Video Poker For Beginner

I love math. I love casino games. I feel the 2 go hand in hand and thus why both are 2 of my favorite hobbies. When I stumbled upon this site a few years ago, it was like heaven to find so many people with similar interest of mine. I could sit and read this forum for hours. It's awesome!

Anyway, I typically like to play games that provide a lower house edge and chalk whatever money I may lose up as an entertainment expense. I typically play craps (betting the don't usually), blackjack (using basic strategy, not counting cards, but just trying to play the right way), and occasionally some Pai Gow Poker (I like the fact I can push a lot and play for a long time on a limited bankroll).

I have always been interested in picking up Video Poker as a 4th option when I head to the casino especially as a way to use my slot comps. I guess the math guy in me is afraid to not be playing as close to the best way in possible. I guess the fact that there is so many options to chose from and so many different strategies, I'm too scared to jump in. I'm familiar with the terms 9/6 and "full pay", but just wondering...where should I start? What would you guys suggest if you were me? What game? What strategy? What pay outs?

Thanks in advance.

Check out the books on video poker by Bob Dancer, who asserts that he is an advantage player. Best Wishes in your four games. Have you tried wagering on Banker in Baccarat? Very relaxing, low House Advantage, and low intellect pastime.

Quote: mwalz9

I love math. I love casino games. I feel the 2 go hand in hand and thus why both are 2 of my favorite hobbies. When I stumbled upon this site a few years ago, it was like heaven to find so many people with similar interest of mine. I could sit and read this forum for hours. It's awesome!

Anyway, I typically like to play games that provide a lower house edge and chalk whatever money I may lose up as an entertainment expense. I typically play craps (betting the don't usually), blackjack (using basic strategy, not counting cards, but just trying to play the right way), and occasionally some Pai Gow Poker (I like the fact I can push a lot and play for a long time on a limited bankroll).

I have always been interested in picking up Video Poker as a 4th option when I head to the casino especially as a way to use my slot comps. I guess the math guy in me is afraid to not be playing as close to the best way in possible. I guess the fact that there is so many options to chose from and so many different strategies, I'm too scared to jump in. I'm familiar with the terms 9/6 and "full pay", but just wondering...where should I start? What would you guys suggest if you were me? What game? What strategy? What pay outs?

Thanks in advance.

Do you just want to play with a small disadvantage like the other games you mentioned? The game you mentioned is a good way to start, 9-6 JoB, but you can do better by choosing a more generous casino. Some casinos give ice in the winter time if you choose a game like that.

I suggest learning 9/6 jacks or better. That should be sufficient for all the other pay JOB games where it pays 2 for 1 on 2 pair that would include bonus poker.

Learning 9/6 should help significantly on many high-paying four of a kind bonus type games. There will be a few changes such as needing to hold inside straights over a redraw, and of course hands involving Aces where aces are the big paying four of a kind.



Unless you want to get advanced you should stay away from any game that pays 7 or more for a flush or five or more for a straight.

Then you should learn some variation of Deuces Wild such as airport deuces or NSU. Don't bother learning full pay Deuces Wild, it's significantly different from most versions of Deuces Wild that are available.

I think the wizard of odds gives breakdowns on how much you're giving up playing simple strategies on Advance games. Wizard of Oz should also have all the other tools you need. There are some free video poker trainers out there if you look around. There's zero reason one should ever pay money for a video poker trainer, unless you're going to become a serious Advantage player. Even then I don't think it's necessary. I don't know that I have ever paid for a video poker trainer.

Axel may be right.

However, I would recommend videopoker.com. Buy a Gold membership - it's $10/month. Included in that is a really good video poker trainer that warns you whenever you've made a less than the best hold. And all the games there are the actual software you find in the casinos.

You can play most games for free, but the newest are restricted, and you get ads. You don't get the trainer, either. But you'll save much more than the $10 you spend per month when you play for real money, So I think it's worth it.

I also like the WizardOf Odds video poker strategy calculator. It has nearly all the games, you use the drop-down menu to narrow it down to your game, you put in the paytable, and it prints out the correct strategy for that exact game. The biggest advantage to that is, you can have the paper-printed version with you in the casino to check your play, because it's not electronic.

Quote: beachbumbabs

You can play most games for free, but the newest are restricted, and you get ads. You don't get the trainer, either. But you'll save much more than the $10 you spend per month when you play for real money, So I think it's worth it

The free version with ads is horrible. The ads take up so much bandwidth that you can hardly play a game.

If you don't want to go "gold" I'd suggest considering "silver". Still no trainer, but for $2.99 a month you get smooth playing.

You should also be able to get a free 5 day trial to try out Gold. Just look for it on the banners.

9/6 Jacks is a easy game with a decent return, and many non-wild games have a similar strategy. Every one of my video poker semesters (next beginning September 3) begins with that game.

Whether the original poster should start with that game, however, depends on where he is planning to play. There are many locales where that game simply cannot be found.

He needs to learn the best game at the casino he plans to frequent. A decent-not-great resource for which decent games may be found in each casino is vpfree2.com.

I'm partial to my own "Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner," but there are other beginner books out there. If you're ever going to get serious about playing, you need to use computer software to assist you. While the wizardofodds.com has a number of free tools on the site that will help you, many of the tools (hand analyzer and strategy calculator) are not as user friendly as some of the other products out there. But they are free, and that's the most important factor to many players.

While NSU Deuces Wild is a good game, where available, a beginner has no concept of what "NSU Deuces Wild" means. Which is why a beginner's primer is useful.

I'd spend a few bucks here over videopoker.com any day.

https://playperfectllc.com/index.html

Quote: prozema

I'd spend a few bucks here over videopoker.com any day.

https://playperfectllc.com/index.html

Yeah I'm probably gonna buy this soon. I have a cache of Google play credit to spend.

Use the resources of the companion site, Wizard of Odds. Start with an explanation of the game. Since you like the math, check out the hand probabilities. Choose a simple or more advanced playing strategy to learn. Practice for free using the online game that lets you know if you have made the right choice for hands in terms of optimal strategy.

There’s an iPhone app called “practice video poker”. It may be on android too. Free app. Many different games. Can by played offline. It purports to alert you when you’ve made an incorrect hold and tell you how far off you are. I think it has the potential to be a good trainer, but since I don’t know who the developer is I’m not totally confident that the math is right. Still, it seems to be reasonable. Also, I’d suggest always bringing a strategy sheet with you (I bring Wizards). 5 cents of prep work can be worth a ton of value when it saves you from bad plays.