Video Poker Forum

I have a question on paytables and randomness.
The way I understand it is this. No matter what paytable you are playing, or what game you are playing, the same odds of any given hand being dealt or drawn are the same. Is this correct? Can someone confirm this for me.

VP machines almost everywhere are equipped with a Random Number Generator (RNG). The RNG is basically always shuffling one deck of cards. When you hit deal it stops and gives you the next five cards in the shuffle then starts shuffling like crazy again until you "draw" then it stops again and gives you the next number of cards you asked for. So what you say is basically correct; the big difference lies in the strategy applied to the different games. Pay tables vary in payout so it's worth studying what constitutes good pay tables. For example, a 9/6 JB is better than an 8/5JB. If I've given 719 the wrong explanation here maybe someone else will chime in.

From what I have read, this is only true of the licensed gaming machines too.  If you are playing in an indian casino or something you'd have to see how the regulation works. It probably varies by state too. I can't say any specific place where this is or is not true.  It's possible that some machines wouldn't be as random. In a regulated casino though like you find all over Vegas etc, yes the RNG should hold true. Make sure you are playing these "certified" machines.

All video poker machines under Nevada Gaming Commission as well as Louisiana and Mississippi are held to very strict standards on randomness: the deal must absolutely be the same as if it was a deck of cards being properly shuffled and dealt. In other words, 100% random. I am sure other states are just as strict. Nevada regs are the gold standard and almost all video poker machines are manufactured in Nevada, where they are inspected. As Eduardo says, who knows about the unregulated Indian casinos.
 
If a VP machine is located in a regulated casino, then the machine is truly random. The ONLY variation factors are: (a) paytable  (b) skill of player  (c) coincidence, or as you might call it, luck.

I love to think about that RNG like a hamster on a wheel... I have three aces held and I know the reamining 47 cards are being constantly shuffled while my finger floats over the draw button......  Please, please let me hit it at the right time!!!

In "Video Poker, The Edge", by Linda Boyd, she had a valuable section on this subject.  Many states allow Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) which DO NOT use RNGs, but "are programmed to have a predetermined number of winners, much like a paper lottery", to quote the author.  Boyd lists the states that use these and where you are likely to find them.  Nevada and New Jersey do not have them, but said it was being proposed to allow them for the Meadowlands.  She also has a section on Serial and Parallel dealing machines, which both use RNG algorithms.

In "Video Poker, The Edge", by Linda Boyd, she had a valuable section on this subject.  Many states allow Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) which DO NOT use RNGs, but "are programmed to have a predetermined number of winners, much like a paper lottery", to quote the author.  Boyd lists the states that use these and where you are likely to find them.  Nevada and New Jersey do not have them, but said it was being proposed to allow them for the Meadowlands.  She also has a section on Serial and Parallel dealing machines, which both use RNG algorithms.
 
Does she say if Colorado uses RNG's?

  Boyd lists the states that use these and where you are likely to find them.  Do you know what states are on that list?

Colorado is listed as "unknown". However, it should be stated somewhere in the Colorado Gaming Regs (never gambled there myself).
Almost all states are on the list but many of them are listed as "unknown". However, this does not diminish the value of reading a good VP book like "The Video Poker Edge".

Welcome to the forum Linda.  I've seen your posts "elsewhere."  Most of us are fairly new to VP here and could make valid use of your book(s) and expertise.  Again, WELCOME