Betting 5 coins?

[C1234]

Do you always bet max coins?

[FloridaPhil]

For me it all depends upon the pay schedule. There are two problems betting short coin (less than 5). First is the royal flush bonus.  If you are new to the game, you probably feel that a royal flush is something special and you don't want to hit one at single coin. Also, all your buddies will tell you how stupid you are for not playing max coins.  Second, the royal flush bonus is worth about 1.5%, so playing single coin reduces the theoretical return on the game.  The problem is a royal flush only comes around every 40,000 hands or so.  The vast majority of video poker games have negative odds even including comps.  This means that playing max coins on the long chance you hit a royal flush may actually cost you more in the long run. Also if you are a quarter player like me, you may find the odds much better at a higher denomination than you are willing to play.  In my case the single coin dollar odds are 2% better than max coin quarters.  This makes single coin dollars a better game even without a royal bonus.In my opinion, most recreational players would be better off financially if they played single coin.  I say this because in most of today's video poker games, the reduced losses are worth more than the potential royal flush bonus.  If you have never hit a royal flush before, I suggest playing max coins until you do, take a picture with your phone, hang it on your wall and start playing without this mental influence.  There is a strategy that gives you the best of both worlds.  It's commonly called CS.  Casinos hate it and so called experts think it's foolish, but it does have it's followers.Here's my short answer.  If you have games available to you with odds near or over 99% including comps, I would play max coins.  Anything less than that and I would play single coin or CS.

[C1234]

Hi! Thank you so much for your very insightful answer. I really appreciate it a lot! I will check that CS strategy. Thanks again!

[FloridaPhil]

Keep in mind that CS is a long term commitment and not a short term fix.   It is a high variance recreational strategy that can dramatically reduce your cost to play while retaining the possibility of a max coin jackpot.   It works best with wild card games.

[mdmick67]

Do you always bet max coins?If you are new to the game of VP, the first thing to do is learn how to play perfect strategy for any game that you might be interested in playing. Then yes, you always want to play max coins. welcome to the forum, this is a good play to learn and ask questions. Good Luck!

[C1234]

Thank you very much, FloridaPhil and mdmick67! I truly appreciate your kind replies. I am currently learning Jacks or Better. Unfortunately, the casinos near my place offer the worst odds (6/5). So maybe after learning the proper strategy and some practice I will just play online. Thanks again!

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=mdmick67]If you are new to the game of VP, the first thing to do is learn how to
play perfect strategy for any game that you might be interested in
playing.[/quote]This is excellent advice.  Learning perfect hand strategy will have more effect on your results than deciding how many coins you are going to play.   After you have mastered hand strategy, you can decide for yourself if single or max coins works better for your particular situation.[quote=c1234] I am currently learning Jacks or Better. Unfortunately, the casinos near my place offer the worst odds (6/5). [/quote]Jacks or Better is a good game for beginners as it has the lowest variance of any VP game.  Unfortunately, 6/5 Jacks is truly horrible.   You may want to look into Bonus Poker.  The strategy is the same as Jacks but the odds are frequently better.   I would never use any strategy that sacrificed the royal flush bonus when playing Jacks or Bonus as too much of the payback is tied up in the royal.  On those games stick with max coins.

[C1234]

Noted. This is a really good advice. Thank you, FloridaPhil!

[Sea Lion]

Here's my short answer.  If you have games available to you with odds near or over 99% including comps, I would play max coins.  Anything less than that and I would play single coin or CS.I was going to ask that instead of betting 1 coin on a quarter machine to just drop down to nickels and bet the max 5 coins, but I found the answer I was looking for right here. I did give CS a shot yesterday on deuces and did not do well, but that doesn't mean I'll totally give up on it.

[BobDancer]

A better answer is: if you can find a game returning more than 99%, play max coins.If you can't find such a game, don't play. Simply mail a check to the casino every month. It's the same net effect with far less aggravation