For licensing and tax purposes, slots and video poker machines are the same. However, there are major differences between the two types of games.
Slot machines involve no skill. Some may appear to have this ability. This may include being able to stop the spinning reels with the push of a button. However, the machine knows where those reels are going to land. Ending the spin early simply shortens the time and eliminates the suspense.
Video poker machines involve a degree of skill. Getting dealt a royal flush or some other big hand is purely luck. However, deciding how to play a video poker hand that requires a draw requires some level of skill. The more a video poker player understands basic strategy, the higher the payback.
Slot machines are permitted to have weighted reels. This means that some symbols will appear more often than others in most cases. Video poker machines are entirely random. The cards are selected using an algorithm that represents a deck of cards. Each has the same chance of being selected on the dealt hand and the draw.
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Players clubs and slot points
At most casinos, slot and video poker players earn points differently. The standard is that slot players earn points twice as fast as video poker ones. An example is that Caesars Rewards and Boarding Pass pay slot players 0.1% in points, while video poker players receive 0.05% of their coin-in as slot points. Other casino players clubs pay slot points based on the exact theoretical win of the game played. The reason for this is that the house edge on slots is exponentially higher than most video poker games.
Slot players often receive better casino offers than video poker ones. Mailers with comps like free rooms, slot play, and meals are generated based on the perceived value of the player by the casino. This is typically done through an average daily theoretical rating. A video poker player may need to play several hours longer in a day to receive the same offer as a slot player betting the same amount.
Slot players don’t need to bet the maximum to qualify for most jackpots
Slot machines often have several progressives. This is most common on video ones. The top progressive may, but not always, require the maximum bet to be played to hit. When the maximum bet is not required, making it usually increases the chances of hitting the top progressive. Players betting less than the maximum still have chances to hit smaller progressives like the minors.
At video poker, progressives always require making the maximum bet. This is usually five coins. On some nickel video poker machines, it can take 10 coins to hit the progressive. The main meter covers a royal flush. Some video poker games have multiple progressives. These may cover four of a kind hands or straight flushes.
Speed of play
Slot machines tend to play faster than video poker machines. The player can increase the speed by pushing the stop reels button before the spin stops on its own. Slots also play faster than video poker because there is no skill involved. There is no delay in deciding which reels to hold, except in the rare cases of lock and roll slots. In these games, some reels are held by the player, and the machine spins ones that were not, like a video poker draw.
At last check, there were a handful of lock and rolls left at Harrah’s Cherokee where slots once required skill under its gaming compact with North Carolina. Georgia video lottery machines require a degree of skill as a requirement. Some of these devices are lock and roll.
Video poker players may be able to speed their game up, depending on the machine. Some have a speed setting that may be toggled by the player. A big win counting up can be stopped by clicking the deal button. This brings it quickly to the next hand. These features are not available on coin video poker machines and some multi hand ones.
Denominations are usually lower at slot machines
Most video slot machines are at the penny denomination. Some have multiple denominations available for players to choose. Old-fashioned reel slots typically start at nickel. Some may have a way for players to change the denomination, though most do not. Slot players tend to bet less per hand than video poker players due to these lower denominations.
It is rare to find a penny video poker machine. The ones that exist are usually 50 or 100 play versions. The lowest video poker denomination widely available for single line games is quarter. Some casinos will offer nickel games. Those paytables tend to have a house edge that is at least double, sometimes triple or quadruple, a quarter and higher video poker game.