Video poker
machines of higher denominations are not more likely to hit
than video poker machines of lower denominations.
A 9/6 Jacks or
Better machine pays back 99.5% with perfect strategy,
regardless of whether it's a 5-cent or a 5-dollar machine.
The odds of your hitting the royal flush, or any paying hand,
are the same regardless of the denomination. Your hit
frequency is determined by the paytable on the machine and
the strategy you use.
A 9/6 Jacks
game is the same on all denominations and a Double Diamond
game is not the same because of the different ways video
poker and slot machines operate. A video poker machine
chooses cards at random from a 52-card deck and the make-up
of the deck is the same on all denominations.
A slot machine, on the other
hand, chooses three symbols at random, one from each reel,
and the make-up of the reels in the program running the
machine can differ from denomination to denomination, and
even from machine to machine in the same denomination. And
you can't tell the make-up of the reels inside the program by
looking at the physical reels in the machine. (Click
here
to read more about how slot machines operate.)
Video poker
does share one aspect with slots: You will tend to find the
higher-paying machines at the higher denominations. The
reason is the same as for slots. The casino makes the same
amount of money by taking a smaller bite out of someone
wagering big bucks as they do by taking a bigger bite out of
someone wagering small bucks.
But when you
find a high-paying video poker paytable on a low denomination
video poker machine, you can rest assured that it's the exact
same game as when it's on a high denomination machine.
John Robison
