Finding the Best Video Poker Games

Under the right conditions, it's very possible for people to beat the video poker house edge. Unfortunately, not all games give players a chance to beat the long-term casino edge, which is why it’s so important to find the best video poker games when you’re in a casino. This being said, here are some tips for finding video poker games that offer you a chance to win money.

There are dozens of video poker variations scattered throughout casinos, and if you want to take advantage of the best payback percentages, you have to know what the top games are. Typically, the top video poker games in terms of payback percentages are Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus. In most cases, the best payback percentages (a.k.a. full pay games) include the following:

As you can see, Deuces Wild video poker games give skilled players an excellent chance to win long-term profits, while Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus leave a small edge open. However, it’s also important to understand that these potential payouts only represent best case scenarios. After all, many video poker machines and online casinos offer lower payout percentages since they don’t want professional players consistently winning money off of them. But if you’re willing to do some research, you can find casinos that offer full pay games.

If you’re a big video poker player, you should definitely take some time to research any casino where you’re thinking of playing. Oftentimes, you’ll find that the optimal video poker payback percentage you receive depends on the casino where you play. Many of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offer lower payouts for certain hands in order to maintain a bigger edge. For example, they’ll offer an 8:1 payout for a full house, rather than a 9:1 payout.

But some of the casinos away from the Strip in downtown Vegas feature full pay video poker games in order to attract more people to their establishment. One great way to find full pay video poker games is by looking around the internet to see what information you can come up with; assuming you can’t find info on a certain casino you’re interested in, you can always email them about video poker payout percentages.

As you gain more experience with video poker and know what the best paytables are for each game, you can just look at each machine’s paytable to determine if it’s full pay or not. But be careful because some games may appear to be full pay, but they slip in a lower payout somewhere.

Seeing as how some casinos offer full pay video poker, many people wonder why everybody doesn’t just opt for these games. In fact, most casinos that have full pay video poker machines advertise them with big signs. But the truth is that most full pay games offer low betting limits in order to detract professional gamers. Some common max betting limits that you’ll see in full pay video poker are $1.00, $0.25 and even $0.05.

The idea here is to attract recreational video poker players who don’t know a lot of strategy for the games, and probably won’t make optimal moves. And the professional video poker players who can beat these games won’t want to play because the bet sizes don’t allow for significant profits. Taking all of this into account, many people wonder if professional video poker players are just a myth.

Even with everything that was stated in the last section, you should remember that it’s still possible to be a professional video poker player. Of course, you need to have an excellent understanding of the video poker games, and where the best full pay machines are. Furthermore, you can also hunt for progressive video poker games that have a really high jackpot because, at a certain point, a high jackpot will provide an edge to players.

Some professional video poker players even play games that offer slightly less than a 100% payout percentage because the comps and/or bonuses are so good. This is especially true at online casinos, where there are a number of VIP rewards and bonuses given to frequent players.

Above all though, a professional player needs to have an excellent command of video poker strategy. You can work towards becoming a great player by reading books, playing free video poker at online casinos, using training software, and checking out video poker articles on the internet. Once you reach a certain point, it’s all about playing lots of hands and maximizing your edge.