Video Poker Terms - Glossary
Gambling games seem to have a language all their own. There are terms that are specific to the game or games being played and are used by players of the game to ease understanding.
Video poker has its share of special terms, some related to gambling in general and others specific to video poker. Here's a breakdown of some of the more basic video poker terms.
Bankroll
The amount you have available to wager on your game. You should try to avoid putting your entire bankroll in play at one time and you should keep your gaming bankroll separate from other money.
Bonus
A game offers special bonuses for hitting certain types of hands. Also can refer to a sign-up or loyalty bonus, which is extra money added to your account for signing on or continuing to play at a specific online casino.
Cycle
How many hands you should expect to have to play before hitting a jackpot? A typical jackpot cycle is 40,000 hands, although playing 40,000 hands of course does not guarantee you will hit a jackpot.
Deuces Wild
A variety of video poker where a deuce becomes the best card possible for your hand and the payouts are harder to achieve.
Full Pay
A machine that offers the most favorable payouts. These are also called 9/6 machines because they pay nine coins for a full house and six coins for a flush.
Gutshot Straight
A straight that can only be filled by one rank of card. For example, if the screen shows 8 9 T 4 Q you can discard the 4 and go for one of the four jacks to make a gutshot straight. This is not a recommended play.
House Edge
The amount the House expects to win for every dollar wagered. If a game has a five percent House edge, then the casino will win five cents on average for every dollar put into play.
Joker Poker
A variation where the joker is wild as in Deuces Wild.
Pay Table
The chart which lists how much each hand pays out when you win.
Payback
The opposite of House edge, it's the amount of every dollar put in that the casino gives back to the players.
Payout
The amount you win for hitting a specific hand.
RNG
Random number generator, the program that randomly selects the cards that will be dealt out.
Short Pay
In contrast to a full pay machine, a short pay machine does not offer the optimal payout odds to the player.
