Strategy
A different kind of choice in Pick'em Poker
Pick'em uses a decision structure that differs from the familiar five-card discard-and-draw screen.
THE DRAW JOURNAL
85 STORIESStrategy.
Pay tables, close holds and the mathematics behind the draw.
Strategy
A straight draw challenges a low pair
This archive quiz reduces the decision to two recognizable alternatives without making them interchangeable.
Strategy
Where luck ends and the decision begins
Video poker combines an uncertain deal with a choice about which cards to retain.
Strategy
What does the best game mean for a reader?
The phrase best game can refer to a pay table, a preferred pace or a familiar strategy.
Strategy
Variance and the risk of running out
A game's average return is only one part of the experience of playing it.
Strategy
Another angle on video poker volatility
Two games can look alike on a cabinet while distributing their payouts very differently.
Strategy
Should a player trust auto-hold?
An automatic suggestion is still a decision made under a particular set of rules.
Strategy
Measuring a session's actual payback
Cash put into a machine is not necessarily the same as total money wagered, because credits can be replayed repeatedly.
Strategy
The particular appeal of Deuces Wild
Wild deuces reshape both the hand rankings and the feel of the draw.
Strategy
The extra-wager decision in Double Down Stud
A decision to add money is different from a decision about which cards to hold.
Strategy
Thinking in more than one hand
A shared deal followed by several draws is the defining experience of multi-hand video poker.