A complete hand usually takes less than 2 - 3 seconds!

You push the "DEAL" button and five cards are instantly displayed. You pick the one(s) you want to keep (this takes the longest amount of time) by tapping a "HOLD" button for each one (although many of these machines work with touch-screen technology) and then tap the "DEAL" (draw) button. Instantly, the replacement cards are revealed and the win/no win banner is displayed and its time for the next hand.

If you are playing multi-hand Video Poker it still works the same way. You are dealt five cards, you pick the one(s) you want to keep, which are then kept for the number of hands you are playing. The usual increaments are: 3 hands, 5 hands, ten hands, fifty hands and 100 hands. Each hand uses its own deck of 52 cards, but the starter hand determines which cards you start with on all hands. After that (when you hit the "draw" button) they are all different resulting hands.

The betting structure is: one unit per card, i.e., 25 cents on a single-hand nickel machine, $1.25 on a single-hand quarter machine and $25 on a single-hand $5 machine. (Yes, you can bet less, like 25 cents on a quarter machine for one hand, but the grand payoff (Royal Flush) is better with maximum coins-in per hand single-hand.

On a multi-hand machine, just multiply the maximum coin-in amount for a single-hand for the amount of money per deal. 100 Play $5 machine is 100 times $25! I've not seen one of these, but I have seen five play $100 machines, that's $2,500 each time you hit the DEAL button.

Some machines have an expected outcome of better than 100% for PERFECT PLAY!!!!!

The problem is, perfect play takes time to master and many, many, many, many players have never heard of perfect play. Many players do not do maximum coins-in. Many players play a hunch!

Also, the longer you take to play hands, even with perfect play, the lower your expected return is. Therefore, you may be up a little, down a little or even, in the long run and should therefore consider it to entertainment. Especially when coupled with COMPs.

Most COMPs are for meals, and/or merchandise. So are cash-back and some may be both. Both is best.

Lastly, the real problem with perfect play is that the concentration needed makes playing a job and not entertainment, however, if everyone did perfect play, then the machines would be gone. I only see attempts at perfect play from two types of people. Those who have learned the system and want to make it work and those who make perfect play choices as a function of their reasoning process.

Personnaly, I don't play Video Poker because it is boring. I play live poker and continue to lose my money down the rake hole!

Jim Follis