Video Poker vs Online Slots
Almost all of material you'll find that compares playing online slot machines versus
video poker machines will invariably recommend video poker as the better choice,
assuming the author is a genuine expert on odds and online casino gambling. But the
editor here asked me to do some thinking 'outside the box' when it comes to
playing slot machines and this article is the result. When you're finished, you
may be just as surprised at my conclusions about video poker vs. online slots
as I was.
The argument for playing video poker vs. online slots is
compelling. Based upon 'long-term' results, there's little doubt in my mind that
the average video poker machine, when played properly, offers a better return on
your gambling dollar than the average slot machine. That's primarily because video
poker is a game of skill and the competitive situation amongst the casinos of
the world -- be they Internet-based or brick-and-mortar operations -- has
required the casinos to offer games with a very high return when compared to
most slot machines, which are not games of skill. Casinos can offer relatively
high return video poker games simply because most people don't play them
skillfully, so the online casino makes a profit from the players? mistakes.
I can show you how to get the maximum return out of a video poker machine,
but you need to remember that the maximum return may still be less than 100%.
Any theoretical return of a video poker machine that's less than 100% means the
casino has an edge over you, just as is does in Roulette, Baccarat or slot
machines. The difference is that the casino's edge in a video poker game may be
(but isn't always) comparatively small; in the neighborhood of 1% or so. Even by
making a lot of mistakes, the average player can likely achieve a long-term
return of over 97% when playing a good video poker game. By 'good', I mean a
game like full-pay Jacks or Better, which is widely available on the Internet.
This version of video poker offers a return of 99.54% if the player uses the
proper playing strategy. That translates into a casino edge of about 0.50% which
is similar to the average Blackjack game and is undoubtedly a lower edge than
the average slot machine, which is typically 3-5% at best.
However, to effectively realize the total return of a video poker game one
must, at one point or another, receive a Royal Flush and its cousin, the
Straight Flush. These are rare; a Royal will come only once every 40,000 hands
and a Straight Flush once every 9000 hands, on average. Because we're dealing
with averages in a random game, there's nothing to stop you from getting a Royal
on your very first hand, but it's not likely to happen. And the short-term lack
of such hands alters the return you can expect when you play, say, 1000 hands of
video poker, which is two or three hours of gaming. I don't want to get too
involved with mathematics here, but the Royal Flush and Straight Flush add a
total of 2.53% to the 99.54% return of the full-pay Jacks or Better video poker
game that I mentioned earlier. Because it's not realistic to hit either a Royal
or a Straight Flush during the course of 1000 hands of play, your return will
likely be more in the area of 99.54% minus 2.53% or 97%. That translates into a
3% casino edge, which is not far removed from that of a good slot machine.
What is a 'good' online slot machine? Well, I don't know, because they cannot be
measured like a video poker game. But, just for discussion purposes, let's say
we can identify a slot machine that has a long-term return of 97% (a 3% casino
edge) and it requires 3 quarters per spin. Generally, a quarter video poker game
will require 5 quarters per hand and both slots and video poker games can
usually be played at a rate of about 400 spins or hands per hour. You can easily
see that playing 400 spins on a slot machine at $.75 per spin means you'll be
betting $300 per hour and playing 400 hands of video poker means you'll be
betting $500 per hour. If the casino's edge, in the short-term, is 3% on each
game, your expectation is to lose $12 per hour while playing the slot machine
and $15 per hour when playing the video poker game, assuming you use the proper
strategy.
Sure, if you're going to play on a regular basis, are willing to finance the
inevitable losing sessions that are part and parcel of video poker and are
willing to learn the proper playing strategy, then video poker is a better way
to go, because your long-term results will likely be much better. But to many
people, gaming is a form of relaxation or entertainment so I can?t blame those
who'd rather play a slot than a video poker game, especially if you have a spare
$20 that you want to gamble with. Throw in the fact that many slot machines --
primarily those without a progressive jackpot -- pay proportionately; that is,
the return for one quarter played is one-third of the return for three quarters
played, your $20 might get you several hours of entertainment. But unlike going
to a movie, play or sporting event, this is entertainment that could see you
walking away with a profit.
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