. The main advantage of video poker is the no opponent type of game. Unlike the classic table poker, in video poker the game involves only a player and a machine that acts like a dealer. The video poker is a game of skill and a good strategy correctly implemented has good profitability rates.
There are two types of video poker games depending on the return rates: full-pay games and short-pay games. The full-pay games usually have very high return rates, close to 100% or even higher. The return is statistically calculated for all hands played perfect with the highest bet over a long period of time. Full-pay video poker games include Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Tens or Better and Bonus Poker. Jacks or Better is the most common video poker game played in casinos. As its name suggests, Jacks or Better pays off starting from a pair of jacks. The return rate for 5 credit bets is 99.5% which means that on the long run with the perfect strategy the player investing $100 could lose only $0.5. Deuces Wild is among the video poker games with the return rates in player’s favor. The theoretical return rate of 100.8% ensures a nice profit for good strategic players. The particularity of the game consists in the cards with the value 2 which are considered wild cards so the chances of having good poker hands are higher. The Tens or Better and Bonus Poker are variations of Jacks or Better video poker game. In Tens or Better the lowest paying hand is a pair of ten while in Bonus Poker the four of a kind hands have higher payoff rates. |
