How to play & Win Video Poker: Strategy, plan, tactics, method, system, technique, Terms

Video Poker Glossary of Terms:

A
• Aces and Eights Video Poker
  A video poker game where four aces or eights and four sevens receive a bonus payout.
• Aces and Faces Video Poker
  A video poker game where four aces or four face cards of the same rank receive a bonus payout.
• Aces with a Kicker
  A term used on double double bonus video poker games where four aces with a two (deuce), three or four have a higher payout than four aces with any other card. See also Kicker
• All American Video Poker
  Has a higher payout for a Straight Flush than regular Jacks or Better Video Poker.
• Average Payback
  Also called Expected Return, Expected Value or EV. For a given hand, the average amount you win if you play that hand millions of times. For example, if a Royal Flush pays $4,000 and one card is drawn to a Four Card Royal Flush, your average payback is about $100. Average Payback is very important as for any hand that you can play more than one way, you should always use the play with the highest Average Payback.

  B

• Bet Max
  Each Video Poker Machine has a Play Maximum Credits or Bet Max button. This is the button you push to deal a new hand and bet the maximum amount of credits allowable. If you don't play maximum credits, you don't qualify for the big jackpots. On most video poker machines, the maximum credits you can play is five. Always play maximum credits.
• Bonus Deuces Wild Video Poker
  A bonus video poker game where the deuces (dueces) are wild cards creating additional bonus payouts from regular Deuces Wild Video Poker such as four deuces and an ace, five three, fours or fives and five sixes through kings.
• Bonus Video Poker
  Many Video Poker machines have larger payouts for bonus hands. A typical example is a larger payout for Four Aces. Of course, there will be a smaller payout for some smaller hands to compensate. A common example is a smaller payout for two pairs. Double Bonus Video Poker, Double Jackpot Video Poker and Double Double Bonus Video Poker and Double Double Jackpot Video Poker are typical bonus video poker games.
• Bonus Video Poker Deluxe
  A Jacks or Better type game featuring a higher payout for four of a kind.

  C

• Cash Out
  Each Video Poker machine has a Cash Out button that drops the accumulated credits into the player's tray.
• Complete Hand
  A hand that is defined by all five card available combinations. A straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, and a straight flush
• Comps
  Short for Compensation, comps are rewards that a casino pays you for playing. The casino tracks your play, usually with a plastic member card, and rewards you accordingly, providing you ask for your rewards. They include cash back, free meals, and free rooms. In online casinos comp point are usually in the form of additional cash value credits to your account.
• Credits
  The Video Poker Machine keeps track of the coins deposited and accumulated as winnings. These are shown on the credit meter. For example, if you deposit $10 in a 25 cent machine, you will receive 40 credits.
• Cycle
  The mathematical probability of getting any paying hand over a period of time. For example, a Royal Flush in Jacks or Better 9/6 full pay should occur once every 40,390.55 hands.Remembering that the games are random, it is possible to achieve no royals in one cycle and two on the next. The Poisson Distribution tells us that there is only a 63.2% probability of at least one royal flush in one cycle, but this is balanced by the chances of two or more royals in one cycle.

  D

• Denomination
  The denomination of each card in the deck is its number from two (deuce) through ten, or is Jack, Queen, King or Ace.
• Deuces
  Deuces are the two denomination in a deck of cards. Often misspelled as dueces
• Deuces Deluxe Video Poker
  Features bonus payouts for four deuces (dueces), natural straight flush, royal flush with a deuce, five of a kind, wild straight flush and a wild four of a kind.
• Deuces Wild Video Poker
  A Video Poker Game where deuces (dueces) are wild cards, a wild card being a card that can take the place of any other denomination in the deck. Bonus payouts for four deuces, a deuces royal and five of a kind (any four of a kind with a deuce). See also Bonus Deuces Wild Video Poker and dueces.
• Deuces and Jokers Wild Video Poker
  A Video Poker Game where deuces (dueces) and jokers are wild cards and typically the payout for 5 wild cards is greater than that for a Royal Flush.
• Discard Buttons
  Under the display on the video poker machine are five buttons, one for each card. You press these buttons to indicate which cards you want to hold and which you want to discard.
• Double Bonus Video Poker
  Has bonus payouts typically for 4 aces, four deuces (dueces), threes or fours and four fives through kings. See paytable
• Double Double Bonus Video Poker
  Has bonus payouts typically for 4 aces, four aces with a deuce (dueces), two, three or four kicker, four deuces (dueces), threes or fours with and ace through four kicker, four deuces, threes or fours and four fives through kings.
• Double Jackpot Video Poker
  Has bonus payouts typically for 4 aces, four aces with a king, queen or jack kicker, four kings, queens or jacks with an ace, king, queen, jack kicker and four deuces through tens.
• Double Joker Video Poker
  Bonus payouts for a wild royal and five of a kind.
• Double Double Jackpot Video Poker
  Has bonus payouts typically for 4 aces, four aces with a king, queen or jack kicker, four kings, queens or jacks with an ace, king, queen, jack kicker and four deuces (dueces) through tens. The same bonus payout hands as for Double Jackpot but with variations in the payouts for the bonus hands.
• Draw
  In video poker the draw is a set of replacement cards for those cards not held from the deal hand.
• Double Up
  Some video poker games give the option to double up the bet on a winning hand. The object is to draw a higher value card against the machine to double your winnings.
• Dueces
  A common misspelling of deuces

  E

• Edge
  The advantage in a game based on mathematical expectation. The house edge means the house has the advantage. The player's edge means that the player has the advantage, such as in a 100%+ payout video poker machine.
• Expected Return
  The average amount of money paid back on a particular play for a particular bet. The Expected Return (ER) is the Expected Value of a play multiplied by the amount bet. Most commercially available video poker analysis programs, when analyzing a hand, give the ER of each possible play.
• Expected Value
  The statistically projected average per unit bet payback of a particular play. Another way of looking at the EV is the average of all possible outcomes for a particular play or game.

  F

• Flush
  A hand containing any five cards in the same suit like 5 spades, 5 diamonds.
• Flat Top
  A video poker machine that does not have a Progressive Jackpot. So the Jackpot amount remains the same.
• Four of a Kind
  A hand containing four cards of the same denomination like 7-7-7-7_K. The fifth is irrelevant.
• Full House
  Three of a kind plus a pair like 10-10-10-K-K.
• Full Pay
  The best payout schedule offered for a particular game. For example, 9/6 Jacks or Better as opposed to 8/6 Jacks or Better, and any game with a full pay schedule plus a progressive jackpot. A video poker machine where the Maximum Average Payback is near 100%. For example, a Full Pay Jacks or Better machine has a Maximum Average Payback of about 99.5%, and a Full Pay Deuces Wild machine has a maximum average payback of about 100.7%

  G

• Garbage Hand
  A bad hand that will let you win nothing. A garbage hand if dealt, should be discarded.
• Gut Shot
  Another term for an Inside Straight

  H

• Hand
  The five cards, whether dealt or held is considered to be your hand.
• High Card
  A Jack, Queen, King or Ace. If you are playing Tens or Better Video Poker, then the 10 is also a high card. Wild or joker cards can also be considered high cards.
• Hold
  The cards you nominate to keep in any given hand.
• Hopper
  The internal tray that holds the video poker machine coins. The hopper electronically counts coins to be paid and releases them into the player's tray.
• House
  The establishment running the game.

  I

• Inside Straight
  Four cards to a straight where the one card you need to complete the straight is in the middle of the run. For instance, with a 4c-5h-7d-8c you would need a six of any suit to complete the straight.
• Inside Straight Flush
  The same as an inside straight except that the cards must all be of the same suit.

  J

• Jackpot
  A special bonus paid when you hit the highest hand on a video poker machine such as a Royal Flush or a Progressive Jackpot
• Jacks or Better
  Jacks or better is the original video poker game, with a Pair of Jacks as the minimum winning hand. The Full Pay version of Jacks or Better pays 9 credits for a Full House and 6 credits for a Flush on a single coin bet (9/6). Jacks or Better has a Maximum Average Payback of about 99.5%
• Joker Poker
  A Video Poker Game where the Joker is a wild card. Mostly these have the minimum payout for Kings or Better.

  K

• Kicker
  Term for a card used in the Double Double Bonus video poker games. For example, in Double Double Bonus a kicker is considered an ace, duece, three or four and in Double Double Jackpot a kicker is considered a Jack, Queen, King or Ace.
• Kings or Better
  A pair of kings as the minimum winning hand.

  L

• Long Run
  The point where the machine's total appearance of number values is what probability theory predicts. For a player the long run is to play often enough that probability would even the outcomes.
• Loose Deuces Video Poker
  A deuces wild game with bonus payouts for four deuces, (dueces) royal flush with a deuce and five of a kind.
• Louisiana Double Video Poker
  A basic Jacks or Better video poker game with an additional 53RD card known as the double card. If this is held in a winning hand the payout for that hand is doubled.

  M

• Maximum Average Payback
  For a given Video Poker Machine Pay Table, the amount of payback per dollar bet if you play millions of hands on that machine, providing that you play every hand with correct strategy (perfect play). It can be expressed as an amount per dollar bet or as a percentage (of each dollar bet). For most machines, this number varies between 92 cents per dollar bet (92% payback) and $1.01 per dollar bet (101% payback).
• Maximum Credits
  Each Video Poker Machine has a Play Maximum Credits or Bet Max button. This is the button you push to deal a new hand and bet the maximum amount of credits allowable. If you don't play maximum credits, you don't qualify for the big jackpots. On most video poker machines, the maximum credits you can play is five. Always play maximum credits.
• Multi Play
  Machines that allow up to ten hands of video poker at once.

  N

• Net Losses
  The amount lost after the wager is deducted from the payout.
• Net Winnings
  The amount won after the wager is deducted from the payout.
  O
• Odds
  The likelihood that an event will happen.
• Outrun
  To beat. Example: "This machine outran my hand."

  P

• Pat Hand
  A hand where all five initially dealt cards are a winning hand, such as a dealt Straight or a Flush. It is necessary to keep all five cards as no other card can improve your winning hand.
• Payback
  The long term expected return of a video poker game being played. Usually expressed as a percent, but sometimes expressed as the Expected Value (EV) of the game. You can expect to make money on a game only if its long-term payback is over 100% (EV greater than one).
• Pay Off
  The number of coins or credits paid for a particular winning hand. Often expresses on a "per coin" basis. For example, a Full House in standard full pay Jacks or Better with five coins bet pays 45 coins, but this is usually expressed as 9 for 1.
• Payout (Payoff) Schedule
  Each video poker machine's complete payoff schedule is posted on the glass front or on the screen. This is usually in the form of a table that shows the number of coins paid for each possible final hand for each possible number of coins bet.
• Payout (Payoff) Table
  The numbers are the number of credits that you get if you draw that hand. For example, if you are playing five coins in a quarter machine with this Payout Table, you win 4000 quarters or $1,000.00 if you get a Royal Flush. Usually you get more credits for your money by playing the Maximum Credits.
• Payout (Payoff)
  The actual dropping of coins by a machine. The actual payout occurs only when cashing out. In the case of a coinless machine, it is the printing of a cash voucher. In the case of a jackpot, it is usually a hand pay.
• Perfect Play
  Making every play for the absolute highest Expected Value. Perfect Play is the only way to achieve the maximum payouts on a video poker machine over a period of time by playing each hand mathematically correct and betting maximum.
• Pick'em Video Poker
  You are dealt 2 single cards and 2 decks of 3 cards...only 4 cards are visible. Your job is to pick one of the 2 stacked piles and your strategy relies on comparing the visible cards to what maybe contained in the 2 sets of hidden cards.
• Progressive Jackpot
  This is a Jackpot, usually for a Royal Flush that grows as players play. Several machines are linked together so that each bet at any of them increases the jackpot. When a player gets the Jackpot the Progressive Jackpot is reset to a starting value, typically $1,000 for a 25 cent machine with five coins played. Important: You can't win the Progressive Jackpot unless you bet Maximum Credits.

  Q

• Quads
  Four of a kind like 6-6-6-6-5.

  R

• Rag
  A card that does not fit into your hand in any useful way. Totally useless.
• Random
  It is required by law that a Video Poker Machine must draw cards at random from a single deck. This means that no card is more likely to be drawn than any other.
• Random Number Generator
  An algorithm or a program used to generate a series of random numbers. Online video poker uses random number generation.
• Rank
  The numerical value of a card (as opposed to its suit). Example: "King," "nine".
• Royal Flush
  A hand containing and Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in the same suit, in any order. The highest hand in video poker using no wild cards.

  S

• Secondary Payoff
  In many cases we are drawing with the hopes of making a particular big payoff, but much of the EV of the play comes from smaller payoffs when we miss the big one. For example, you might draw two cards to a Royal Flush but end up with a high pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight or a flush, all of which we would call
• Sequential Royal Flush
  A Royal Flush in order, either left to right or right to left like 10h Jh Qh Kh Ah. Some Video Poker Machines have a separate large Jackpot for one of these. You will get a Sequential Royal Flush once in about 2.5 million hands.
• Sevens Wild Video Poker
  Sevens are the wild cards in this game and bonus payouts are for four sevens, royal flush with a seven and five of a kind.
• Short Run
  A limited amount of time when probability theory will be marked by streaks or fluctuations.
• Spill
  When you win a hand that would put you over 1,000 credits, most video poker machines don't add to your credits. Instead they start spilling quarters into the hopper to pay off that hand.
• Straight
  Five cards not in the same suit in an unbroken sequence like 3h 5s 6s 4h 7h.
• Straight Flush
  Five cards in the same suit in an unbroken sequence like 4h-5h-6h-7h-8h.
• Strategy - A pattern or method for playing the hands. The strategy is determined by the video poker game type and the paytables for that particular game.
• Strategy Card
  A Strategy Card is a Strategy Table printed on a card. It's a good idea to have a strategy card with you while playing.
• Strategy Table
  A Strategy Table is a list of the hands you might be dealt in decreasing order of Average Payback. If you can play a hand in two or more different ways, then you pick the highest in the strategy table - the one with the highest Average Payback.
• Suit
  In a poker deck, each card that is not a wild card is in one of the four suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts or Spades.

  T

• Three of a Kind
  A hand containing three cards of the same denomination like 10-10-10-4-5.
• Tens or Better Video Poker
  A game where tens or better cards are the minimum paying hand.
• Tilt
  To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.
• Triple Play
  Some machines allow you to play 3 hands of video poker at the same time and these are referred to as triple play machines. See also multi play
• Trips
  Three of a kind like 10-10-10-4-5.
• Two to a, Three to a, Four to a
  Refers to the number of cards you have in your hand that make up at least a part of a potentially winning hand. For example, if you have Ah, Kh, Qh, Jh, 5c, you have four of the cards needed to make a royal flush, or four to a royal flush.
• Two Pairs
  A hand containing any two pairs of cards like JJKK2.

  U

• Underdog
  A person or hand that is not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times).

  V

• Video Poker Machine
  The use of a video display to simulate the real game of poker, bearing in mind one is playing a machine and not real players. There are literally hundreds of models of Video Poker Machine. Broadly, these may be categorized into the types: Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker - bigger payoffs for certain hands, Wild Card Games like Deuces Wild and Joker Poker. By law, the Payoff Table listing the payout for each winning hand must be posted on each machine. Also by law, each machine must operate by drawing randomly from one deck of cards.

  W

• Wild or Wild Card
  A card that may be used to substitute for any other card in the deck, such as a deuce in Deuces Wild Video Poker.
• Wild Royal
  A wild card to make a royal flush.
• Winning Hand
  A winning hand is one that you get paid for. For most video poker games the lowest winning hand is a Pair of Jacks. In Deuces Wild Video Poker, it's Three of a Kind.