If you’ve been on the prowl for a surefire way to win at video poker, chances are good that you’ve run into a dozen people with a dozen “can’t lose” methods of winning. The truth is that while many have quirks and tricks that work for them, there are just 3 things necessary to win at video poker and they all occur before you even play the first hand.
Since video poker made its debut in the late seventies, there have been many a poker player swearing that they’ve nailed the one strategy guaranteed to work every single time. Nothing is that fail proof, but with these 3 tips you’ll win more often than you’ll lose.
Liberal Payouts
The first item on your to do list should be to find video poker machines that have a very liberal pay tables. It might take you a little longer to find the video poker machine that’s right, but a little bit of leg work and you can make sure you improve your chances of winning.
Although you may find it a real pain to go in search of poker machines with liberal pay tables, the truth is that if you don’t look for them you’ll hardly be able to overcome the house advantage. The reason ‘the house always wins’ is because over eager players sit down at the first video poker machine they encounter and ignore the pay table until after they’ve lost a few dozen hands.
Learn Proper Strategy
Playing video poker, like any other casino games, requires a certain strategy to win. By learning proper strategy for video poker, you can make sure you’re always playing with a reason rather than playing loosely with your hard-earned money.
Make sure you know what your strategy is and go over it in your head before you sit down at the video poker machine. If you do this, you can make sure that you play a mentally strong game that can’t be easily swayed by a few ill-timed losses.
Don’t Stray
Perhaps even more important than having a video poker strategy, is that you follow said strategy. Many video poker players lose their entire bankroll because they decided to throw caution to the wind and play what ‘felt good’ instead of what their strategy dictated.
If you choose a specific video poker strategy, stick to it, even when you lose a few hands consecutively. You chose the strategy for a reason and if you abandon it too quickly you’ll never know if your loss was due to ineffective strategy or your own poor play.
Additional Perks
There are a few other ways you can maximize your video poker wins. If you play often, take advantage of bonuses and free hands. These bonuses will vary by casino, but making the most of any freebies you get can give you a little more to play with.
