Video Poker: Why Players Lose More Than They Really Should
Ask any betting house executive and they will inform you that electronic poker is really a true money maker for the casino. Yet, numerous video poker games feature a house edge of less than 1 per cent, and others still can actually yield over a 100 per cent payback if the gambler uses an optimal wagering strategy. Thus, the question needs to be asked: How can these to seemingly contradictory facts be reconciled?
The answer lies in the fact that the optimal system for a lot of video poker games is counter-intuitive. Certain, you will discover lots of fingers that everyone plays optimally; if someone is dealt the As K Spades Q Spades J Spades 3h, for instance, you’ll search long and tough before you locate a electronic poker player who would insist on discarding four and holding the 3 of hearts. Except you can find are myriad arms where what would appear to be the correct system really costs the gambler money. And in a few cases this loss may be significant.
To far better illustrate let’s appear at a casino game that most of us are familiar with; Jacks or Better. At very first glance this casino game looks like a breeze to play. You will find only nine hands that qualify for a payback, and it is usually pretty easy to inform if you have a draw to one of those nine hands. Yet everyday video poker players across the nation are throwing money away by generating inadequate (nonetheless ‘intuitively correct’) wagering decisions. Let us look at a couple of various arms, and see how the optimum technique varies from the intuitively correct strategy.
Error 1) Maintaining ‘Ace-face card-face card’ rather than just holding the 2 face cards.
You see this play created all the time, and nonetheless few gamblers know what a disaster it genuinely is. The thought behind keeping the ace is that you just have a superior possibility of making an ace-high direct, and you also have 3 high cards that you simply can attempt to pair up on the draw. Nevertheless, by keeping the ace you are eliminating your chances of creating four of a form or even a full house, and reducing your odds of constructing 2 pair. The slight gain you receive by way of your increased odds of making a directly do not start to compensate for these other considerable losses.
Mistake 2) Not attempting enough prolonged shot draws at the direct flush.
The directly flush may possibly be one of the most misunderstood hand in Jacks or Better. It does not come around extremely generally, and it does not have the sex appeal of the royal flush, and as a result most gamblers neglect it. When dealt a hand like the nine clubs 7c 5c 3 spades 2d numerous gamblers will simply discard all five and redraw. The assumption here is the fact that the directly flush will nearly never come in, so they would rather ‘cut their losses’ and make an effort to pick up a massive pair on the redraw.
Again, this makes sense at first glance. Still what is forgotten in this variety of analysis is that by preserving the nine clubs seven clubs 5c the gambler also has a probability at a straight or perhaps a flush. Now it is true that a draw like this isn’t a authentic moneymaker. Except it is going to still pay much more, in the lengthy run, than drawing 5 new cards.
Error 3) Retaining a suited Ace-Ten as opposed to just retaining the ace.
This is one of the most widespread mistakes made by electronic poker players at Jacks or Better. Now I’ll be the initially to admit that holding the ace and the 10 is far more fun then just drawing to the ace. After all, once you hold the ace and the ten you’ve at least a small likelihood of something actually great happening; namely, hitting the royal around the draw. You also possess a much better probability of constructing a direct or a flush. Yet as with the hand we examined in Mistake #1 these gains don’t outweigh your decreased chances of making four of a type, 3 of a sort or perhaps a massive pair. If you would like to play optimally you’ll need to discard that ten; I know it is tough, except it must be done!
These are three of the most vivid examples of weak play, although you can find a lot of other errors that a video poker player frequently makes in the course of a playing session. If your objective is to reduce the casino edge as much as achievable I advocate picking up a book that contains charts detailing the finer points of optimal play. You’ll find a quantity of books like this out around the market, and they’re undoubtedly worth the sticker price. Pore over the charts, and compare the plays they suggest using the plays you are currently making. I guarantee it will be a authentic eye-opening experience.