Try Your Skill in a Video Poker Machine

The video poker machine made its first appearance in the mid-70s when enterprising manufacturers discovered that they can make a smart game machine by combining a television-like console with the brains of a personal computer which was then also making its entry into the market. Playing with a video poker machine is a unique and fun experience because it enables a person to play poker without interacting with other players or a card dealer.

A video poker machine shares some very basic features with slot machines and was even called poker slots in its early days. Both game machines required no interaction with card dealers and other players and both are controlled by random number generators. An RNG determines the outcome of images in the reels of slots as well as card combinations in the case of a video poker machine. However, there is one very distinct feature that that sets a video poker machine apart from slots--skill is the determining factor in winning a game unlike in slots where the hands of luck and chance control the winning combination of reels.

As a game of skill, a video poker player makes decisions that determine the course of the game. Just like table poker, cards are dealt from a shuffled deck of cards. That is why the possible combinations and frequency of combinations can be calculated and an optimal strategy can be worked out. Because it is a game of skill, it had the advantage over slots of being allowed for play to the public in areas where games of chance were prohibited by law.

Just like in table card games, a very skilled video poker machine player can shift the odds tremendously on his side at nearly one hundred percent return in the long run. Despite this possibility, casinos take a calculated risk by offering this kind of game machine for play because they are aware that most video poker machine players are not skilled enough to play at optimal level. In places where there is a heavy concentration of casinos that compete for public patronage, video poker machines tend to have higher paying tables to attract weak players which form the bulk of the video poker playing public. But in areas where only a few casinos are located, the video poker machine tends to have lower paying tables because the playing public will play these nonetheless for want of other alternative machines. Video poker is one game where the casino will not always emerge as winner, for if you have the patience to learn the basic rules you will be skilled enough to come ahead of the casino.