Man Against Machine: Sacrificing the Ace in Video Poker

Poker is extremely popular, regardless of the genre. When we talk about poker strategy, most of the time we are referencing things that poker players can do at a table against live competition or in an online poker room. What do you do when your opponent is not of the carbon based variety, but rather something that is a Silicon Valley product? In short, what about video poker? Is it just chance or can sound poker strategy be applied that will give somebody an advantage against the AI or whatever does the thinking for a video poker machine. Well the truth is yes and yes. Yes, a lot of it is chance in video poker (whether played at a casino or in an online poker or internet casino setting). The machines and programs are hardwired to only pay off so much. Over a full, 12 month period of near constant use, many video poker units will only grant a victory to the poker players approximately 46% to 48% of the time. With that said, the outlook is not completely bleak for the video poker players. Applying smart video poker strategy can tip the odds and help somebody get more than their share of that hardwired percentage. While we will be publishing more video poker strategy articles in the future, today we will be focusing on discarding the ace. At a live poker or online poker table, discarding an ace can be almost painful. It is a high value card that can quickly turn a dog of a hand into a winner. This tendency to hold on to the ace will often bleed over from the live and online poker mentality to those playing video poker. If you have been dealt three high value cards, this is usually a reason for celebration. When most poker players see an unsuited trio of Jack/Queen/Ace show up in their hand accompanied by a pair of lower cards, the poker players natural inclination is to dump the smaller cards, and hope they either hold serve by scoring a pair with their high value cards, or getting lucky and making a straight. While this is a logical poker strategy, holding on to that ace actually hurts the player. Holding on to the ace limits what hands that the video poker player can make. Keeping those 3 high value cards eliminates the possibility of a full house and a four of a kind. It also cuts the odds that a player will score a three of a kind or a pair as well. While playing for the straight is understandable, there are only 16 possible two-card draws that will get them there. Holding on to the Queen and Jack opens up more possibilities for big hands (full house, four of a kind) and increases the odds that a smaller hand such as a pair, two pair, or three of a kind will come to fruition. In other words, go counter to your live and online poker instincts and dump the ace in a situation similar to the one mentioned above.