Strategy
Can one hand collect every matching award?
A video poker hand may satisfy several descriptions at once: a royal flush is also a flush, for example.
THE DRAW JOURNAL
130 STORIESThe complete archive.
Every story, every perspective. Explore the full collection.
Strategy
An ace beside two unsuited high cards
An ace looks valuable, but a useful hold is a combination rather than a collection of individually impressive ranks.
Player Stories
Comparing a session with the player next door
The envy installment in this archive series turns to the temptation to measure one's experience against somebody else's visible win.
Player Stories
The pull of an especially attractive outcome
This archive installment uses lust as a metaphor in a series about player habits.
Player Stories
When an ordinary win stops feeling sufficient
The greed entry in this historical series considers a familiar casino impulse: wanting a larger result after a satisfactory one.
Strategy
Returning to NSU expected-value tables
A table of expected values can make close holds easier to compare, but only if it models the right rules.
New Games
Mega Hot Poker appears on IGT's 2025 winners list
The manufacturer's awards record names Mega Hot Poker in the new video poker game category.
Player Stories
Pride and the willingness to revisit a hold
Being comfortable with a game can make a player reluctant to re-examine a decision.
Strategy
An outside straight flush versus a pair in NSU
An apparently modest draw can outrank a pair when the pay table does not reward that pair.
Casino Floor
The game behind a Class II poker-style display
A poker-style screen does not, by itself, identify the system used to determine an outcome.
Strategy
Giving up a made hand in Deuces Wild
A guaranteed payout can be difficult to release, even when another hold offers a stronger average result.