Video poker made its entry to the casino in the seventies and is today one of the very popular forms of online gambling. For the player who likes a game of skill, a low house edge, the possibility of large wins, and the anonymity of playing alone there is nothing else that can compare to video poker.

Firstly, you must understand that there are several variations of video poker and each type has its own paytables and each subsequently each will require its own strategy. A seasoned player will know and understand what the best pay tables are for each game, where to find them, and how to play them.

The rules of video poker are easy; you play 1 to 5 coins, the machine give you five cards, you choose which to hold and which to discard, the machine replaces your discards and pays you off according to the value of your hand.

In order to get the edge over the house a player needs to play correctly e.g. use the most optimal strategy for each variant of video poker. Any player who selects a game at random and doesn't use a strategy will lose over the long run - its that simple! Serious players understand that it's a game of mathematics and thus when game play is strict the odds are increased.

Below you will find odds for three of the more popular video poker games. The tables display the hand that is dealt or held, the payout or amount of coins for that winning hand, the frequency or number of times a particular hand will occur, the probability, the chance (luck) that a hand will occur, the percentage of the total return contribution, and the standard deviation or variance.