Video Poker Gambling

Video poker has more in common with its brother slots than its distant cousin poker. Despite attempts by machine owners to make it seem otherwise, video poker is almost completely unrelated to the skill game of "poker". Video poker terminals are a type of slot machines, and as such are programmed so that the casino must win a specific percentage of money wagered over a period of time. But video poker does differ in a key way from slots in that they are "two pulls", where you have to make a choice between the first and second pulls, and as usual, where there is choice, there is some skill involved -- but no bluffing.

Video poker has a considerable amount of this low-level mathematical skill. The specific math does vary depending on the particular game you are playing (Jacks or better strategy is different than deuces wild strategy), but some things tend to be constant. For example, video poker machines tend to pay off better if you bet the maximum units. This means that betting five nickels will almost certainly be a better bet than betting one quarter. There may be exceptions somewhere, but in general you should always be betting the maximum units.

Like slots, all the most important video poker skills revolve around jackpots. Play when the slot crews play, when the jackpots rise to the level where they make the game have a positive expectation. In essence you end up not playing against the casino, but instead you earn a positive expectation at the expense of players who played when the jackpots didn't merit it.

How much gamble is in video poker?