Approaching Poker and Online Video Poker Differently

by Edward Rogers, News Staff Writer

December 08, 2007

Following a new release of yet another video poker game (Microgaming's Bonus Deuces Wild 10 Play Power Poker), we thought it would be fitting to talk a little about online video poker. It has been casually expressed that video poker is a great way to learn how to play table poker, and vice versa. And while the two games are close cousins and similar in many ways, they are by no means the same game in terms of structure and strategy. There's probably good reason to clarify the aforementioned advice by stating that the fundamentals of video poker and table poker are the same, i.e., the poker hand rankings.

Video poker is based on Five-card Stud Poker, and uses the same five-card hands to award payouts. Although there are variations in what a qualifying is, the format is still the same. For example, in table poker a Pair of ten's has the potential of winning, while in Jacks or Better video poker, it wields no power at all. As the name implies, Jacks or Better video poker requires a minimum hand of a pair of Jacks in order to win.

Another difference is that table poker has multiple betting rounds, thus requiring stricter bankroll management and a larger bankroll. The other differences between video poker and table poker are more obvious, such as the aspect of bluffing and community cards.

Overall, think of video poker as a scaled-down, simpler version of table poker. In table poker, you can possibly get away with winning a pot without holding the highest hand at the table. In video poker, there is no way around it. Although both games are skill-based, table poker offers another element of skill that video poker simply cannot. This is why it is important to use 100% accurate video poker strategy. It's the best thing you have in your court when it comes to lowering the House Edge.

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