Video poker is a casino game like no other. Players often describe video poker, which was meant to attract crossover gamblers, as a blend of poker and slot machines. But what actually defines this favorite game is how it is not like traditional poker or slots.
Let’s look at what video poker is by comparing it with traditional poker and slots. Also, let’s look at why the game is so well-known in today’s casinos.
At first sight, video poker machines may resemble like many other contemporary slot machines. You usually find video poker machines at the same area in the casino with normal slot machines. Moreover, both video poker machines and slot have bill acceptor or a coin slot, a payout hopper, and a slot-club card reader. That is exactly where the similarities end.
Gamblers occasionally describe video poker machines as the thinking man’s slots because you essentially need some techniques to play. Your knowledge of poker strategy increases your winning odds. You call the shots, instead of hoping for three red cherries to line up and then pulling the handle. What distinguishes video poker machine from other slot machine is your opportunity to choose types of video poker machines you play on and the cards you want to use because each version of video poker offers different payouts. Your luck in slots lies in the cold and calculating microchip known as the RNG, or Random Number Generator. Although the RNG sets the five starting video poker cards, the outcome of your play is influenced by the starting cards you choose to discard or hold than the impulses of a microchip’s brain. That decision differentiates video poker from slots. The choices make video poker machine a game of skill – it gives you bigger control over the outcome. Not only is your playing skill vital to the success in video poker, it also influences your odds. A few machines have higher payouts than others – therefore, you definitely need to know how to find machines with better payouts and use them continuously.
Distinguishing between video poker and traditional poker
Video poker success requires some technique, specifically a cursory skill of poker. Video poker roughly resembles Five-Card Draw. When you receive the randomly dealt five starting poker cards, you decide what actions to make. Although you require some basic poker skills to play video poker, always remember that that video poker a little different from the contemporary table poker game. Video poker is essentially a game between you and the video poker machine instead of between players. Because you are not dealing with other poker players, you can take off your shade – no need to conceal your reactions, try to bluff, or attempt to read other players. You don’t have to beat anyone other than the machine. Check out these video poker characteristics that make it different from contemporary table poker:
- You can set your own pace. Your opponents can never intimidate or rush you.
- You do not need deceptive maneuvers. Forget about using strategies such as checking, bluffing, and raising when playing video poker. There is no adversary to bluff.
- All hands have a fixed cost. Your potential financial loss is what you put into the video poker machine, which is not the case in normal poker games.
- In video poker an ace is not the highest card. For example, three lined-up aces pay precisely the same as three lined-up 5s.
- Video poker machine will always be there to take you on, twenty-four hours a day. Traditional poker requires real human opponents, and finding a real game is not always possible.
- Guesswork is nonexistent in the equation. You do not have to deduce what other players have because you are playing only against an emotionless microchip.
- The royal flush is not just the best hand; it is a gold mine. Even though a royal flush is the most valuable hand for both games, it is exponentially better in video poker machine because of the jackpot payout. For example, if you make a royal flush at the dollar machine playing maximum coins, you win a nice jackpot. However, if you hit a royal flush in a traditional poker game, you are unlikely to win much more than a standard pot amount.
- You will never lose with a perfect hand. In video poker, you consistently get paid when you make specific hands. In traditional poker, a lucky straight flush may beat your full house and leaving you steaming for many hours over a bad beat.
The allure of video poker
Video poker is a favorite game in many casinos, but what makes the game so alluring? Video poker provides a nearly-unheard-of low house edge, particularly when you are savvy about some essential playing strategies and some other factors, including finding a good machine.
Video poker gives a temporary solitude anytime you seek a break from normal table games. When you are with video poker, you do not have to be concerned about an obnoxious player intimidating you or a pushy dealer harassing you. You can set your own pace, concentrating only on the cards and the flashing screen in front of you.
Video poker is also very popular in the best online casinos as it’s a great way to clear your casino bonus.
