Video poker can be one of the best games to play in a casino. It is always superior to slots, and in competitive casino markets, better than playing table games. Here are some ways to improve your return at video poker.
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Finding the best video poker pay tables
The pay table is usually the most important part of playing video poker. This determines the percentage that the machine theoretically pays back to the player when the perfect strategy is used.
We have the most common Video poker games with pay tables. In a future article, I will explain how to easily determine paybacks on lesser pay tables by learning the best one for a game.
VPFree2.com is a great resource for video poker pay tables. It covers major markets well. Some smaller regional ones are incomplete or missing.
Progressive jackpots
Progressive jackpots can swing a negative game positive. There are different types of video poker progressives. The most common one is a royal flush. There can also be ones for a straight flush, all quads, and special quads, including kickers. There can be up to six progressive meters on a video poker machine.

The benefits of a video poker progressive work in two ways. One is the current size of the meter. The other is how much it goes up with each bet. This can be as little as 0.05% and as much as 1%. This money stays in action that the casino would otherwise keep if the game had no progressive.
It is important to know how the strategy changes as progressives grow. You may start throwing away winning pairs to go for a three-card royal flush draw. In some cases, larger hands are discarded to go for the big hit.
A normal royal flush payout tends to be about 2% of the total return of a video poker game. On a quarter machine, every $100 extra on the meter raises the return by 0.2%. A $1500 royal flush jackpot adds 1% to the return to the player. It swings a game like 8/5 Bonus Poker over 100%.
A progressive game does not need to be positive for it to be better than one without it. Casinos generally ignore the progressive size when rating players. You are often rated higher when you play a progressive game than something like 9/6 Jacks or Better, even if both games have the same theoretical return. If a game with a high base return pays fewer points than normal, this is almost certainly the case.
The variance of chasing royal flush progressives is much higher than something like Bonus Poker or Jacks or Better, so you must decide what is best for your bankroll. You must also consider the fact that a $1200 or higher win triggers a W2G in the United States. That may be enough to avoid all but the largest quarter progressives.
Learning the perfect video poker strategy
It is imperative to learn the strategy of a video poker game. Some moves are counterintuitive. Others change depending on the game’s pay table. Don’t worry about learning every exception, but you should have a proficient level of play. It is best to learn a few easy games like Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker as these tend to have the best pay tables in a casino. Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus are other common games that are good to learn.
Wild card games are often the most difficult to learn. That is due to all the exceptions to the basic strategy that can change depending on the discards. In Deuces Wild and Joker Poker, players must learn the differences between hands with wild cards and those without one. In Deuces, there are different plays based on the number of wilds dealt.








Players club return
A casino’s players club is an important part of a video poker return. Many casinos lowered slot points on video poker in recent years. It seems video poker players became unwelcome in some joints.
It is important to break pay table ties using players club perks. Some clubs may make playing worse pay tables better than good ones, especially if comps like free hotel rooms and meals are important to you.
Free slot play mailers can vary greatly from one players club to another. Play the same amount of coin-in at different casinos to see which ones value your action the most.
Promotions are also important and can add drastically to your play. Drawings may give out large amounts of cash, but often don’t have substantial overall value. The best deals tend to relate to earning a set number of points and getting free slot play or cash for it.
Slot point multipliers are another great promotion for video poker players. It is important to make sure video poker is included in the promotion before playing. Some of these deals are slots-only.
Distance from home
If a casino near your home has 98% video poker, but one an hour away has 99% games, you must determine what your time and gas are worth. If you only play for a few hours, the casino an hour away is probably not the best option. If your sessions are longer, or you prefer to spend the night at the casino’s hotel, the travel is justified.