Video Poker odds when a cash bonus is given for $1200+ jackpots

Can anyone help me calculate the odds on for video poker at a local casino that is offering a cash bonus once weekly on jackpots $1200 or better. The casino I am referring to does not offer any good paytables so I usually avoid it, but I do recall $5 & $10 9/5 JOB, as well as 8/5 bonus poker. I am considering the my options for when I am going for the cash bonus, and I am trying to decide between $5 9/5 JoB, $10 9/5 JoB, $2 8/5 BP, or $5 8/5 BP. Considering I will stop play when I get a $1200+ jackput to maximize my EV with the bonus what paytable/game would be best? With the options of geting a $1200 jackpot varying for each game / denomination I could really use some help with this. An example amount of the bonus for the calculation could be $500 (offer varies by slot account).

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Probably $5 8/5 BP would be best. You would reach the $1,200 threshold on any of the bonus quads or a straight flush (and obviously the royal). You can fool around with some of the video poker programs and find out what the expected return and strategy would be for each casino-added bonus.

One thing I am certain of is you will need a HUGE bankroll to play.

Teddy,

Thanks for the reply! I have used things like the paytable analyzer, but I do not know of any that counts casino bonuses. Is there one you recommend that would help calculate casino bonuses?

Also, would it be that large considering I am only playing to get 1 Jackpot? (they allow 1 per week) So basically I would just play until 1st 4 of a kind or better. I plan to bring about 5000 or so, and I realize that isn't even close to the full bankroll needed to play the game long term, but am I at least in the ballpark to play it for 1 4 of a kind or better jackpot, right?

$5 8/5 bonus will only pay 1200 or more for 4 aces or better,2,3,4`s would only pay 1000.
If you want to hit the bonus quickly you should play the 10$ machine as any 4 of a kind would be 1200

Quote: Hunterhill

$5 8/5 bonus will only pay 1200 or more for 4 aces or better,2,3,4`s would only pay 1000.
If you want to hit the bonus quickly you should play the 10$ machine as any 4 of a kind would be 1200

Yeah I continue to think that as well, but here is what I can not get a grasp on in my head... Lets say I want to do this every week for 1 hit. What option gives me the most expected value if playing only enough hands to get the bonus. I know on Avg I will get a 4 of a kind every 400 hands or so, but if playing $10 8/6 I know I will only get $1250 (+$500 bonus) each time, but playing $5 double double bonus I could get $1250-$10000 (+$500) each time. Considering I will only play to the first 4 of a kind on ether game, which game would have the best expected value over time considering the extra loss with the DDB paytable before the 4 of a kind?

Sorry I just do not know how to calculate that myself. Anyone able to assist?

My suggestion is to try the Video poker analyzer at www.vpgenius.com. It's free, easy and you don't need to download any software.

Instructions: First choose "Video Poker Games" from the top tab and choose the game variation you want to analyze. Then choose "Paytable" tab and choose a custom paytable from the drop-down menu and enter all the payouts including the extra bonus payout to the paytable. Notice that all payouts are experessed relative to $5 stake so convert the payouts relative to that stake. Then choose "Strategy Table" tab, which calculates the exact return percentage for you, as well as the probability to hit each payout, as well as the optimal custom strategy for those specific payouts you entered. By analyzing through all possible combinations (game and bet size choice) you will find out the one that yields the highest payout vs. volatility. You can then print the strategy table and bring it with you to the casino. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I work this bonus today and It was a pretty good day luckily. My wife and I were each eligable for 1 $500 bonus for any $1200+ hit so we both sat at $5 9/6 DDB machines with a 5k bankroll. She was lucky to get 10,10,10,10 pretty quickly when she was down about $700 so with the $500 bonus she cashed out up a but over $1,000. Mine was a bit more of a grind as I was in just over $3,000 before I got a four of a kind. I was lucky though as it was A,A,A,A,7 so with the $500 bonus I ended up about $1,200.

All and all a good first day fooling with this bonus, thanks for the suggestions guys!