In order to become a master video poker player, there are a few things you need to know. The first is how to read a payout schedule, so you know the difference between short, partial play and full-pay versions. And second, you need to know the strategies for all the kinds of video poker games.

First we will discuss Pay Schedules, and once we’ve established everything you need to know about that topic, we’ll move onto Strategies for two challenging games, Deuces Wild and Joker's Wild.

PAY SCHEDULES

Typically, a 9/6 video poker game will hit the royal flush every 40,000 hands played, which is equivalent to approximately 80 to 100 hours of game time. Other games, such as the 8/5 will hit the royal flush every 45,000 hands, the 7/5's will hit each 50,000 hands, and the 6/5's will hit approximately every 70,000 hands played.

You should always bet the maximum number of coins that are allowed. For example, if you bet 5 coins, all winning hands are paid out multiplied by a factor of 5, except for the royal flush.

DEUCES WILD STRATEGIES

Full-pay Deuces Wild Versions will be 9/5's 9 coins for a straight flush and 5 coins for 4-of-a-kind.

You should not be reluctant to throw away your five cards. You want to make room for additional cards that could be deuces, and holding that Ace or King is not going to help you if the next hand coming up could be four or five sevens. This is why…

Most Jacks or Better players will throw away complete hands-5 cards only 3% of the time, while Deuces Wild players almost 20% of the time, which is approximately every fifth hand.

You should not keep two pairs. You should select one or the other, as 3-of-a-kind is the minimum scheduled payout. Inside straights should be held only if they present the best possible return from your initial five cards dealt. Therefore, a 5, 6, 8, 9 hand can produce a 7 or wild card in this video poker version.

Strategies for this game are determined by the number of deuces or absence of deuces that are dealt in your initial hand, and approximately every 5000 hands will hit four deuces. This is a secondary jackpot that will keep you in the game or allow you to pocket some winnings.

The excitement of all or nothing in Deuces makes it an awesome game to play. You can go for hours without seeing one Deuce, but then hit a Royal with Deuces, and four-of-a-kind is easy to get.

JOKER's WILD STRATEGIES

The full-pay Joker's Wild pay schedule will be 7/5 machines, 7 coins for a full house and 5 coins for a flush. There are two versions of the game out there: one returns money on a pair of Kings or better, while the other requires at least two pairs before there is a payout. This first game is obviously the more desirable full-pay version.

These strategies for Jokers, unlike Jacks, reflect the wild card, a 53-card deck, and the different payouts. If you do not hold the Joker, keep three cards to a royal over a pair of Aces or Kings because of the higher payout. You could catch another Ace or King and still be paid.

If three cards are consecutive cards for a straight flush, for example, the 5, 6, and 7 of hearts, discard other cards for the higher payback. If not consecutive, keep the small pair.

Don't be afraid to hold the Joker alone. More than 3% of the time, you won't be able to connect with a straight, flush, straight flush, or a high pair; however, holding the Joker only can give you four new cards, and a win.

Two hands are dealt in which you have to bet whether one will win, or whether they will come out at a tie. A tie bet usually pays 8 to 1. It is somewhat like betting on Red and black in roulette. The only difference between betting on the Bank and a Player is that when you bet on the bank you are taxed 5%. This is because statistically it has been established that the bank will win three to four more hands than the player. The actual game play goes something as follows.The person dealing deals out two cards, face down, and then deals the person with the larger Player bet another two cards. This person then looks at the cards, and then returns them to the player who is dealing. The dealer then turns both hands over, and one of the casino dealers will then announce the results and the winner. A third card may be dealt in some instances, following strict rules of the casinos. But the baccarat rules doesn't allow dealing more than three cards.These are the basic baccarat rules. Of course there is more to it, such as when to deal a third card, but these decision are not important for actually playing the game, since they are enforced decisions. You cannot affect the game's course since it is dictated by the rules of baccarat, which leaves players with little to do but to place the right bet.

At "real world" casinos the baccarat pit is generally found off to the side away from the rest of the games in a room typically furnished more elegantly that the rest of the casino. The furniture is more expensive, the lighting more subtle, and the dealers will be either tuxedo-clad or wearing elegant or understated black. In large casinos full of high-rollers the baccarat area is serious business, and is usually played for serious money. (But don't be intimidated by all of this if you're like most of us, smaller wagers are treated with the same respect as bets placed by the high rollers, and online baccarat is a different story.)Mini-baccarat is a newer version of the game retaining all the rules and excitement of the regular game, and is the type of baccarat played at online casinos. The only difference is that there are fewer players at the table and in mini-baccarat the casino dealer always deals. With some of the best odds at any casino and the ease of play, you have a much better chance of winning than at many other casino games.Baccarat; or, more properly, "baccarat punto" or "punto banco" is one of a family of games that includes baccarat banque and chemin de fer. The element that distinguishes these games from one another is who is permitted to play the role of the bank. In the U.K. and in North America, only the baccarat punto version, where the house plays the role of banker, is found. Baccarat punto is the most common, so common that when we use the term "baccarat" it is typically assumed to be referring to this game.Online baccarat is a fast paced game of chance. Baccarat has a low casino edge, and as a result you have a much better chance of winning more over time than if you were for example feeding coins into a slot machine, or playing roulette. Online baccarat also has an advantage that unlike other games like blackjack and craps where making a mistake can cost you dearly, the casino's edge is fixed and you can't make it worse by making a stupid mistake.The game has strict rules that must be followed but you as a player need not even ever really learn them (many don't, and just enjoy the game relying on the dealer to inform them if they have won or lost) The casino dealer is paid to know the rules, direct the players when to make bets, collect losing bets and pay off winners, and even deal the cards (in mini-baccarat) In online play, you simply bet on one of three outcomes (banker, tie or player) and let the game play itself out.

False logic of the Martingale system Many people become consumed by the seemingly intuitive math behind the martingale roulette system (which can also be applied to other games) The system works as follows: on even money outside bets with a near 50-50 chance, bet once. If you lose, place a bet for twice as much on the same spot. If you lose again, double the previous amounts bet. In the end, the theory is your bet has to win at some point and if you have kept doubling down on losses, the last bet will recoup everything you've lost and add an even money win on the original wager, putting you ahead, if just a little. The logic here is riddled with problems. First of all, in roulette you can't have a pure 50-50 chance bet because of those pesky green pockets. That fact aside, the system would seem like it has some legs, from a logical point of view. What roulette system sellers don't want to you realize is, the casinos have already guarded against any Martingale users by placing table limits on the bets. Ever wonder why there is an upper table limit? Don't the casinos want you to risk large amounts of money? The Martingale system is the exact reason for a table high existing. Following the Martingale method, you keep doubling your bets on a loss, and after a short string of losses in a row your bet is extremely large. From $5, to $10, $20, $40, $80, $160, $320, $OVER the table limit. So on the last bet before you can no longer double, you are putting $320 on the table with a potential for making $5… are you crazy? And what if you lose that last bet, you're out $635 bucks, if you win you're only up $5, ouch. This is a serious flaw in applying any Martingale type system to a casino game with upper table limits. My opinion on any roulette system is the same as my opinion on all other systems. For the most part they do not do what they purport (or say) to do. Now, I'm not saying they are useless, in fact they do usually have a use, and that's to spread your money around multiple bets, which often has the beneficial effect of stretching your money out over a longer period of time. There is no value in attempting to employ a roulette system to 'beat the casino', because if you were smart enough to, the casinos would likely put you to work for them, and that has very little to do with how casinos hire. I have nothing against looking at some more serious attempts to bring the advantage towards the players. One of these techniques is the search for biased wheels. There is some merit to this endeavor. I'm sure a few people have made real money off of a biased wheel, but the effort involved is phenomenal. Casinos spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a roulette wheel, and don't have any desire to replace it every year. Over a long period of time it's possible that the detailed engineering that went into the roulette wheel's construction has degraded from extensive use. Once this happens, a tilt in the wheel or any one of a million small but consistent anomalies may arise. If you had a computer to measure the exact spinning patterns of a roulette wheel, you could record results consistently and try to determine any patterns that repeat. If there are, you can alter your play to exploit this advantage. Biased wheels are not just hard to find, but even if you do, they are difficult to take advantage of. You would be required to have a mini-computer watching the wheel at least initially to find the bias, and modern casinos monitor their entire floor for any electronic device emitting a signal. Online is a different story of course, and many software applications exists that monitor online casino roulette wheels for biases. The problem is, the online casinos have this software too, and most likely test the heck out of their software before releasing it. You can find some of this type of software in our