Video Poker Basics: Pay Tables
Pay Tables
A knowledge of pay tables and how they work is essential for anyone who wants to play video poker. In fact, choosing the game with the right pay table is one of the keys to winning in video poker.
A pay table is also known as a payout schedule. It appears in both video poker and slot machines. It can help you somewhat to know the pay tables in slots, but in video poker it is especially important. Because the number of cards used in video poker is known (usually it's a 52-card deck used), the probability of a hand being hit is known. When you add to that the facts on the pay table, you get complete information on how much a particular video poker machine pays. This is not so with slots since no one knows how many symbols are programmed into a slot's computer.
Pay Table Structure
The pay table is usually found above or below the main playing screen. In video poker, it shows in one column all hands that pay out to the player plus the "even money" hand or the hand that returns your bet—like a pair of Jacks. On the next several columns, the pay table shows how much will be paid out depending on the number of coins or credits are wagered. Often to incite players to bet more, there is a bonus prize for the jackpot if maximum coins are used.
Video Poker Pay Tables
The pay table for video poker games vary, and the same game may have different pay tables. This is why you hear about 9/6 and 8/5 Jacks or Better. The numbers refer to the pay tables. In this case, the 9 and 8 refer to payouts for a full house, and 6 and 5 to payouts for a flush. Such changes in a pay table may seem insignificant, but they are not. These adjustments can make all the difference for both player and casino.
Payback Percentage
Payback percentage is the amount paid back to players over a long period. The higher the payback, the less money the casino keeps and the more players get.
Pay tables make known the payback percentages of video poker games. Experts just add up the pay table with the probabilities of a game. By finding those games that give the highest payback, you get the most out of video poker.
Changing Pay Tables
When you hear casinos changing rules for a particularly popular video poker game, you can bet the changes favor them. That means smaller payouts to players. Often the casinos will slightly increase payouts for prized hands like a straight flush and four of a kind. Yet at the same time there is a commensurate decrease in the payouts for medium and lower hands. This change may seem to favor the player at first glance, yet the reality is the total payouts to players over the long term are reduced.
Before you play a game, you should look closely at the pay table. Please see our links to video poker games and articles about video poker pay tables. These will guide you to finding the games with the best payback percentages.