Video Poker question...

I have played Viedo Poker just a handful of times......how does one determine what % the machine pays back....I hear FishHead and others talk at times about certain %'s.......

casinos make it known

Because video poker machines (at least in the USA) have to operate as if each hand was dealt randomly from one 52 card deck the odds are manipulated by changing the payouts. I did a quick search and found the following charts showing the odds of the varous machine payouts. The 9/6 refers to the full house/flush payout.

<TABLE><TBODY><TR align=middle><TD>[font=verdana,arial,helvetica]ODDS BETWEEN DIFFERENT MACHINES[/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE borderColor=#006000 cellSpacing=1 width=280 align=middle border=5><TBODY><TR><TD class=category31 align=middle>Machine type <TD class=category31 align=middle>Payout <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>10/7 (double bonus) <TD class=category13 align=middle>100.2% <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>9/7 <TD class=category13 align=middle>100.7% <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>9/6 <TD class=category13 align=middle>99.5% <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>8/5 <TD class=category13 align=middle>97.3% <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>7/5 <TD class=category13 align=middle>96.3% <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>6/5 <TD class=category13 align=middle>95.2% </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE><TBODY><TR align=middle><TD>[font=verdana,arial,helvetica]HAND ODDS (9/6 JACKS OR BETTER)[/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE borderColor=#006000 cellSpacing=1 width=280 border=5><TBODY><TR><TD class=category31 align=middle>Hand <TD class=category31 align=middle>Payout <TD class=category31 align=middle>Frequency <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Royal Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>4,000 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 40,390 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Straight Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>250 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 9,148 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Four of a Kind <TD class=category13 align=middle>125 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 423 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Full House <TD class=category13 align=middle>45 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 86 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>30 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 90 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Straight <TD class=category13 align=middle>20 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 89 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Three of a Kind <TD class=category13 align=middle>15 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 13 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Two pair <TD class=category13 align=middle>10 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 7 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Jacks or Better <TD class=category13 align=middle>5 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 in 4 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE><TBODY><TR align=middle><TD>[font=verdana,arial,helvetica]Payouts- 9/6 JACKS OR BETTER[/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE borderColor=#006000 cellSpacing=1 width=350 border=5><TBODY><TR><TD class=category31 align=middle>Number of Coins <TD class=category31 align=middle>1 <TD class=category31 align=middle>2 <TD class=category31 align=middle>3 <TD class=category31 align=middle>4 <TD class=category31 align=middle>5 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Royal Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>250 <TD class=category13 align=middle>500 <TD class=category13 align=middle>750 <TD class=category13 align=middle>1000 <TD class=category13 align=middle>4000 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Straight Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>50 <TD class=category13 align=middle>100 <TD class=category13 align=middle>150 <TD class=category13 align=middle>200 <TD class=category13 align=middle>250 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Four of a Kind <TD class=category13 align=middle>25 <TD class=category13 align=middle>50 <TD class=category13 align=middle>75 <TD class=category13 align=middle>100 <TD class=category13 align=middle>125 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Full House <TD class=category13 align=middle>9 <TD class=category13 align=middle>18 <TD class=category13 align=middle>27 <TD class=category13 align=middle>36 <TD class=category13 align=middle>45 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Flush <TD class=category13 align=middle>6 <TD class=category13 align=middle>12 <TD class=category13 align=middle>18 <TD class=category13 align=middle>24 <TD class=category13 align=middle>30 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Straight <TD class=category13 align=middle>4 <TD class=category13 align=middle>8 <TD class=category13 align=middle>12 <TD class=category13 align=middle>16 <TD class=category13 align=middle>20 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Three of a Kind <TD class=category13 align=middle>3 <TD class=category13 align=middle>6 <TD class=category13 align=middle>9 <TD class=category13 align=middle>12 <TD class=category13 align=middle>15 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Two Pairs <TD class=category13 align=middle>2 <TD class=category13 align=middle>4 <TD class=category13 align=middle>6 <TD class=category13 align=middle>8 <TD class=category13 align=middle>10 <TR><TD class=category13 align=middle>Pair of Jacks or Better <TD class=category13 align=middle>1 <TD class=category13 align=middle>2 <TD class=category13 align=middle>3 <TD class=category13 align=middle>4 <TD class=category13 align=middle>5 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
One last note. These odds are based on perfect play. Video poker is different than slots in that the player can increase the house edge if they play poorly.

aren't different machines on different payout schedules?

by the pay schedule

for instance, in pair jacks or better ( to win) casinos have a paytable of


royal flush ... win 800 per coin
straight flush 50 coins
4 of a kind 25 coins
full house 9 coins
flush 6
straight 4
3 of a kind 3
two pair 2
pair of jacks or better 1 ( even money)
less than that... lose

casinos will mess with the schedules to hold more coin. for instance, they will SHORT PAY the full house and flush on unsuspecting patrons. Instead of paying 9 to 1 on a full house, they short it to 8. And they short the flush from 6 to 5.

This may not seem like a lot, but you hit A LOT of straights and flushes if you play for an hour. shorting the payout adds about 3-4% extra to the casinos hold.

If you want to win at video poker, you have to know how to play the correct strategy for holding or discarding your dealt cards and you MUST MUST MUST play on the better pay schedules, in this case a 9/6 machine instead of a shorted 8/5 machine

Yes they are. There are mostly 9/6 and 9/5 machines in vegas. I know there are some 9/6 machines at the lower limits, but I believe most $1 and under machines are 9/5 machines.

One other thing to look out for are 9/6 machines where two pairs pays the same as jacks or better. I think the casinos became aware that people were looking for 9/6 machines and to add more 9/6 machines on the floor they lowered the payouts on two pairs to lower the odds on those machines, hopefully without the average gambler noticing.

If you have WIN POKER software by Bob Dancer, you can plug-in ANY payout schedule and determine its payout percentage.

As mentioned, 90% of machines one will allready know the percentages on.

Certain progressives and new machines will require you to imput the information to WIN POKER to determine its actual payback percentage..............and be reminded, this is all based on 100% perfect strategy.

-FISH-

Try this site. It will answer all of your questions.


http://wizardofodds.com/

Baker said:

Yes they are. There are mostly 9/6 and 9/5 machines in vegas. I know there are some 9/6 machines at the lower limits, but I believe most $1 and under machines are 9/5 machines.

One other thing to look out for are 9/6 machines where two pairs pays the same as jacks or better. I think the casinos became aware that people were looking for 9/6 machines and to add more 9/6 machines on the floor they lowered the payouts on two pairs to lower the odds on those machines, hopefully without the average gambler noticing.

Click to expand...

Most Vegas Machines Jacks or better are 8/5 machines or worse.

Unless one is taking advantage of a slot card, a progressive, or a specific promotion, even a 9/6 JB machine is a losing play longterm..........let alone an 8/5 machine.

-F-