Video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a solid state central processing unit. The earliest models appeared at the same time as the first personal computers were produced, in the mid-1970s, although they were primitive by today's standards.Video poker became more firmly established when SIRCOMA, which stood for Si Redd's Coin Machines, introduced Draw Poker in 1979. Throughout the 1980s video poker became increasingly popular in casinos, as people found the devices less intimidating than playing table games. Today, video poker enjoys a prominent place on the gaming floors of many casinos. The game is especially popular with Las Vegas locals, who tend to patronize locals casinos off the Las Vegas Strip. These local casinos often offer lower-denomination machines or better odds.
A few people who are skilled in calculating odds have become professional video poker players.
The game
After inserting money into the machine, play begins by placing a bet of one or more credits and pressing the "deal" button. The player is then given 5 cards and has the opportunity to discard one or more of them in exchange for new ones drawn from the same virtual deck. After the draw, the machine pays out if the hand or hands played match one of the winning combinations, which are posted in the pay table. Unlike the table version, the player may discard all 5 of their original cards if they so choose.Pay tables allocate the payouts for hands and are based on how rare they are, the game variation, and the decision of the game operator. A typical pay table starts with a minimum hand of a pair of jacks, which pays even money. All the other hand combinations in video poker are the same as in table poker, including such hands as two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush and royal flush.
Some machines offer progressive jackpots or other unique bonuses, spurring players to both play more coins and to play more frequently.
Regulation
Video poker machines in casinos in the United States are regulated by state or Indian gaming agencies. These agencies typically require that the machines deal random card sequences using a virtual deck of cards. This is based on a Nevada Gaming Commission regulation later adopted by other states with a gaming authority. Video poker machines are tested to ensure compliance with this requirement before being offered to the public.Variations
Video poker variations include Deuces Wild, where a two serves as a wild card; Joker's Wild, where a joker serves as a wild card; Anything's Wild, where the player selects any card to act as the wild card before the hand is dealt; pay schedule modification, where four aces with a four or smaller kicker pays an enhanced amount ; and multi-play poker, where the player starts with a base hand, and each additional played hand draws from a different set of cards with the base hand.Additionally, side bets have been added to the game where for a fee, the player may receive some sort of benefit. Popular examples include Super Times Pay, Double Super Times Pay, Hot Roll, Dice Fever, and Atomic Fever, where the player has a chance of receiving a factor which multiplies all winnings in a hand, Ultimate X, where for double the bet the player gets a factor based on the strength of the final hand which is applied to the next hand, and Super Draw 6, where for double the bet the player will receive a sixth card which can be used to have five card hands easier to make and make special six card hands with its own pay table.
A version common in the early days of video poker, but rarely found today, is "Pick a Pair" where the player is presented two up cards and chooses between two pairs of three cards, one of which is face up and the other face down.
In games without a wild card, a player on average will receive four-of-a-kind hand approximately once every 500 hands, while a player may play tens of thousands of hands before a royal flush, which usually has the highest payout.
Video poker games online are now available in the US in 3 different states: New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. Players in all three states are able to enjoy fully regulated online video poker games provided that they are physically present in the respective state, of legal age to gamble and can validate their identity.
Full pay games
When modern video poker games first appeared, the highest-paying common variant of a particular game was called "full-pay". Game variants returning a lower payback percentage were termed "short-pay". Though the term full-pay is still in use, many game variants return more. Payback percentage expresses the long-term expected value of the player's wager as a percentage if the game is played perfectly. A payback percentage of 99%, for example, indicates that for each $100 wagered, in the long run, the player would expect to lose $1 if they played every hand in the optimal way. Full-pay Jacks or Better, for example, offers a payback percentage of 99.54%. Some payback percentages on full-pay games are often close to or over 100%.Casinos do not usually advertise payback percentages, leaving it up to the player to identify which video poker machines offer the best schedules.
The payoff schedules for most video poker machines are configured with a pay schedule that pays proportionally more for certain hands when the maximum number of credits is bet. Therefore, players who do not play with the maximum number of credits at a time are playing with a lower theoretical return.
Jacks or Better
"Jacks or Better," sometimes called "Draw Poker," is the most common variation of video poker. Payoffs begin at a pair of jacks. Full pay Jacks or Better is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better since the payoff for a full house is 9 times the bet, and the payoff for a flush is 6 times the bet. Sometimes, 10/6 and 9/7 versions of Jacks or Better can be found as promotions.| Hand | Prize | Combinations | Probability | Return |
| Royal Flush | 800 | 41,126,022 | 0.000025 | 1.9807% |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 181,573,608 | 0.000109 | 0.5465% |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 3,924,430,647 | 0.002363 | 5.9064% |
| Full House | 9 | 19,122,956,883 | 0.011512 | 10.3610% |
| Flush | 6 | 18,296,232,180 | 0.011015 | 6.6087% |
| Straight | 4 | 18,653,130,482 | 0.011229 | 4.4918% |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 123,666,922,527 | 0.074449 | 22.3346% |
| Two Pair | 2 | 214,745,513,679 | 0.129279 | 25.8558% |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 356,447,740,914 | 0.214585 | 21.4585% |
| All Other | 0 | 906,022,916,158 | 0.545435 | 0.0000% |
| Totals | – | 1,661,102,543,100 | 1.000000 | 99.5439% |
Bally's All American
Bally Technologies All American video poker is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flushes, but reduced payout for full houses and two pairs. The full pay version, once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few. IGT's version of the game is called USA Poker.Tens or Better
"Tens or Better" is a variation of 6/5 Jacks or Better. The minimum paying hand is a pair of tens, rather than a pair of Jacks. Strategy is similar between the two games, in spite of the very different full house and flush payouts.Joker's Wild
"Joker's Wild", as the name implies, adds a joker to the mix. The joker is fully wild and substitutes to make stronger hands. The inclusion of the wild joker also adds another winning hand in 5-of-a-kind. The game's name inspired a game show of the same name. The full pay version of Joker Two Pair or better, once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few.Deuces Wild
"Deuces Wild" is a variation of video poker in which all twos are wild.. In Deuces Wild, the payout for a four of a kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payback percentage of the game, and a four of a kind occurs on average approximately every fifteen hands. Deuces Wild can be found with pay schedules that offer a theoretical return as high as 100.8%, when played with perfect strategy. This full-pay version was found only in Nevada, with the last operating machine at Sam's Town Las Vegas until March 2023. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:| Hand | 1 credit | 2 credits | 3 credits | 4 credits | 5 credits |
| Natural Royal Flush | 300 | 600 | 900 | 1200 | 4000 |
| Four Deuces | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Five of a Kind | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 75 |
| Straight Flush | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Four of a Kind | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Full House | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Flush | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Straight | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Three of a Kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Theoretical Return | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 100.8% |
Variations are available that pay different amounts for the quad "deuces", such as Double Deuces, Loose Deuces, Triple Deuces, and Royal Deuces. Full pay Loose Deuces, once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered.