Playing video poker in a
casino is a fun and inexpensive way to enjoy a gambling trip, as long as you find a machine with a favorable pay table and play the correct strategy. There are pages covering correct strategy for the most popular casino video poker games elsewhere on this site, so we won't cover that too much here. But I do want to give you a few tips and ideas about finding the best paying video poker machines and playing in a casino. The casinos know exactly what the payout percentages are for each of their video poker machines and they also realize that the average player won't know or recognize the difference between high paying machines and low paying ones. (Just for the record, any video poker machine that pays back less than 99% is a low paying machine in my opinion. You may feel differently, but that is up to you. I personally like my bankroll to last as long as possible on my trips.)
For this reason, the casinos don't put the best paying video poker machines in high traffic areas. They don't want the average player to stumble across top paying machines by accident. So the first thing is to look for machines that are out of the way or almost hidden.
You can also ask a slot attendant if you are looking for a particular game, like 9/6 Jacks or Better. One thing to watch out for is the casinos will often place a couple poor paying machines close to, or even right beside, a high paying machine.
Set stop loss limits before starting your video poker session. And if you take the time to do this, make sure you actually follow your limit. If you aren't familiar with what this means, you simple decide the maximum amount you are willing to lose for the day, or for the session, and when it is gone you stop playing. An easy way to do this is put your entire loss limit amount in the machine when you start. That way you always know right where you stand for the session.
Many players also set a win limit. For example, if your loss limit for the session is $400, you might set your win limit at the same $400. This means that if you double your beginning stake to $800, you will cash out for the day. This always makes me feel good if I get on a good roll and can walk away with a nice win. It also basically pays for my next session.
Always join the players club, often called a slots club, and always use your players card when you are playing the video poker machines. If you play a great deal, you can get free money, free meals or free rooms. If the casino you usually play at does not offer these types of comps for video poker players, you should find somewhere else to play. |
