Video poker machines in casinos "talk" to me. No, they don't say, "hey, I'm hot, come play me", but they do tell me how much they will pay -- in the long run -- if I play them properly. They do it by their payout schedules. Each machine has one and the "code" it speaks can be understood by anyone who has the key.

Hello. I'm the locksmith.

Poker hands are actually very easy to analyze, since the cards which can make them up are known and the cards which can be drawn to improve the hand are known as well. For example, there are 2,598,960 possible starting hands in a standard 52-card deck. The electronic computer enables us to figure those combinations and then figure a strategy for holding or discarding cards in order to maximize our return. A simple example I like to use to explain how the payoff schedule affects the basic strategy is a bit farfetched, but it will prove my point. Let's say some crazed casino owner has decided to pay a bonus of $1,000,000 for four fives on a 25-cent video poker game, but only once and to the first person who gets them. You've been lucky enough to get a seat at this tournament, so what's your strategy going to be? All other payouts on the machine are normal; a royal flush pays 4000 coins ($1000), a straight flush pays 250 coins ($61.25) and so forth. Are you going to play for a royal, rather than the four fives? Of course not! Your strategy in this game is to hold any five dealt to you and discard any card which isn't a five. Now, you might hold a royal if it's dealt to you on the first five cards, but there are only 4 royals in that 2,598,960 hands, so don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. No, it is far more valuable to discard any card which isn't a 5 and hope you're the first to get four of them.

See how that works? It's the pay schedule which tells us how to play the hand, not your daddy's old notions: "Never draw to an inside straight". Well, if the straight pays enough, daddy, I'm drawing to it! But, how much is enough? That's where the computer analysis of the game comes in; the computer tells us when it's worthwhile to do. That is what forms the basic strategy of each video poker game. Yes -- sadly -- they are almost all different, so the strategy for Jacks or Better poker is different than the strategy for Double Bonus Poker, even though they look a lot alike.

But what we want to cover here is how to identify which machine to consider playing. The strategy is available in a lot of books, but most machines pay out so poorly that it isn't worth your time to learn it. And, if you at least choose a high-return machine, you still might win even though you don't know the basic strategy perfectly. The higher the return, the easier it is to beat the game, as long as you have some feel for the game of draw poker.

So, how to separate the good from the bad and from the ugly? Since there are a lot of different types of video poker machines, we'll approach this in segments. Here in Part 1, I'll unlock the secrets of "Jacks or Better" machines and cover others such as Deuces Wild, Joker's Wild and Bonus Poker in future editions.

Jacks or better machines come in two types: those with progressive payouts and those with fixed payouts (commonly called "flattops").

Progressive Jacks or Better

Most commonly you will see these machines where only the payoff for the royal flush is progressive in nature; all other payouts are fixed. But, variations do exist.

All payouts and percentage returns listed are for 5 coins in; by playing fewer coins your payback will be reduced, since hitting the progressive requires the maximum number of coins to be played.

The payout of Jacks or better machines are "regulated" primarily by the return on flushes and full houses. The progressive has its effect, of course, but that is usually very long term and adds only a small (if important) part to the total return. To save some space here, I'll list the payouts which are typical on a Jacks or Better machine:

I have presented the information in the 25-cent version, but these payouts also apply to $1 and $5 versions as well. For $1 versions, multiply the jackpot by 4 and for $5 versions, multiply by 20.

Non-progressive Jacks or Better

These are basically like the progressive machines when the jackpot for the royal flush is at $1000 ($4000 on $1 machines and $20,000 on $5 machines). Again, the payback is influenced primarily by adjustments to the payouts on flushes and full houses.

A Few Thoughts on Jacks or Better Video Poker

These games can be found in many casinos around the U.S., but few are of the "full-pay" version, except in Nevada where competition gets the player a better deal. The best example I've seen of the power of competition occured at the Alton Belle casino in Alton, Illinois. It was the first riverboat casino to open in the St. Louis area and their Jacks or Better machines originally were of the "6/5" variation. Now, they not only have 9/6 progressives, but a cash rebate slot club as well. If you're playing in an area with little competition, be sure to check the payout schedules on the machines before you play. A full-pay machine offers a chance to the player who uses proper basic strategy to gamble at a game with a lower house edge than a pass line bet in craps with double odds. Even if you don't care for the machine games yourself, please tell your friends who play the slots to give this a look; you'll be doing them a big favor.