Today, I’ll try just about any game in a casino. If there’s a high house advantage I’ll keep my wagers as low as they go. If there’s a smaller house advantage I may play higher limits. The games with a smaller house advantage are the games I play most often.
Since I moved to Las Vegas, almost five years, I’ve played way more video poker than ever. The combination of availability and potentially low house edge is appealing. Even when the house advantage for video poker is considered high, it’s still lower than many games in the casino. A bad 6/5 Bonus Poker game still returns over 97 percent. The better video poker games have returns between 99 and 100 percent. There are even a few video poker games that return over 100 percent. The caveat with all of this is that these rates of return are based on playing with perfect strategy.
Marc scored a Royal Flush about three years ago.
Learning and almost perfecting video poker strategy became a mission for me shortly before moving to Las Vegas. There are websites and apps where you can practice the different games and learn when you’re making the wrong moves. Mess up enough and you begin to make the right plays. I learned, and still practice, with the WinPoker app for iPhone/iPad.
I started playing the machine games for the increased comps but I really wanted to learn how to play video poker after my second or third visit to the Mandalay Bay sportsbook bar. I didn’t know good or bad pay tables, strategy or anything about video poker but I knew I could drink a ton of vodka on a football Sunday without paying for the drinks if I put $20 in the video poker game.
Those mornings at the Mandalay Bay sportsbook are fuzzy, like a lot of Sunday morning visits to the sportsbook bar can be. If you have a bar stool facing the book you can see all of the games. That view will be even better once they upgrade the sportsbook. After one of the visits to this bar I realized that if I knew what I was doing when I played video poker that I might be able to minimize my losses or even win a little bit of money.
This started the obsession. I read about playing video poker online. I learned that I liked games that were low variance like Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker. These games offer the simplest game play without big swings (up or down) than other video poker games. Big wins are great but not if I have to risk a big loss. I save that for a dumb $5 10-team parlay. The simplicity and stability in those games comes in handy when there are a few drinks in front of me.
After figuring out which games I like best, I learned how to find the best version of that game. See, not all video poker games are equal. Even the same video poker game can have different pay tables which change the returns and house advantage. Bonus Poker is one of the more popular video poker games in Las Vegas but typical returns can range from 99.17 to 96.87 percent.
The difference of returns typically lies in what the game pays for a full house and a flush: 8/5 Bonus Poker pays eight credits for a full house and five for a flush. This is the game with the return rate of 99.17 percent. Most bars on the Vegas Strip offer 6/5 Bonus Poker where a full house pays six for a full house and five for a flush. Returns on the 6/5 Bonus Poker game are 96.87 percent.
The Vegas Strip casinos can get away with the reduced returns because you’re paying, in essence, a location fee. Just about everything on the Vegas Strip cost more than off the Strip. My Venti iced coffee at Starbucks can cost twice as much on the Vegas Strip as it does out in the burbs. That's the price of needing coffee at a hotel on the Vegas Strip. This difference isn't only on the Strip.
You always want to check the pay tables to make sure you’re playing best games. Understanding that many bars don’t offer the best video poker is important in the quest for getting the most out of the game. The D has great beer with lower pay tables at the Long Bar while Vue Bar upstairs has great video poker with a smaller selection of beer. We'll call the difference a "beer tax”.
You’ll only find this information if you check the machines. Don’t assume all games in a casino are good or bad. Likewise, make sure you check the pay tables for the denomination you want to play. My favorite bank of video poker machines at Red Rock have different pay tables for different denominations. I usually play quarter, fifty cent or $1 games but the locals love those nickel games with the lesser pay tables.
Playing maximum credits is another key to getting the best returns in video poker. The returns you find see posted are for maximum credit wagers. When you wager maximum credits the royal flush returns 4,000 credits as opposed to the exponential number offered by multiplying the one credit returns.
For example, in Bonus Poker a royal flush is paid 250 for one credit. Exponentially it should pay 1,250. Instead it pays 4,000 credits. You’re giving away about 1.25 percent house advantage by not playing maximum credits.
My last tip could be the most important if you're a drinker. Some bars won’t comp your drinks unless you’re playing max credits each hand. They'll might tell you when you sit down but it's safe to assume that this is always the policy. If you're uncomfortable with $1.25 per hand you can slow your play.
Video poker is a fun way to gamble and a fun activity when drinking. For the most part, there are always games in a casino with a larger house advantage than video poker. Learn how to play perfect strategy, learn which games to play and have a fun time. Today, I play more video poker than I ever imagined. It's funny how that works.
