Video Poker Jackpot

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The ideal hand in Double Jackpot Poker video poker is four aces with a jack, queen, or king kicker, which pays off at 160 to 1, second only to the royal flush on the pay table. You get all of this with Double Jackpot Poker video poker without having to make an extra wager. Jackpot Poker video poker delivers a unique pay table and a progressive element. Read how to play Jackpot Poker video poker. Finding the Best Free Video Poker for You Whichever exciting online video poker game you play, you will always get a thrill. Don't miss out - play at the best online video poker casinos in 2020.

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Video poker doesn't have a reputation for paying out huge jackpots like slot machines do. Instead, it's known for paying a maximum of 4,000 coins for a royal flush (w/ 5-coin bet).

However, video poker does offer large progressive jackpots in some cases. Several players have won six figures through these payouts.

Below, I'm going to discuss 5 of the biggest video poker jackpots in history. I'll also cover tips for how you can go for similar prizes too.

1 – WSOP Champ Huck Seed Wins Over $670k

Huck Seed is a poker player who's best known for winning the 1996 World Series of Poker Main Event. Given the $1 million payout he earned for taking down the WSOP Main Event, Seed is no stranger to winning big through Texas Holdem.

But in 2011, he earned a fortune through a different game—video poker. Seed was playing at the ARIA in Las Vegas when he collected a jackpot worth $670,665.

Omg fortune slots. This is the largest video poker payout I've ever heard of. The $670.7k jackpot that Seed collected would be worthy of a major Texas Holdem tournament prize. Video poker odds.

However, it certainly wasn't cheap to play for this windfall. Seed was playing in the ARIA's high-limit area and betting $500 per round when he collected the prize.

Seed tweeted the winning hand, which was a royal flush full of spades. He also explained that he was playing video poker for two reasons:

  • Online poker was in limbo after Black Friday.
  • He found a game that featured a theoretical edge due to the huge jackpot.

Due to the jackpot's size, Seed calculated that he had a 0.65% advantage. He determined that he'd earn $3 in theoretical profits for every round played.

Seed played for six hours, logging approximately 1,000 hands each hour before getting the royal. He also estimated being down $50,000 on the machine before winning the $670k payout—earning him over $620,000 in profits.

2 – Vegas Video Poker Player Collects $400k at Cosmopolitan

The next big winner on this list isn't a famous pro gambler like Huck Seed. In fact, they didn't even share their name after winning.

However, this anonymous video poker player can boast about winning one of the biggest video poker payouts ever. In 2017, they won a $400,000 prize at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

The Cosmopolitan actually shared news of this win via their Twitter account. They posted the $400,000 jackpot screen along with a congratulations for the lucky winner.

The person was playing a 100-hand Triple Double Bonus machine at the time of their windfall. They were also risking $500 per round, or $5 for each hand.

No information was given on how much the gambler spent winning the progressive prize. But with a payout worth more than $400,000, they almost assuredly came out on top.

3 – Poker Pro Bart Hanson Wins $200k

Bart Hanson is another poker pro who won big in video poker. He collected a $200,000 jackpot while playing at Caesars Palace in 2018.

Hanson was betting $250 per round on a 100-line game ($2.50 per hand). He also played lots of rounds while waiting in between tournaments at the 2018 World Series of Poker. Hanson spoke in depth about his win while on break during the WSOP.

'There's a way to do it (win a large jackpot) on some very high stakes video poker with the lowest expected loss,' said Hanson. 'People would actually be surprised, it's not that much of a loss, but you gotta play big.'

I was actually playing a game that I don't normally play, which was Bonus Poker (99.17% RTP), which was slightly worse than Jacks or Better (99.54% RTP). And the reason why I was playing it was because I told myself, ‘I never hit the royal. Let me play Bonus, so if I hit 4 of a kind I'll get like $20,000.''

Hanson wasn't exactly doing great on the session where he won $200k. However, he got lucky at the very end when he was dealt a royal flush.

'… So, I was playing Bonus and I was down to having 10 credits left. I started with eight grand. On my second-to-last spin, I hit it,' he recalled.

'I was sort of in shock—nobody was around the high limit area at Caesars. The high limit slots area, there's no one in there ever. I got it on video.'

Hanson believes that this is the largest video poker prize ever caught on film. He may be right when considering that nobody above him on this list actually posted a video of their win.

'If you search on video poker jackpots on YouTube, I haven't seen anything bigger than $40,000 or $50,000 on film.'

4 – Player Nets Sequential Royal Flush and $180k

Some video poker machines require that players get a certain type of royal flush to win the jackpot. This setup can either involve a royal of a specific suit or a sequential royal flush.

The latter entails getting a royal in perfect order, including A-K-Q-J-10. Receiving a royal flush in any manner is already hard enough—let alone in exact order.

Nevertheless, a gambler at Boulder Station (downtown Vegas) managed to pull off this feat in 2019. They received a sequential royal flush and pocketed $180,000.

Unfortunately, no information is available on this big winner. But at least their jackpot will go down in history as one of the largest video poker payouts.

5 – Floyd Mayweather Wins $101k

With a net worth ranging somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion, Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn't exactly need more money. Nevertheless, he managed to add to his wealth in 2018 with a $101,250 video poker prize.

Huge Video Poker Jackpots Youtube

The retired boxing champion spent approximately $20,000 while playing on machines in Las Vegas. He was risking $25 per round in hopes of winning a progressive jackpot.

Mayweather posted a video of his winning screen. He also held up $70,000 worth of printed tickets to show that he'd won even more cash outside of the $101k prize.

Again, 'Money' doesn't exactly need these winnings. So, he posted another video of himself taking the jackpot spoils to a Vegas strip club that he owns called Girl Collection.

In addition to winning big in video poker, Mayweather is also known for some colossal sports betting wins as well. For example, he once earned $1.1 million through a $1m bet on the Oregon Ducks during the 2014 college football season.

Tips for Winning Big Video Poker Jackpots

Winning a massive video poker payout certainly isn't easy. But you can improve your chances of doing so with the following tips.

Visit Las Vegas

You aren't going to find the largest video poker prizes in Bucktown USA. All of the giant payouts on this list happened in Las Vegas.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that you drop everything and move to Sin City. The only time this would be worthwhile is if you can find a rare situation like Seed did, where you're theoretically earning $3 in profits for every hand. Free poker slots jacks or better.

However, you may have a Las Vegas trip lined up. Or, perhaps you plan on visiting Vegas in the near future. In either case, you can scout out worthwhile progressive jackpot and chase them.

Concentrate on High Stakes Games

Video Poker Jackpots 2020

The two main routes for winning large video poker jackpots involves:

  1. Playing for high stakes.
  2. Playing machines that require sequential royal flushes (1 in 2.4 million odds).

The first way offers the easiest way to win a big jackpot. After all, you still have approximately 1 in 40,000 odds of getting a royal this way.

Of course, you do need a large bankroll to play machines with higher stakes. As Hanson noted, though, you can at least look forward to low expected losses in the long run. Furthermore, you may even be able to gain a theoretical advantage like Seed managed to do.

Brush Up on Video Poker Strategy

You can win a jackpot regardless of whether you know video poker strategy well or not. However, your bankroll won't last as long while chasing jackpots if you're a bad player.

Knowing strategy helps you make the right plays and win back more money. In turn, you'll be able to sustain your bankroll while going after large prizes.

The best ways to gain insight into video poker include strategy charts and trainers. A chart shows the optimal moves that you should make to achieve the highest RTP for a given game.

A trainer offers tips as you practice with free video poker. It shows every correct and incorrect decision you make.

Prepare for Volatility

Again, you have approximately 1 in 40,000 odds of receiving a royal. Therefore, you shouldn't expect to win a jackpot right away.

But if you're dead set on collecting a big prize someday, then you definitely need to account for the volatility. Having a large starting bankroll helps you get through the rough patches and, hopefully, win a large payout.

I suggest having enough money for at least 500 hands on your preferred game. If the qualifying jackpot bet is $5 (five $1 coins), for example, then you should start with at least $2,500.

Conclusion

Most people don't play video poker to hunt for progressive jackpots. But as you can see, video poker can be worth playing when you're seeking big wins.

Multiple gamblers have won six-figure prizes through video poker. Huck Seed even managed to corral a payout worth over $670,000.

Of course, Seed was also betting $500. Herein lies one major challenge of video poker in that you must play for high stakes or choose games with sequential royal flushes. If you're up for either challenge, then you might consider video poker when trying to win a jackpot.

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A video poker machine at Seven Feathers Casino.

Video poker is a casino game based on five-card drawpoker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.

History[edit]

Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a solid statecentral processing unit. The earliest models appeared at the same time as the first personal computers were produced, in the mid-1970s, although they were primitive by today's standards.

Video poker became more firmly established when SIRCOMA, which stood for Si Redd's Coin Machines (and which evolved over time to become International Game Technology), introduced Draw Poker in 1979. Throughout the 1980s video poker became increasingly popular in casinos, as people found the devices less intimidating than playing table games. Today video poker enjoys a prominent place on the gaming floors of many casinos. The game is especially popular with Las Vegas locals, who tend to patronize locals casinos off the Las Vegas Strip. These local casinos often offer lower denomination machines or better odds.

A few people that are skilled in calculating odds have made money playing video poker.[1]

The game[edit]

Video poker machines at Harrah's New Orleans

After inserting money (or a bar-coded paper ticket with credit) into the machine, play begins by placing a bet of one or more credits and pressing the 'deal' button. The player is then given 5 cards (like five-card draw) and has the opportunity to discard one or more of them in exchange for new ones drawn from the same virtual deck. After the draw, the machine pays out if the hand or hands played match one of the winning combinations, which are posted in the pay table. Unlike the table version, the player may discard all 5 of their original cards if they so choose.[2] Best game to gamble on.

Pay tables allocate the payouts for hands and are based on how rare they are, the game variation, and the decision of the game operator. A typical pay table starts with a minimum hand of a pair of jacks, which pays even money. All the other hand combinations in video poker are the same as in table poker, including such hands as two pair, three of a kind, straight (a sequence of 5 cards of consecutive value), flush (any 5 cards of the same suit), full house (a pair and a three of a kind), four of a kind (four cards of the same value), straight flush (5 consecutive cards of the same suit) and royal flush (a Ten, a Jack, a Queen, a King and an Ace of the same suit).[3]

Some machines offer progressive jackpots or other unique bonuses, spurring players to both play more coins and to play more frequently.

Largest

Regulation[edit]

Video poker machines in casinos in the United States are regulated by state or Indian gaming agencies. These agencies typically require that the machines deal random card sequences using a virtual deck of cards. This is based on a Nevada Gaming Commission regulation later adopted by other states with a gaming authority. Video poker machines are tested to ensure compliance with this requirement before they are offered to the public.

Variations[edit]

There are many variations of video poker. They include Deuces Wild, where a two serves as a wild card; Joker's Wild, where a joker serves as a wild card; Anything's Wild, where the player selects any card (by rank) to act as the wild card before the hand is dealt; pay schedule modification, where four aces with a four or smaller kicker pays an enhanced amount (these games usually have some adjective in the title such as 'bonus', 'double', or 'triple'); and multi-play poker, where the player starts with a base hand, and each additional played hand draws from a different set of cards with the base hand. (Multi-play games are offered in 'Triple Play', 'Five Play', 'Ten Play', 'Fifty Play' and 'One Hundred Play' versions.)

In games which do not have a wild card, a player on average will receive the rare four-of-a-kind hand approximately once every 500 hands, while a player may play tens of thousands of hands before a royal flush, which usually has the highest payout.

Video poker games online are now available in the US in 3 different states: New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. Players in all three states are able to enjoy fully regulated online video poker games provided that they are physically present in the respective state, of legal age to gamble, and can validate their identity.

Full pay games[edit]

When modern video poker games first appeared, the highest-paying common variant of a particular game was called 'full-pay'. Game variants that returned a lower payback percentage were termed 'Short-Pay'. Though the term full-pay is still in use, today, there are many game variants that return more. Payback percentage expresses the long-term expected value of the player's wager as a percentage if the game is played perfectly. A payback percentage of 99 percent, for example, indicates that for each $100 wagered, in the long run, the player would expect to lose $1 if they played every hand in the optimal way. Full-pay Jacks or Better, for example, offers a payback percentage of 99.54%. Some payback percentages on full-pay games are often close to or even in excess of 100 percent.

Casinos do not usually advertise payback percentages, leaving it up to the player to identify which video poker machines offer the best schedules.

The payoff schedules for most video poker machines are configured with a pay schedule that pays proportionally more for certain hands (such as a royal flush) when the maximum number of credits (typically 5 coins) is bet. Therefore, players who do not play with the maximum number of credits at a time are playing with a smaller theoretical return.

Jacks or Better[edit]

'Jacks or Better,' sometimes simply called 'Draw Poker,' is the most common variation of video poker. Payoffs begin at a pair of jacks. Full pay Jacks or Better is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better since the payoff for a full house is 9 times the bet, and the payoff for a flush is 6 times the bet.[4] Sometimes, 10/6 and 9/7 versions of Jacks or Better can be found as promotions.[5]

HandPrizeCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Royal Flush80041,126,0220.0000251.9807%
Straight Flush50181,573,6080.0001090.5465%
Four of a kind253,924,430,6470.0023635.9064%
Full House919,122,956,8830.01151210.3610%
Flush618,296,232,1800.0110156.6087%
Straight418,653,130,4820.0112294.4918%
Three of a kind3123,666,922,5270.07444922.3346%
Two Pair2214,745,513,6790.12927925.8558%
Jacks or Better1356,447,740,9140.21458521.4585%
All Other0906,022,916,1580.5454350.0000%
Totals-1,661,102,543,1001.00000099.5439%

Video Poker Jackpots Recent

Bally's All American[edit]

Bally Technologies All American video poker is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flushes, but reduced payout for full houses and two pairs (8-8-8-3-1 versus 9-6-4-3-2). The full pay version (quads return 50 bets), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few. IGT's version of the game is called USA Poker.

Tens or Better[edit]

'Tens or Better' is a variation of 6/5 Jacks or Better. The minimum paying hand is a pair of tens, rather than a pair of Jacks. Strategy is similar between the two games, in spite of the very different full house and flush payouts.

Joker's Wild[edit]

'Joker's Wild', as the name implies, adds a joker to the mix. The joker is fully wild and substitutes to make stronger hands. The inclusion of the wild joker also adds another winning hand in 5-of-a-kind. The game's name inspired a game show of the same name. The full pay version of Joker Two Pair or better (6-7-8), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few.

Video Poker Jackpots Las Vegas

Deuces Wild[edit]

'Deuces Wild' is a variation of video poker in which all twos are wild. (Wild cards substitute for any other card in the deck in order to make a better poker hand). In Deuces Wild, the payout for a four of a kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payback percentage of the game, and a four of a kind occurs on average approximately every fifteen hands. Deuces Wild can be found with pay schedules that offer a theoretical return as high as 100.8 percent, when played with perfect strategy. This full-pay version is found only in Nevada. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

Hand1 credit2 credits3 credits4 credits5 credits
Natural Royal Flush30060090012004000
Four Deuces2004006008001000
Wild Royal Flush255075100125
Five of a Kind1530456075
Straight Flush918273645
Four of a Kind510152025
Full House3691215
Flush246810
Straight246810
Three of a Kind12345
Theoretical Return99.7%99.7%99.7%99.7%100.8%

Variations are available that pay different amounts for the quad 'deuces', such as Double Deuces (2000), Loose Deuces (2500), Triple Deuces (3000), and Royal Deuces (4000). Full pay Loose Deuces (25-17-10), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered.

Sigma Flush Attack[edit]

Sigma Flush Attack is a combination of video poker and a banking slot, in this case what is being banked is flushes.[6] After 3,4, or 5 flushes (varies by machine), the machine switches into 'flush attack mode' in which the next flush pays 100 or 125 credits instead of the more usual 30 credits of 9-6 Jacks or Better. Some of these machines are linked, which means players can simply wait for someone else to put the bank in flush attack mode, or alternately with non-linked machines a player can play after observing a previous player hit flushes but not enough to trigger the flush attack, a practice called 'vulturing'. The higher payoff of the flush attack represents one of the higher overlays of video poker. These machines, once common, are now relatively rare.

Bonus Poker[edit]

'Bonus Poker' is a video poker game based on Jacks or Better, but Bonus Poker offers a higher payout percentage for four of a kind. The full-pay version of this game returns 99.2%. (3)The game has multiple versions featuring different bonus payouts based on the ranking of the four of a kind.

Double Bonus[edit]

'Double Bonus' video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better with a bonus payout for four aces. This variation offers up to a theoretical return of 100.2 percent, when played with perfect strategy — however, this % is only on a '10/7' version video poker game (10/7 being the payouts for a full house and a flush). There are many other video poker varieties of 10/6, 9/6, etc. that have slightly lower than the most generous 10/7 version payout. Although the full-pay version has a theoretically-positive return, few play well enough to capitalize on it. Double Bonus is a complex game.(4)

It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

Hand1 credit2 credits3 credits4 credits5 credits
Royal Flush25050075010004000
Straight Flush50100150200250
Four Aces160320480640800
Four 2, 3, or 480160240320400
Four 5-K50100150200250
Full House1020304050
Flush714212835
Straight510152025
Three of a Kind3691215
Two Pair12345
Jacks or Better12345
Theoretical Return99.1%99.1%99.1%99.1%100.2%

Double Double Bonus[edit]

'Double Double Bonus' video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better which offers bonus payoffs for different four of a kinds, as seen in the payout table below. Full pay Double Double Bonus can be found with pay schedules that offer up to a theoretical return of 100.1 percent, when played with perfect strategy. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

Hand1 credit2 credits3 credits4 credits5 credits
Royal Flush25050075010004000
Straight Flush50100150200250
Four Aces w/2, 3, or 4400800120016002000
Four 2, 3, or 4 w/A-4160320480640800
Four Aces160320480640800
Four 2, 3, or 480160240320400
Four 5-K50100150200250
Full House1020304050
Flush612182430
Straight48121620
Three of a Kind3691215
Two Pair12345
Jacks or Better12345
Theoretical Return98.9%98.9%98.9%98.9%100.1%

Low pay video poker games[edit]

Often casinos choose to use pay tables which reduce the maximum payout percentage as compared to other commonly available game variants. This increases the house edge, but generally reduces net revenue for the casino as players experience less 'play time' on the machine, busting out of their buy-in at an earlier point. Casinos that reduce paytables generally have to increase promotions to compensate and attract customers.

9/5 Jacks or Better[edit]

9/5 Jacks or Better is a low pay version of the game. The payout for making a Flush is cut from 6x your bet to 5x your bet, but all other payouts remain the same. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.45% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

8/6 Jacks or Better[edit]

8/6 Jacks or Better is another often used pay table for Jacks or Better games. The payout for making a Full House is cut from 9x your bet to 8x your bet, while all other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.39% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

8/5 Jacks or Better[edit]

8/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 8x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 97.30% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus. A common promotion used by casinos to encourage play on this tight paytable was to add a 2% progressive meter to the royal flush.

7/5 Jacks or Better[edit]

7/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 7x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 96.15% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

6/5 Jacks or Better[edit]

6/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 6x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 95.00% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

Progressive jackpot games[edit]

Other kinds of video poker only have positive theoretical returns when the progressive jackpot is high enough. Many establishments advertise with a billboard when the progressive jackpot is high enough. Otherwise sub-optimal games like 8/5 jacks or better can become positive expectation when the jackpot is large enough.

Terminology[edit]

As with regular poker, there are many different terms and phrases that are associated with playing video poker. Not knowing these terms may cause a disadvantage to anyone playing the game. The most important video poker terms [7] have been added to the table below.

Video Poker TermExplanation
Full PayThe highest paying variant of a video poker game. Typically with high return-to-player game percentages.
Low PayRefers to video poker games which increase the house edge and reduce the return-to-player percentage.
Natural Royal FlushA unique case when the highest possible hand, a Royal Flush, is dealt to the player.
Power PokerTheoretically the most profitable poker strategy.
Multi-PlayA feature that allows participants to play with more than one hand.
HoldWhen a player chooses to keep the cards in their hand.
Auto HoldA feature available in certain video poker games. If turned on, the game automatically chooses which cards to hold.
Not So Ugly Ducks (NSUD)A game most well-known for paying 16 for a 5 of a kind and 10 for a straight flush.
Game DenominationRefers to the value of the cards or the coin size in a video poker game.
FlushA five-card hand that contains cards of the same suit.
DiscardThe cards you decide to throw away after the initial deal.
DrawThe second deal of the cards, after you have decided which cards to hold and which to discard.
HandThe five cards (or less) dealt on the screen are known as a hand.


See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Montero, David; Winton, Richard; Vives, Ruben (2017-10-09). 'In the solitary world of video poker, Stephen Paddock knew how to win. Until he didn't'. Los Angeles Times. ISSN0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  2. ^'Video Poker Rules & Gameplay'.
  3. ^'Learn Video Poker Rules and Video Poker Hand Values'. OnlineCasinosDoc.com. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  4. ^'Video Poker Analyzer - Wizard of Odds'. wizardofodds.com.
  5. ^Video Poker Optimum Play, Dan Paymar, Table 9: Attractiveness Quotient of Selected Games, page 175, ISBN1-886070-11-3
  6. ^Robbing the One-Armed Bandits, Charles Lund, 1999, ISBN091057510X, page 37ff
  7. ^'Video Poker Online Guide'. online-gambling.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Video poker.
  • Video Poker Guides at Curlie
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