Video Poker Tips & Winning Video Poker Strategies

Video Poker

Like live poker, especially Texas Hold'em, has drawn in a solid number of professional players, so has video poker. Without a doubt, this rousing game provides sensible players with a true chance to make serious profits. The experts at Mystic Casino will show you how to play video poker and how you can get your share of the winnings.

A basic grasp on the game of poker can be a great help in training you for success at video poker.  The game is after all patterned after the easiest poker version, Five Card Draw.  You'll be able to finish a hand of Five Card Draw in under a minute, since it is not as complex as Texas Hold'em.

First off, you place your bet by selecting a number of credits, typically between one and five.  The computer software imitates the real-life deal by drawing out five cards from a simulated fifty-two-card deck.  At this point, you have to choose the cards you wish to keep.  In most instances, you can discard your entire starting hand and get a new set of five cards.  Make sure the cards you want to keep are marked "Hold" before you press the "Draw" button.

When you click the "Draw" draw button, your discards disappear, with new cards in their places.  The software registers and declares your win.  This action simplifies the learning process for novices when it comes to picking up what makes up a winning hand and what each one pays. 

When in doubt, all games also display a payout table that shows the winning hands and matching payout.  Almost all games will pay even money on your starting bet for a pair of jacks or better, while some may even pay off on a pair of tens.  

You should always know the minimum winning hand before you start to play, or you could make a lot of uninformed and unsuccessful discard selections.  The better your hand, the higher the payout you'll win on your starting bet.  Two pairs typically pay double your bet. A royal flush, the highest hand possible, can pay out hundreds of times your bet.

One feature that some other machines and online video poker games may carry is a progressive jackpot.  Every game of a particular style contributes a portion of every bet into a jackpot that rises with every hand.  When you hit a hand such as four aces or a royal flush, you can take home some of or the entire jackpot. 

Progressive video poker games are a favorite among pro players.  After the jackpot reaches a certain level, players will use special methods just to obtain that winning hand.  The use of such a system requires knowledge of higher mathematics, thus the Mystic Casino experts do not advocate this scheme for new players.  Instead, unskilled players should only concentrate on playing each hand as it comes. And, remember to practice video poker online in free mode to help perfect your game.