Video Poker Expressions

These are some of the key video poker expressions you need to know. Some of the terms may be a bit confusing because they have a special meaning as specifically applied to video poker. In video poker circles, if you know the following definitions, you will no longer be considered a novice player.

Video Poker Expressions Related to Making Hands

Wild Card A joker, or some other designated card that you can substitute for any card in your hand.

Pat Hand A winning hand that is played as dealt without drawing any further cards. It might be a straight, a full house, a flush, or a four of a kind. You stand pat.

Wake Up With a Hand When you get a hand with winning potential right away.

Two Flush A hand containing two cards of the same suit.

Three Flush A hand containing three cards of the same suit.

Video Poker Expressions Related to Betting/Money

Payout Table Table on the front of the video poker machine listing what each winning hand will pay for each coin played.

Payoff The return you get on a winning bet.

Payout Percentage The percent of each dollar played into the machine that the machine is programmed to return in winnings to the players.

Progressive Jackpot A jackpot that grows progressively as more coins are dropped into the machine. Sometimes video poker machines are linked together among several casinos to form a larger combined jackpot.

Progressive Video Poker A video poker game that only pays when you get a royal flush. Each coin put into the machine increases the payout.

Pay Cycle A lot of people believe that the machines run on pay cycles: after taking a certain amount of money, the machine pays out a certain amount of money. This is why some casino visitors look for machines that haven’t “hit” in a while. In reality, the machines pay out on a percentage basis over a long period of time, normally up to one year.

Take Cycle A take cycle is the opposite of a pay cycle. The belief is that a video poker machine will not pay out until a programmed number of coins are deposited.

Streak A temporary run of bad luck or good luck.

Video Poker Expressions article courtesy of PokerListings.com