And the coin conundrum
Video poker, like slots, offers the option to play with one coin, or more than one coin, per play. There is always a ‘maximum’ number of coins that you can put towards a hand at the video poker machine. If you want to be eligible for the royal flush bonus, you need to play maximum (or, full) coins. If you hit a royal flush and you weren’t playing with full coins, you will win a normal payout, but nothing special.

So how many coins we play comes down to what we want to get out of the game. For a negative expectation video poker game, like full pay Jacks or Better, we will lose less per hour if we play less coins.

If we’re playing less coins, we lose the entertainment and monetary value of getting the big jackpot. It will hurt, a lot, to have only deposited one coin if you hit a royal flush. If you are basing your play on money and not time, you should always play the maximum number of coins. Most people don’t say to themselves that they want to play $500 worth of Video Poker though, instead they want to play a couple of hours worth of video poker.

That said, some of the following video poker tips may come in handy when you’re considering your options.

• The casinos will alter pay tables as much as they can because they think you wont notice. Read what’s in front of you, avoid bad pay tables. An video poker online for free, even if the machine is not a full-pay machine you are still able to practice the strategy you want.
• Start by playing a single style of game, and get used to the strategy for it. Staying with one machine you are less likely to get confused, and you’re more likely to play your strategy correctly in the long run.