I call
video poker the hybrid casino game because it's a bastard child of poker and slot machines. It looks and sounds like a slot machine, true, but
videopoker is definitely NOT a slot machine.
Slot machines are random, and nothing you do can change the odds or the payout. Your only hope is to put your money in and pray. But
video poker rewards smart splay and smart game selection. If you make good decisions, then you benefit. Many of the "locals" casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and other casino cities offer more video poker games to choose from than slot machines.
Video poker, when played correctly, is one of the best bets in the casino. The house advantage on a good machine is only about 0.5%, which makes it as good a bet as the better craps bets and perfect strategy
blackjack. If you add comps into the equation, video poker can actually be a profitable game for the long term player.
Videopoker is popular now and will continue to grow more profitable, because players like to play games where their decisions affect their outcomes. With video poker, you have some control over your destiny, and that's appealing to gamblers like me who want to use their smarts when they play.
I'll be posting a lot of video poker information here over the course of time, because there's a lot of video poker information to be had. I also want to recommend a couple of directories of video poker websites,
Google Video Poker Guides and
Yahoo's Video Poker Directory. And my friend's site
Video Poker Rules is another good resource. Be sure to also read
Video Poker Pay Tables - Jacks or Better.
