Cycle

The predicted average number of hands between similar winning hands such as a royal flush. You should remember however that this is only a prediction since the games are random and the exact time between wins will vary.

Expected Return

The average amount of money paid back based on a particular play for a particular bet. The Expected Return "ER" is determined by taking the Expected Value "EV" of a play multiplied by the amount bet.

Expected Value

EV is the average value of all of the possible outcomes for a particular play or game. In other words the predicted average payback per unit that was bet of a specific play.

Full Pay

A full pay video poker machine will offer the best payout schedule for that particular game type. For instance, the 9/6 Jacks or Better machine is full pay while the 9/5 or 8/5 versions of the game are not.

Inside Straight

Needing one card to achieve a straight and the card needed is one of the middle cards between the top and bottom of the straight. For instance, with a 3, 5, 6, 7 in your hand you would need a 4 to complete the straight. Also referred to as a gut shot draw.

Long Run

A period of time or game play where the presented odds equal predicted probability.

Open Ended Straight

Four consecutive cards requiring one at either end to make a straight. For instance, with a 4, 5, 6, 7 in your hand you would need a 3 or an 8 to complete the straight.

Optimal Play

Using a strategy designed to give you the most advantageous opportunity to win the most money for a particular game, yet not necessarily be considered perfect play.

Pat Hand

A winning hand dealt from the beginning of a hand such as a flush or straight. A hand where you should keep all five cards as no other card will improve the hand.

Payback

Often referred to as the Expected Value "EV" of a particular game. It is the return expected over the long term expressed as a percent.

Payoff

The amount of coins or credits paid for a winning hand often expressed on a per coin basis. For instance a full house might pay 45 coins on a 5 coin bet; so the payoff is 9:1 or 9 coins won for the 1 originally bet.

Payoff Schedule

The table posted on each machine showing the number of coins paid for each possible hand for each possible coin bet. Also referred to as the payout schedule or a paytable.

Payout

The amount of coins or credits paid for any given win.

Perfect Play

Playing a hand according to that particular hands highest Expected Value. Doing so over a period of time can give the player the advantage over the house. Playing perfectly is easier to do on certain games, while in others its almost impossible.

Secondary Payoff

A winning hand achieved as a result of going for a different winning hand. For instance you select to draw 2 cards to a royal flush and get dealt three of a kind; that would be a secondary non-intended goal or secondary payoff win.

Short Run

A period of time or game play where the predicted probability of a game will vary due to normal streaks and fluctuations.

Strategy Card

Is nothing more than an instruction sheet providing hints as to the best way to play a particular game and/or hand.

Zilch or Zip

Nada, nothing, a garbage hand; a hand after the deal which contains no cards worth holding.

According to scrolls dating back to Ancient China, Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty created a game very similar to Keno around 200AD to fund the war that had been going on for several years. the funds for the war were getting low and the people of his city were beginning to refuse to contribute any more of their hard earned wages to it. He decided a game of chance would be the best avenue to creating revenue for his army.

You may have noticed that keno is a lot like a lotto game. That's because keno is a lotto. The name has been changed a few times in the game's 3000+ year history, mostly to circumvent the law or taxes or both. By all accounts, the Chinese invented the game to fund their army and The Great Wall.

They devised the game using the first 120 symbols of the well known poem, "The Thousand Character Classic", which had been used prior as a romantic numbering system, as no two characters were alike. The game became so successful that it was adopted throughout China, even being used to help fund the Great Wall of China. Keno started out using those 120 Chinese characters. Before the game left China, that number was reduced to 90. The game came to America with the wave of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. These were mostly the Chinese railroad workers of folklore. About this time the game was reduced to 80 Chinese characters.

Although illegal, keno thrived among Chinese immigrants, especially around big cities like San Francisco. It became known as the Chinese lottery. English speaking Americans became interested in the game, but had difficulty differentiating the Chinese characters used in the game. Around the beginning of the 20th century, keno operators replaced the Chinese characters with Arabic numbers to entice more players.

Although Nevada legalized most forms of gambling in 1931, the legislature did not legalize lottery. The name of the game didn't evolve from "Chinese Lottery" until the early 20th century, when gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada. The legalization of gambling did not cover lotteries, so the name of the game was changed to "Horse Race Keno", playing on the idea that the numbers were horses and you wanted your horse to come in first. Shortly after, Nevada placed a tax on all Off Track betting, so to avoid the tax, the name was shortened to Keno, as it is known as today.

In 1963 the aggregate keno payout limit in Nevada was $25,000. In 1979 it was changed to $50,000. In 1989 the Nevada Gaming Commission eliminated the cap, and casinos are now free to set their aggregate limits as they wish.

The next time you're in your favorite keno lounge crumpling your loosing ticket, let your mind wonder back 3000 years to the Han Dynasty. You're not the first to be lured by this game, and you certainly will not be the last!

Jokers Wild is basically the same setup as other video poker games apart from there are extra jokers thrown in that act as wildcards. This means that they can act as anything. Any number in any suit. Here is the paylist for Jokers Wild machines:-
• Two Pairs - A hand that contains two pairs such as two 3's and two 7's. Achieving this returns your bet.
• Three Of A Kind - Three cards that are the same numberwise. Achieving this pays 2X your bet.
• Straight - All 5 cards consecutive but not in the same suit. For example, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Achieving this pays 3X your bet.
• Flush - Any 5 cards of the same suit, the numbers do not matter. Achieving this pays 5X's your bet.
• Full House - Two cards of the same value and three cards of the same value such as 7, 7, Queen, Queen, Queen. Achieving this pays 5-8X your bet.
• Four Of A Kind - Four cards of the same numerical value such as four 10's. Achieving this pays 15-20X your bet.
• Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit in numerical order such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of hearts. Achieving this pays 40-50X your bet.
• Joker Royal Flush - This is the same as a straight flush but it must include a joker. Achieving this pays 100X your bet.

If the shooter is winning, the dice are not passed on. The dice are only passed to the next player if the shooter sevens-out (rolls a seven) or decides not to continue rolling. In the Internet version of craps, the player loses if there is a seven-out and can end the game at any time provided there are no bets placed. Pass Line and Don't Pass Line bets are made on the shooter's "Come Out" roll. All other bets are placed after the come out, once a "point" has been determined, and work independent of the "pass line" and "don't pass" bets. 1) The Come Bet
Made any time after the initial "Come Out" roll when a shooter has a point to make, you win on the first roll of the come bet with a natural (7, 11) and lose on craps (2, 3, 12) Any other number that comes up is a come point. You win on a come bet if this number is rolled again before a 7. 2) The Don't Come Bet
Opposite of the come bet, except the 12 is a tie. Made any time after the initial "Come Out" roll when a shooter has a point to make, you lose on the first roll of the don't come bet with a natural (7, 11) and win on craps (2, 3) Any other number that comes up is a come point. You lose on a don't come bet if this number is rolled again before a 7. 3) Odds Bet
You can accompany your Pass Line, Come, Don't Pass, or Don't Come bet with an additional bet called an "odds bet". Once point has been established, the odds bet is popular because it pays "true odds" on your bet. True odds are based on comparing the chance of your number being rolled before the 7, are paid out accordingly. To illustrate, using the True Odds Chart, you can see that the 7's chance of coming up is twice that of the 4. When you place an odds bet on the four, it will pay 2 to 1, the true odds.