Video poker

Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a solid state central 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.

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 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.

Video poker machines are tested to ensure compliance with this requirement before being offered to the public.

Additionally, side bets have been added to the game where for a fee, the player may receive some sort of benefit.

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.

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

Deuces Wild can be found with pay schedules that offer a theoretical return as high as 100.8 percent, when played with perfect strategy.

Full pay Loose Deuces (25–17–10), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered.

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).

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.

This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.45% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.39% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

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.

This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 96.15% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 95.00% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.

Other kinds of video poker only have positive theoretical returns when the progressive jackpot is high enough.