Video Poker Odds
Playing the game by using a good strategy can give you great video poker odds. In fact, if you play the right game with the right strategy, you can gain an advantage over the house. The payback percentage and thus, your odds of wining depend on a number of factors, mainly the return for two key winning hands: the full house and the flush. Below is a comparison chart that summarizes the differences. The numbers at the top represent the return for one coin on the full house (9, 8, or 6) and the flush (6 or 5) respectively.
| Machine | 9 and 6 | 8 and 5 | 6 and 5 |
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Four-of-a-Kind | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Flush | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Three-of-a-Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks-or-Better | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Payback % | 99.5% | 97.3% | 95.5% |
As you can see in the table, your winning odds are largely dependent on the machine that you choose to play. Even with perfect strategy, some video poker machines won't give you much of an advantage. By looking at the payouts at first, you might be drawn to play the machine that pays out 1,000 coins for each coin deposited. Yes, it does look more appealing but the reason it doesn't improve your odds is because of the low frequency that a royal flush occurs. The difference in payouts for the royal flush is made up significantly by the higher return on a full house, which occurs more frequently.
Of course, strategic mistakes will be made throughout the game, which will reduce the video poker odds slightly, but you're still better off. With the variety of combinations, it's easy to miss something or let your gut do the talking once in a while. Also, the longer you play, the more tired you get and so your performance at the machine decreases also.
So, knowing what we need to look for in a good machine, let's analyze the one with the best video poker odds a little further. The table below shows you the frequency of various hands as well as the probability of each hand occurring. Again, strategy plays and important role in your overall performance.
| Hand |
Frequency |
% Probability |
Payout |
Return |
| Royal Flush |
1 in 40,390.55 |
0.002% |
800* |
1.98% |
| Straight Flush |
1 in 9,148.37 |
0.011% |
50 |
0.55% |
| Four of a kind |
1 in 423.27 |
0.236% |
25 |
5.91% |
| Full house |
1 in 86.86 |
1.151% |
9 |
10.36% |
| Flush |
1 in 90.79 |
1.101% |
6 |
6.61% |
| Straight |
1 in 89.05 |
1.123% |
4 |
4.49% |
| Three of a kind |
1 in 13.43 |
7.445% |
3 |
22.33% |
| Two pair |
1 in 7.74 |
12.928% |
2 |
25.86% |
| Jacks or better |
1 in 4.66 |
21.459% |
1 |
21.46% |
| Nothing |
1 in 1.83 |
54.5% |
0 |
0.00% |
|
*Royal flush payout is based on max coins (4,000 coins for 5 coins played). || Total return: 99.5%
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