5 Card Draw Tournament Video Poker Strategy

How video poker tournaments offer more facile victories than PvP poker.

Video poker is perhaps the easiest game for gamblers to understand. They say slot machines are the simplest of all, but do people really understand them? How many slots players actually take the time to read a pay table before they press Spin? Do they know what symbols pay the highest; how much a 5-line of each symbol is worth; how to trigger each bonus feature in a game? No. The truth is, the vast majority of players insert cash, press buttons, and roll with the punches. Video poker is nothing like this.

Most of us learn the basic rules of 5 card draw long before we gain legal-age access to a video poker machine. Having this fundamental background gives us the ability to conceptualize further indoctrination on the subject; in particular, the inherent skill to learn and incorporate a correct video poker strategy. And the fact that you aren’t competing directly against other players, as you would in a traditional 5 card draw tournament, puts you on the highest possible playing level.

Ease of Incorporating a Video Poker Strategy

It doesn’t take a scientific study to prove that when an individual is interested in a subject, they are better capable of absorbing knowledge on that topic from the written word. Thus, if you truly desire to play video poker at the highest level, you should have little trouble learning – dare I say easily memorizing! – how to incorporate a proper strategy into your game.

All it takes is the right source of knowledge, and by that I mean two things; 1) it must be a video poker strategy that aligns with the exact rules / pay table of the game you intend to play, and 2) the information must be scripted in a way that is both entertaining and easy to understand.

That second part is subject to personal preference, of course. Not everyone finds the same thing “entertaining”. Suffice it to say, you must study material that works well for you.

Testing your new-found knowledge in a free-trial setting is highly recommended, as well. You’ll find countless video poker apps for your smartphone or tablet, or try joining an online casino and playing the demo version.

Assuming you’ve got any experience at all playing traditional poker against real people (aka player-versus-player, or PvP poker), you’ll soon understand why…

Video Poker Tournaments Outrank PVP Poker

Think about an average PvP poker tournament experience. It doesn’t have to be a major event like the World Series of Poker. Just a regular, weekend tourney at the local card room. You might have 100 people register for the event. Some of them will be wet behind the ears, either new to the game or joining in for sheer entertainment value. At least a few will be highly skilled players who attend every weekend. The rest are just average Joe’s who know the game well, and may even utilize a few strategies, but aren’t regular players or consistent top finishers. Where do you fit into this group?

Even if you feel you’re among the top of the ranks, you can always run into players who are better than you. Because these are real players, with human tact, emotions and frailties, the strategies constantly evolve. And there are so many things to consider, anyway. You aren’t just competing for the best hand. The winner is the player that convinces everyone else at the table that they have the best hand, regardless of what they’re really holding.

There’s no psychology involved in video poker. It’s a case of man (or woman) versus machine. Once you’ve figured out the best strategy for beating the machine, it never changes, and while others can be as skilled as you, they can never surpass your skills. Thus you can put yourself in the highest possible bracket for a potential win.

In tournaments, it doesn’t even matter that the casino has an edge against you. Therefore it doesn’t matter which video poker game the casino chooses for the tournament. Everyone faces the same edge and volatility, and you’re not spending your own money with every bet you place. That is the beauty of video poker tournaments.

Everyone pays the same entry fee. Everyone receives the same number of credits to starts. Luck plays its roll in the cards you are dealt, but making all the best decisions will afford the highest odds of collecting a piece of the prize pie – preferably the largest slice!