Like slot machines and other gambling games, the amount of
superstition and false information out there about
video
poker games is mind-boggling. I've listed some of the most common,
and most absurd, video poker fallacies here.
The Falsehoods
Inserting coins instead of bills will make it more likely for
you to win.
Higher denomination machines are loose and lower denomination
machines are tight.
Anyone who tells you that anything is going to affect which
cards you receive that doesn't correspond to a random number
generator dealing from a simulated 52 card deck is telling you
something bogus.
Video poker machines don't become "due". (Unless they offer a
progressive jackpot.)
If I select the right machine and play with good
strategy every time I go to Vegas, I'll always win.
The Truths
Below are corresponding truths regarding the falsehoods above:
The
odds are determined by the payback table. The method of
inserting money has no effect.
The odds are determined by the
payback table, not by the
denomination of the machine. (A quarter machine with 9/6
Jacks or Better pays back the same as a dollar machine with 9/6
Jacks or Better.)
The random number generator is random and simulates a 52 deck of
cards. The chances of getting any particular card are 1 in 52.
Every game of video poker that you play is an independent event.
Hitting a royal flush doesn't affect the odds of hitting a royal
flush on the next hand you play.
Even with perfect strategy and a good payout table, a good
player will still lose a lot of the time, because so much of the
payback percentage is found in the royal flush, which happens on
average once every 40,400 hands or so.
