Do you really want to
win money playing online
video poker? If you
answer yes, then you
better learn to swing
for the fences. To have
any chance at overcoming
the house edge in video
poker you must try and
hit the jackpots, and it
is not as simple as you
might think.
Let’s say
you are playing a Jacks
or Better video poker
machine. Let’s say you
are dealt an Ace of
Diamonds, 10 of
Diamonds, 3 of Diamonds,
5 of Hearts, and 9 of
Hearts.
If you look at this
example you will see
that most of the time
players will hold the
ace and discard the
rest. The other option
though is to hold the
ace and the 10 and go
for the royal. If you
hold the ace and the 10
you are going to hit the
royal flush 1 in 16,215
times.
Those are very long
odds and don’t look very
good. Most players will
hold the ace and look to
hit other things like
two pair, three of a
kind, flushes,
straights, etc. That
will definitely happen
more often if they hold
only the ace.
The problem with
doing what looks right
is that you will not hit
the royal that way. The
odds of hitting the
royal when holding a
single ace are so long
that it is not even
worth considering. They
are astronomical. A lot
of people would say 1 in
16,215 is ridiculous
too, but any chance is
better than none and
that is how you must
play video poker if you
want to hit the jackpot
and win money in the
long haul.
You must always go
for the big score. It is
swinging for the fences.
You will strikeout
almost every time but
your goal is the home
run and that is all that
matters.
