Progressive Video Poker

Like their less strategic cousin the slot machines, video poker machines come in progressive versions too. A progressive jackpot is generally shared by a bank of 10 or 12 or more video poker machines, although in online video poker games, they might be shared across an entire software network. A percentage of each wager placed in the video poker machine is added to the jackpot, which is won when the royal flush is hit. (Usually, anyway. Some variations might have a different hand that wins the jackpot.)

8/5 Jacks or Better

The most common progressive video poker game is an 8/5 Jacks or Better game. The payout chart for a progressive 8/5 Jacks or Better game is typically exactly the same as for the non-progressive version, with the only difference being the progressive jackpot on the top payout.

An 8/5 Jacks or Better video poker game offers a payback percentage of 97.3%, or a house edge of 2.7%. But on a progressive machine, as the jackpot rises, the payout percentage increases. Eventually, when the jackpot gets big enough, this game can actually move from being a negative expectation bet to being a positive expectation bet for the player.

How Big Does the Jackpot Need to Be?

8665 coins is the break-even point on this game. When the jackpot gets to that amount, then the game becomes even-odds. Every coin above that amount puts the game more in favor of the player, and if you're going to play, then that's the time to start playing.

But the progressive meter on a progressive video poker game won't show the jackpot in coins. It's going to show the jackpot as a dollar amount, which you'll need to convert to a coin amount to determine if the game has become a positive expectation game.

On a quarter game the jackpot needs to be $2166.25, and on a dollar game the jackpot needs to be $8665.

Some Words of Warning

There are a couple of things to keep in mind about a progressive jackpot situation with a positive expectation. First of all, even though the game might be at a positive expectation, it's still going to be extremely volatile, because someone else might hit the progressive jackpot before you do.

Second of all, strategy for a 9/6 Jacks or Better game and a positive expectation 8/5 Jacks or Better game is different. If you don't know the correct strategy, you'll be giving up quite a bit of the advantage that the jackpot offers you, even if you're using the 9/6 strategy.

6/5 Progressive Jacks or Better

It's also possible that you'll find a large bank of machines that offer 6/5 Jacks or Better video poker with a progressive jackpot. The 6/5 has such an abysmal payout percentage that the jackpot has to become really big before it hits a break-even point - 12,350 coins in fact. And, since the royal flush is so rare, this game is even more volatile than the 8/5 version.

102% and Pro Video Poker Teams

If you can find a progressive video poker game that's offering a payback percentage of 102% or higher, you'll probably have a tough time actually getting to play, because many or most of the machines will be occupied by professional video poker players. These teams will use cell phones to call their teammates before leaving a seat open for just anyone, so that their teammate can take over their spot before they play.

Our free video poker article is also probably worth reading. So is our article about no download video poker. Check them out.

This page was written on April 14, 2006 and was updated on September 18, 2007.

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