First I’ll set the scene  – the game here is Jacks or Better video poker and you draw a pair.  The first thought is “hey, I should hold this pair” but hopefully you aren’t playing so fast that you don’t pause to take a look at the rest of the cards.  That’s when you notice you’re sitting one card away from a flush. Now what do you do?  It’s a good dilemma to face.

Let’s take the easiest answer first and say the pair isn’t a high pair of jack, queen, king or ace, but a low pair of twos through tens.  Well, our answer comes from looking at the pay chart and considering the odds.  If I hold the low pair, I’ll need to get either another pair or another matching card to win. Generally, the odds of that happening aren’t bad, but the pay out is considerably less than the a pay out for a flush. You’d have to hit four of a kind to really make holding that low pair worth while.  And hitting four of a kind is a rare event.  Meanwhile, you have four cards to a flush. You only need to draw one more suited card and every fourth card in that deck is a matching card.  So, hold the four cards toward a flush because it is the better option.

Now let’s make the choice trickier. The pair is a pair of high cards, which means a winning pair. So now you have to discard one card of a winning pair if you want to go after that flush.  Is it worth it?  Yes. Really, it is the move you should make.   Holding those high cards will only keep your money even. It won’t move you ahead. So while it may seem counter-intuitive to sacrifice a winning hand for a potential win, that’s exactly what you should do in this case.  So hold those four cards and hit that draw button.

Are you playing video poker at a real world, land based casino instead of an online casino? Okay, here’s the one big difference you want to make in your strategy — stretch out your playing time by going slower.  What does this mean and why do you want to do it?

Well, land based casinos offer you bonuses based on the amount of time you spend playing your games, not just the amount of money that you play for.  This time based evaluation actually tends to provide an edge to table games over slots or video poker, at least in the comps department.  Table games generally take longer to play, even though the edge as far as odds may or may not be in the players favor.  Take roulette for example, the odds for players are terrible.  I don’t recommend playing roulette. I’ve tried it and it’s just a frustrating way to lose money.  But think of the actual play of the game.  Every player at the table has to take the time to place their bet.  The croupier may have to bring in a new player or make change for chips.  All of this has to happen before the wheel can spin.  And spinning the wheel takes time and once the ball lands, the bets have to be collected or paid out.  But while all this is happening, the roulette player is, according to the casino, playing roulette.  Which means the person assigned to overseeing comps counts their time at the wheel towards their comps.

What does this mean to the video poker player?  Well, the time you spend standing in front of your machine counts as play time.  You aren’t evaluated on how fast you hit the button.  Don’t play video poker like you’re in a slots tournament where the objective is to spin the reels as fast as possible.  Play it like you’re at a table game. Slow down. Take time to consider each hand. Stretch out your playing time as much as you can. Because casino will give you comps based on the amount of time you play and comps are one of the fun advantages from playing at a real world casino.

It’s one of those “yikes” moments when I play video poker. A moment that makes me stare at the screen certain there must be a better option.  There must be something I can hold on to.  How can five cards show up that have absolutely no relationship to one another? And not even a high card in the bunch.

Oh, yes, I draw plenty of losing hands in video poker, but seldom does a hand actually stare at me from the moment it’s dealt and say “I’m not going to do a thing for you.”  Usually they taunt me.  “Hey, I’m a low pair” or “high, almost a flush here.”   But I have a hand now – ten of clubs, five  of hearts, two of spades, seven of spades and six of hearts.  So, that would be two cards to a flush which is mostly not a flush. Or three to a straight. Not three to a straight flush, which might be worth something. Just three to a straight which according to strategy charts is pretty worthless.  And an attempt at playing them in hopes of drawing a straight proves that they really aren’t worthwhile. 

In fact playing a hand like this will often prove that I’d have been better off just tossing everything and drawing a completely new set of cards.  Do you believe me?  If not, this is what free games are for.  It was one of the uncertainties I had to overcome when I started playing and looking a video poker strategy charts.  I kept pulling up hands that had nothing that matched the options on the cards.  I tried to find ways to hold onto things that I should have. 

Then I realized I had to get smart about my play.  I started playing free games and actually paying attention to the strategy charts.  And I started dumping those really bad hands and drawing all new cards.  What surprised me was how often I’d actually draw a winning hand, even if it was only a 1 for 1 high pair, when I did that. 

Play the practice game.  Be brave and toss away those bad cards. They aren’t treating you nicely and a losing hand really can’t get worse. 

Today we’re going to talk about hitting a straight and the differences between the inside straight and outside straight because these are important when you look at your video poker hand. 

A straight is simply a run of cards in numerical order so 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is a straight.  So is 7, 8, 9, 10, J.  For video poker, all straights pay out the same amount, unless you’ve managed the straight flush or Royal Flush.  So, if you’re looking at a potential run of cards, it doesn’t matter if your straight starts with the 2 or ends with the 10. Just as long as they form a sequence.  (Note, they don’t actually have to show in order on the video poker display.  4, 5, 2, 3, 6 is still a straight.)

 In a good Jacks or Better game, the straight pays at 4 for 1 odds.  So, it will make you a little money.  A straight flush is a straight where the cards are all of the same suit so 2 hearts, 3 hearts, 4 hearts, 5 hearts and 6 hearts is a straight flush. That will pay at 50 for 1 odds.  But the big money is the Royal Flush which is a run of 10, J, Q, K, A all in the suit.  That will pay at 250 for one with a bigger prize for betting the maximum coins.  Just remember the Royal is worth taking a risk on.

Now, here’s where the strategy comes into play.  You’ve been dealt five cards and four form a potential straight.  But is it an inside straight or an outside straight.  An outside straight is one where a card on either end of the sequence could complete the straight. 4, 5, 6, 7 is and outside straight since either the 3 or the 8 can complete the straight.  That means odds are better at pulling a winning card than a straight that runs 3, 4, 6, 7, which is an inside straight.  Only a 5 can complete that straight. 

You always want to play the outside straight. Hold the cards that could make the straight and draw for the final card.  But an inside straight is trickier.  There are only 4 cards in the deck that will complete that straight (8 for an outside straight).  So, does the hand you’ve been dealt have a better potential win? In a good poker strategy, people will often hold a low pair rather than 4 to an inside straight.  With a low pair, you can win if you draw a third or fourth matching card or if you hit a second pair.  But if that inside straight is four to a straight flush or even three to a Royal Flush, you want to hold on it.  So, the basic rule is – outside straight = good bet. Inside straight = check your options first.