Choosing the best video poker game

TThere are two ways of playing video poker. One is to play conservatively, aiming for as big a playing stint as possible with as little loss as possible.

The other way is to aim to win, and to win big.

The best way of winning a lot of money on a video poker game is to hit a Royal Flush on a progressive game. Do this once and you can fund your playing for a long, long time.

Of course choosing a game with a big progressive jackpot doesn’t necessarily mean you should disregard the other factor that can govern your choice of game: the average payout percentage.

Cards are dealt through an electronic, randomly shuffled deck of cards, usually with either fifty-two or fifty three cards. Because of this it is possible to calculate the frequency with which specific hands should occur. It is possible to then calculate the frequency with which hands should occur by applying that frequency of hands to the relevant pay-table.

This will vary from version to version, but you should be able to find this out and not choose a game that appears to have a particularly low payout percentage.

In terms of game versions, straightforward Jacks or Better is probably the easiest one to get to grips with, while the power poker games can be a little more confusing for the novice player and can eat up your money much more quickly.

If you are not going for a progressive game, make sure that it is of the 9-6 variety, that pays out 9 for 1 on a full house and 6 for 1 on a flush. Progressive games are normally 8-5, however, but the upside is that you can potentially win a massive progressive jackpot.

If you are going to go for a progressive game, you should choose one where it appears that the progressive jackpot has not been won for some time. If the progressive bonus starts at £5,000 and is currently reading £5,004.68 then you know it has recently been won and any jackpot win would not be as big as it could have been. Choosing a game with a progressive jackpot that has accumulated much higher does not lessen your chances of winning it, it just means that if you do, you will be that much richer!