Betting the max in video poker: A smart strategy to play like a pro

The World Series of Poker Main Event is underway, with the November 9 almost set. And as we watch the series unfold, we are in awe of all the pros that continue to prove that they’re legends.

Not just in the Main Event. All throughout the series, we’ve seen big name pros rewrite history over and over again. Take Phil Hellmuth, for example. The poker professional nabbed his 14th World Series of Poker, staking his claim as the most winningest poker player in history, at least in terms of WSOP bracelet wins go.

Now, at Silver Oak Casino, we’re huge poker fans, which is somewhat ironic because we don’t actually offer peer-to-peer poker. That’s the kind of poker where you ante up against players from all corners of the planet in an endless quest to win big guaranteed tournaments or grind through cash tables.

But we do offer video poker games. And believe it or not, there are lots of video poker pros out there. Sure, there’s no World Series of Video Poker. Nor is there a World Video Poker Tour. Despite the fact that you can play Video Poker at casinos in Vegas, there’s no tournament format because you’re essentially playing against the house.

But there are video poker pros. And if you want to play like one, you need to pay attention to this.

The biggest mistake most video poker players make has nothing to do with playing the cards wrong. It has to do with betting, specifically not betting the max. A beginner video poker player will walk up to a video poker machine and bet one coin at a time. That’s all well and good if you want to make tiny gains, but the truth is you won’t get anywhere big without betting the max.

It all has to do with the big jump in the Royal Flush payoff of a typical video poker machine hen you wager the max. For example, on a one-coin wager, a Royal Flush could pay off 250 coins. That’s not bad, and it gets even more impressive with a 2-coin bet, jumping to 500. It might climb to 750 for a 3-coin bet and 1,000 for a 4-coin bet.

But when you play that 5th coin, you’re in for a life-changing reward. Playing 5 coins could pump that Royal Flush payoff all the way to 4,000 coins.

Remember, there are various Video Poker games with different bonus bets and payouts (and different wild cards). The trick is to examine each and every game and figure out which bets yield the best payouts. While the chances of hitting a Royal Flush are relatively low, the payout ladder is often similar across the board, no matter which hand you end up holding.

At Silver Oak Casino, we offer a number of different video poker games, so take a look around and find one that pays you out the way you want to get paid out. Remember, you can play free Video Poker with your Silver Oak Casino account. All it takes is a free account to get started, so play your way to Video Poker pro status now.

The World Series of Poker Main Event is underway, with the November 9 almost set. And as we watch the series unfold, we are in awe of all the pros that continue to prove that they’re legends.

Not just in the Main Event. All throughout the series, we’ve seen big name pros rewrite history over and over again. Take Phil Hellmuth, for example. The poker professional nabbed his 14th World Series of Poker, staking his claim as the most winningest poker player in history, at least in terms of WSOP bracelet wins go.

Now, at Silver Oak Casino, we’re huge poker fans, which is somewhat ironic because we don’t actually offer peer-to-peer poker. That’s the kind of poker where you ante up against players from all corners of the planet in an endless quest to win big guaranteed tournaments or grind through cash tables.

But we do offer video poker games. And believe it or not, there are lots of video poker pros out there. Sure, there’s no World Series of Video Poker. Nor is there a World Video Poker Tour. Despite the fact that you can play Video Poker at casinos in Vegas, there’s no tournament format because you’re essentially playing against the house.

But there are video poker pros. And if you want to play like one, you need to pay attention to this.

The biggest mistake most video poker players make has nothing to do with playing the cards wrong. It has to do with betting, specifically not betting the max. A beginner video poker player will walk up to a video poker machine and bet one coin at a time. That’s all well and good if you want to make tiny gains, but the truth is you won’t get anywhere big without betting the max.

It all has to do with the big jump in the Royal Flush payoff of a typical video poker machine hen you wager the max. For example, on a one-coin wager, a Royal Flush could pay off 250 coins. That’s not bad, and it gets even more impressive with a 2-coin bet, jumping to 500. It might climb to 750 for a 3-coin bet and 1,000 for a 4-coin bet.

But when you play that 5th coin, you’re in for a life-changing reward. Playing 5 coins could pump that Royal Flush payoff all the way to 4,000 coins.

Remember, there are various Video Poker games with different bonus bets and payouts (and different wild cards). The trick is to examine each and every game and figure out which bets yield the best payouts. While the chances of hitting a Royal Flush are relatively low, the payout ladder is often similar across the board, no matter which hand you end up holding.

At Silver Oak Casino, we offer a number of different video poker games, so take a look around and find one that pays you out the way you want to get paid out. Remember, you can play free Video Poker with your Silver Oak Casino account. All it takes is a free account to get started, so play your way to Video Poker pro status now.