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Video Poker for Beginners
Video Poker’s popularity has blossomed over the past decades, especially in the United States.
It might be due to the fact that video poker machines are everywhere and, with very little practice, people can become comfortable and familiar with the games. This comfort is especially appealing when players realize that two of the main factors that influence your chances of winning have to do with comfort level.
The first, and main, factor is knowledge. A player needs to know which cards to hold and which cards to let go. If someone has even a little familiarity with poker this step won’t be very difficult.
Learning the odds at sites like About.com (http://casinogambling.about.com/library/blgayleVP.htm) and Online-Casino.com (http://www.online-casino.com) is the first step. If you know that the odds are against a hand of jack or better and that an Ace isn’t the best card to have and other similar facts, you’ll make more educated decisions about which cards to hold on to.
The second factor is directly related to the first. Speed. The faster you play, the better your odds of winning. The machines generate cards randomly but they are affected by natural changes in the deal. The quicker you play, the faster you’ll get away from these changes.
The more you know, the faster you play and the better your odds of winning. The knowledge will come quickly and the speed will improve the more you play.
It’s also important to remember, like slot machines, that if you can’t bet the maximum amount of credits a hand, it’s worth it to move to a machine where you can. The payouts for betting the max on the nickel machines are higher than betting the minimum on the 25 cent machines, and so on.
It is also important to remember that, while video poker is often compared to slots due to the similarity of the gaming machines, video poker actually requires some strategy knowledge to become a pro while slots is completely a game of chance.
Video poker aficionado Hannah Bloom said that players enjoy video poker for an array of different reasons. “Everyone likes the game for the same reasons: it’s a poker skill game and challenges you mentally but you don’t have to worry about getting robbed by the card sharks. It’s just you, the machine, and the cards,” Bloom said.
Video poker, like slots, also comes in progressive form where players on connected machines are all playing for one increasing jackpot. Progressive games often payout less than traditional video poker games for the smaller wins, like three pair, full house, etc.
About the Author: Michelle Jonson is a freelance writer from Las Vegas, Nevada.
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