In the world of casinos, there is a saying that the house always wins. For the most part, this is true; after all, we’re talking about a business and not a charity. In fact, even the games with the lowest house advantage such as Blackjack will only reduce it down to about half a percent, but not stir it in the player’s favor… or so the conventional wisdom holds.
At some point, gambling enthusiasts reportedly discovered video poker machines with a 100% return to player rate (or RTP for short). As you can imagine, this completely shattered people’s perception about casinos and what is possible to achieve as a player. But are these fabled beatable poker machines nothing more than an urban myth? Let’s dive in to find out more!
Most video poker machines have favorable RTP percentages to begin with
Much like Blackjack, when played optimally and with the right game selection, it’s possible to reduce the video poker house edge down to about half a percent. This is quite decent to begin with, at least compared to typical casino offerings. Roulette, for example, has a house edge of slightly more than 5%.
Here comes the kicker. Certain video poker machines actually come with a negative house advantage, meaning that the player is likely to get back slightly more than invested over a large sample size (full-pay Deuces Wild and full-pay Joker Wild are two such examples). That, in the context of a traditional casino, has been virtually unheard of. Until now.
The rare find of +EV games
Poker players, when referring to long-term expected profitability of certain hands, use the term expected value. It can be either +EV or -EV, depending on the kind of results you can expect playing it in the long run. In that sense, playing certain video poker machines can be considered +EV when proper strategy is followed.
However, they tend to be a rare find and you’re unlikely to encounter them outside of Las Vegas. Sometimes, the advantage can be as little as 0.07% in the player’s favor, meaning it more or less functions like a coinflip with a very minuscule upside.
Video poker is a game that can be quite profitable if you know how to play it right. However, most people do not understand how video poker works and think that they can not win at this game. This is technically true because most people will lose more money than they make on video poker machines when they play without knowing what they are doing wrong. If you want to learn how to play video poker like the professionals do then read on!
When it comes to beatable casino games, two come to mind immediately: blackjack and video poker. And since the latter is available in most casinos with a wide variety of pay tables, you can sometimes find a machine that pays well enough to create a winning situation for the player.
When it comes to beatable casino games, two come to mind immediately: blackjack and video poker. And since the latter is available in most casinos with a wide variety of pay tables, you can sometimes find a machine that pays well enough to create a winning situation for the player.
- Video poker is a game of skill. A basic understanding of the game will allow you to increase your chances of winning by playing certain hands instead of others or hitting certain cards rather than standing pat on them. You can even develop your own system for playing certain hands based on card combinations that are known as “probabilities” in the research world. This means that if you know what those probabilities are and how they work, then you can make decisions during play based on what happens before your hand comes down and use this knowledge to help improve your chances at winning money from each hand played.*
- Video poker is beatable because there are plenty of bad machines out there just waiting for someone like us who knows how these games work so we can take advantage!
The most common video poker question we hear from new players is whether machines are beatable. It’s an easy question to which there is no simple answer.
The most common video poker question we hear from new players is whether machines are beatable. It’s an easy question to which there is no simple answer.
The pay table is the primary factor in whether a machine is beatable, but it’s not the only one. The number of wild cards and other special features also play a role in how much you can expect to win or lose at each machine. But overall, your goal should be to find machines that have positive theoretical return percentages (RTP).
But what makes it so complicated? Well for one thing, your starting point will be different depending on whether you have access to full-pay machines or not.
If you’re looking to get in on the fun, keep in mind that the full-pay machines are a good starting point. They will have more payouts than their counterparts with fewer winning hands and a lower payout percentage. This means that your winnings will be higher with full-pay video poker machines, but they’ll come less often and require more strategy than their “loose” counterparts
If you live near Las Vegas, Reno or Atlantic City, you have a good chance of coming across a full-pay machine at some point. These pay 9 times your wager on a full house and 6 times on a flush, making them great options when compared to other pay tables.
If you live near Las Vegas, Reno or Atlantic City, you have a good chance of coming across a full-pay machine at some point. These pay 9 times your wager on a full house and 6 times on a flush, making them great options when compared to other pay tables. If you’re looking for one of these machines, try the following:
- The most popular casinos are likely to have more full-pay machines than other properties. If you’re in town for business or pleasure and planning on spending time at one of the major casinos in the area—Bellagio, MGM Grand and Wynn Resorts—then it’s likely that their video poker machines will be similar to those found elsewhere in Las Vegas’ strip malls (if not identical).
- Check online reviews before visiting any casino if possible; this will let you know if there are any changes worth noting regarding its gaming offerings between visits.
The volatile nature of video poker
Unlike Roulette or Blackjack, video poker does not distribute payouts in small chunks. Rather, you are likely to see it eating away at your bankroll until you reach a big hand like a flush. This means that you’re going to need to have the patience to play a large number of hands while waiting for the big payoff.
In addition, it might just be the case that there are no suitable video poker machines in your local area, so you’re either going to need to travel to Las Vegas or find some of the best paying online pokies Australia, the country known for its liberal gambling climate and diversified game variety.
Source: Unsplash.com
Conclusion
To clarify it once and for all, beatable video poker machines do exist, although you will likely need to sift through a large number of them to find the ones with a suitable RTP. When you finally do, as long as you keep in mind that any form of gambling has an element of variance to it, you should find the motivation necessary to adjust your expectations and stay in it for the long run.
