Ask the Wizard (Q&A): Multiplay Video Poker

Video Poker Q&A

Frequently-asked questions General, inc. Jacks or Better Deuces Wild Other Video Poker variations   (e.g., Joker Poker) Dealing Doubling up Multiplay (Multihand) Paytables Probability

In full pay deuces wild the probability of getting a royal flush is about 1 in 40,000. Could it be said the probability in 5-play would be five times easier, or 1 in 8000? - TS from Santa Barbara

Not quite. You will see royals almost five times as often in five-play, on a per-game basis. It isn't exactly five times because your odds of getting a royal on any one of five hands isn't quite five times as high as your odds of getting a royal on an individual hand. This is the same principle that your chances of rolling any 2 with six dice aren't six times as high as rolling a two with one die. The exact probability of getting a royal on one hand is 1 in 45281.93, assuming optimal strategy. In five-play at least one royal will come along once every 9738.55 plays on average, or 4.65 times as often. Oct. 26, 2005

Mathematically they of course have the same expected return. However I would play the 10-play because the volatility is less and I think it is more fun. Dec. 13, 2004

While playing triple-play should any of your strategies change? Example: 4 cards to an inside straight w/no pay cards showing. Should we go for it or throw the entire hand for a fresh deal? Thank you. Also: what is your personal opinion of playing triple play ($1.00) opposed to single play ($1.00) machines? My husband and I play only video poker and have been for 10 years - Ray and Katherine, Florida

Given the same pay table the strategy is exactly the same for 1-play, 3-play, 100-play, and any-play. Personally I prefer the multi-play games if the pay tables are the same. However the multi-play games usually have stingier pay tables. The more the hands, the worse the pay table. Aug. 23, 2004

Should I avoid the 50 play (or even better the 100 play) video poker machines? I'm weak and I love the rush but it's been sucking down my cash. What should I know?

Generally speaking 50 and 100 play machines have lousy pay tables and thus should be avoided. However assuming you did find a decent pay table ask yourself what you would play on single play and then divide that by 50 or 100. For example if you play the $1 single line machines then you should play 2 cent 50 line or 1 cent 100 line games. May 22, 2004

Hello! I was recently playing 50-way 20-cent video poker in Detroit, and was lucky enough to hit 2 four of a kinds on the deal- both hands were two deuces and a pair- and resulted in a jackpot and W-G. Not that I was complaining, but it occurred to me that because both pay outs were only slightly over the $1200 limit, that I could have avoided the jackpot tax if I were to play a few less hands. So my question is this: what is the maximum number of hands I should have played to minimize getting hit with the tax burden when getting dealt four of a kind on the deal? Keep up the great work with the site!

W2G forms are definitely something to think about when playing video poker at the larger bet amounts. Although you are obligated to pay taxes on your net win at the end of the year regardless of how many W2G forms you have, a payout of $1200 or more will necessitate a wait and obligate you to tip the person paying you. In less classy casinos a hand pay will also cause the tip vultures to start hovering around you. To avoid all of this sometimes the player should consider deviating from optimal strategy. For example with AAA88 in 10/7 double bonus the odds marginally favor keeping the aces only. However in a $2 to $10 game hitting four aces will pay over $1200, necessitating a W2G form, while a full house will stay under the limit. Considering the tax implications keeping the full house is the better play.

To answer your question I'll assume a four of a kind pays 25 times the bet. Then a four of kind on the deal in a $0.20 50-play game will pay $0.20 * 5 * 50 * 25 = $1250. You will get a four of a kind on the deal once every 4165 hands, on average. If you were to drop the number of hands to 47 the win for a four of a kind on the deal would be 47 * $0.20 * 5 * 25 = $1175, staying under the W2G threshold.

May 13, 2004

First, I'd like to say I've thoroughly enjoyed your site and the information found therein. My question regards multi-play video poker games I've found in most of the casinos in Tunica, Mississippi. These games allow you to play 3, 5, 10, 50, or 100 hands of video poker at a time keeping the cards you receive on your initial deal and receiving random cards for each hand on the draw. Should my betting strategy vary from the strategies you've set forth in your video poker section? How (if at all) does this affect the expected return per play? Thanks for your time.

Thanks for the kind words. Assuming the pay table is the same the strategy and expected return are exactly the same. Be warned that multi-play games tend to have worse pay tables than single line games. April 22, 2004

Dear Wizard, I was wondering if it reduces the expected loss to a player to play multiple lines in multi-play video poker as opposed to one line at a time (where all lines share the first 5 cards and independently draw the non-held cards). It seems that on multi lines, when you get lucky and the first five cards are a winner (such as a natural flush draw), it guarantees that EVERY hand of multi-play will also be a winner. However, no matter how bad the first five cards are, it does not guarantee that EVERY hand will be a loser on the draw because every hand will have an independent draw. It seems like there must be some difference in odds playing 10 lines sharing first five cards vs playing 10 independent hands?? I enjoy your website. - Kevin

The odds are exactly the same on a one line, 10 line, and n-line video poker machine. When you get a trash hand in 100-play you can expect to get about 36% of your original bet back. In 10-play it is still 36% but there is more volatility. In 1 play it is still 36% but you can get lucky and get a high paying hand on the draw. In other words you are more likely to hit it big on the draw in single play, but at the expense of lots more non-paying hands. April 22, 2004

Say you are dealt 4 to a flush (4 spades for example.) In triple play video poker, you can get the same card 3 times, 1 on each line (like the 2 of spades for 3 flushes.) However, in spin poker, there is no "replacement" - I could not get the 2 of spades on all 3 lines. Does this change the strategy, or is it offset by the number of lines you can win on? - Tim from Chicago, Illinois

No, the strategy does not change. The odds are strategy are the same whether the replacement cards are all dealt from the same deck or each hand from a different deck. However there would be less volatility in a game like Spin Poker where all replacement cards are dealt from the same deck. Nov. 28, 2002

Which of these ways to play jacks or better video poker has the greater risk of loss, assuming the payoff schedules are the same (9/6): 1000 plays of a dollar machine ($5 each play) or 1000 plays of power poker ($.25 each of 4 games, total $5 each play) - Ray from Maple Glen, Pennsylvania

For those who don't know Power Poker is a Microgaming term for 4-play video poker. $1 video poker has much more volatility than 25 cents 4-play. With more volatility the probability of ruin is greater, but so is the probability of a big win. June 28, 2002

What are the odds of being dealt a Royal Flush on a Triple Play video poker machine? I had this happen to me last week and nearly fell out of my chair. - David from El Cajon, California

In full pay Jacks or better the perfect strategy player will average one royal flush every 40,388 plays. The Triple Play player can expect to get them three times as often, or once every 13,463 plays. May 13, 2001

Michael, thank you for the great resource. Several of your in depth strategies have no doubt increased my playing time. My new favorite game is Multihand VP. My question is this: On an X-play machine, having been dealt Y cards to the royal, what are the odds of connecting on Z royals? Only include hands for which the correct play could yield a royal. Again, thanks for your help! - Jeff from Granger, Indiana

You're welcome! The most you can get is one royal since only one deck of cards is used. An exception would be if you discarded all five cards and got multiple royals of different suits but the odds against that are 1 in 109 billion. That being said the probability of getting a royal is n/combin(47,d), where d is the number of discards. In the event of five discards multiply this quotient by four. Here are some examples for 3 hands according to the number of discards. Dec. 24, 2000

5

.000008

4

.000017

3

.000185

2

.002775

1

.063830

Q: Hello, Michael... I've played a variation of video poker recently called "Triple Play". This machine allows one to play three hands at a time where the cards one holds are carried forward from the first hand to the other two. If one is dealt, say, four of a kind on the initial draw of five cards, one will be paid on all three hands. My impression is that one's chances are more favorable on this machine versus standard jacks-or-better. Is this simply an illusion? Thanks in advance for your reply. -- Peter Ciolfi from Ottawa, Canada

A: Your odds are the same on a triple play machine as a single hand machine, assuming all other rules are equal. On a triple play machine you are paying for each play. For example if you bet 3 coins in a single hand machine you would get 3*25=75 coins for the four of a kind. In a triple play machine you have to bet 3 coins for three lines and would 25 for each one, again for a return of 75 coins. Sept. 3, 2000

Video Poker Q&A

Frequently-asked questions General, inc. Jacks or Better Deuces Wild Other Video Poker variations   (e.g., Joker Poker) Dealing Doubling up Multiplay (Multihand) Paytables Probability

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