Strategy
What makes a video poker bonus worth playing?
Extra credits, trigger frequency and entertainment value offer three different ways to judge a bonus feature.
THE DRAW JOURNAL
85 STORIESStrategy.
Pay tables, close holds and the mathematics behind the draw.
Strategy
The appeal of an unexpected win
Bonus features give the familiar five-card game a different emotional rhythm.
Strategy
Why the order of a strategy chart matters
A strategy chart is usually a ranked decision list, not a menu of equally good choices.
Strategy
When Deuces Wild payouts feel too small
The rewards for ordinary natural hands can surprise a player coming from Jacks or Better.
Strategy
Open and inside straights: one important difference
A four-card sequence can offer different routes to completion depending on where its gap sits.
Strategy
Two straight draws that deserve separate decisions
Hands that share the word straight do not necessarily share the same value.
Strategy
Understanding the open straight draw
An open-ended four-card sequence has potential completion ranks at both ends.
Strategy
Questions that sharpen a video poker strategy
Close decisions make useful practice because the competing holds can each look plausible.
Strategy
Choosing a game is more than choosing a name
A player may prefer one variant for its familiar decisions and another for its pattern of awards.
Strategy
Four to a flush, or three to a royal?
This familiar conflict pits a more complete ordinary draw against a less complete premium one.
Strategy
The details hidden in a pay table
A familiar game label can sit above an unfamiliar set of awards.
Strategy
Approaching a low-return pay table
A weaker schedule changes the mathematical comparison even when the machine looks familiar.