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Video Poker Machine

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The land based video poker machine becameestablished during the mid 1980s with ITG’s (International Game Technology) DrawPoker, today known as Jacks or Better.The game caught on quickly and is immensely popular on gaming floors as well asat online casinos.

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Jacks or Better & other Games

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After drawing five cards, the machine pays out according to the pay table which is displayed on the game screen. Payouts for hands and are based on how seldom they appear.

A Jacks or Better pay table starts with returning your bet if the hand contains a pair of jacks. Other winning hand rankings are the same as in table poker, with the highest payout being a Royal Flush, consisting of a Ten, a Jack, a Queen, a King and an Ace of the same suit.

Video poker games are regulated by state or jurisdiction licensing agencies. These organizations require that machines deal cards randomly, so the public can be assured of fair play.

There are many variations of video poker machines and games. In games where there are no wild cards involved a player can expect to see a four-of-a-kind hand on average approximately once every 400 or 500 hands, while one can hope a Royal Flush might appear every 40,000 to 50,000 hands.

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Full Pay Machines

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In video poker lingo the paytable offering the highest possible payout percentage is called “Full-Pay”. Other variants returning lower payback percentages are termed “Short-Pay”.

Knowledgeable video poker players avoid spending their money on short-pay machines. Click here for more on this subject.

Looking at the payout table of a video poker machine, you’ll see it lists the hands from highest to lowest possible win – Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair and finally a single pair of Jacks, should you happen to be looking at a Jacks or Better pay table.

The payout increases according to the number of coins bet. One can wager from 1 to 5 coins per hand. With five coins at stake, the payout for a Royal Flush jumps to 4,000 coins, which makes an important difference in calculating the overall payout percentage. One should not play a progressive slot machine unless maximum coins are inserted. For the same reason, one should not bet less than five coins per hand on a video poker machine.

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Full Pay Jacks or Better Schedule

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with 5 coins bet, per hand:
Royal Flush 10? J? Q? K? A? pays 4,000 coins
Straight Flush 5? 4? 3? 2? A? pays 250 coins
Four of a Kind 10? 10? 10? 10? 5? pays 125 coins
Flush A? Q? 10? 5? 3? pays 30 coins
Three of a Kind 2? 2? 2? K? 6? pays 15 coins
Two Pairs 5? 5? J? J? 6? pays 10 coins
Jacks or Better J? J? K? 6? 2? returns your bet

Related to the subject on this page:
Online Video Poker Game
9/6 Jacks or Better Pays Best
Online Video Poker Payouts

video poker machine strategy