miércoles, 16 de marzo de 2011

Royal Straight Flush Probabilities and Video Poker

Many video poker games provide the player with odds way lower than 100%. But how often can you actually expect to achieve those coveted royal straight flush sheets?  With video poker games, the player is in the advantage against the casino,or online casino.

Jacks or Better full pay video poker promises an expected profit of 99.50% provided you play according to the best video poker strategy. Nevertheless, statistically speaking, the royal straight flush is hit only once every 40,000 sheets.

We may safely assume that very few players hold on for as many games.  Plus, the expected profits fall drastically if we let the royal straight flush out of consideration.
Then, what is the probability to hit a royal straight flush? The machine initially draws five random cards from a deck of fifty-two cards. These fifty-two cards represent not less than 2,598,960 different hands. Only four of these combinations will be royal straight flush sheets - one for each symbol. In other words, you should not expect to get a royal straight flush with no extra to draw cards. Four royal straight flushes out of 2.59896 million result in a royal straight flush in 649740 sheets.

Fortunately, the machine allows the player to throw the useless cards and draw a number of new ones to improve the sheet. This option makes it much easier to put together a royal straight flush. The statistical calculation promises a royal flush every 40000 straight sheets.
In other words, you can get lucky and find that rare combination a lot sooner or you must play 100000 sheets. The 40000 sheets are actually nothing else but an average.
image of video poker.In other words, video poker is a highly volatile game. You have to explore almost the same opportunities as the casino in the long run, but in the short term, your account balance goes up and down, just like a roller coaster. This is probably the reason why many players prefer blackjack – because it is a game that does not have such variations in terms of payouts.
The chances with playing the maximum number of coins in video poker
Most video poker experts advise you to bet the maximum number of coins because you can expect the biggest gain in almost every category in the long term.
       
                                         1 coin    2 coins     3 coins    4 coins   5 coins

Royal flush                       250          500         750        1000        4000

Straight flush                     50           100         150         200          250

Four of a kind                   25           50           75           100          125

Full house                          9              18           27           26            45

Triplet                                3              6              9            12           15

Two pairs                           2               4              6            8            10

Jacks or better                   1              2              3             4            5

The majority of video poker machines allow you to bet one or more coins per game - just like regular slot machines. In video poker, the odds change depending on the bet, as shown in the table above. The big question is whether or not it is worth betting the largest number of coins or betting one, two, three or four coins.

If you look at the table, you see that the payout for a royal straight flush is rising dramatically if you bet five coins instead of one, two, three or four. The odds of hitting a royal straight flush are exactly the same, no matter how many coins are wagered. Therefore, one should expect a larger gain if you always bet five coins per game.

If you exceed five coins per play, you are usually faced with the possibility of regulating the denomination - typically 0.05 dollars per 5 dollar or 10 dollar coins.

If you bet one coin, you get 250 times the amount in case of a royal straight flush and so on.

You should always bet the maximum number of coins in order to leave the casino with a profit. However, if you have concerns, you should see a different video poker machine that allows you to insert a smaller number of coins.Find casinos online that have video poker but be very carefull at the amount you bet each round.