4 Bad Habits That Are Likely Costing You Money in Video Poker
3 minutes
Posted by: Ivan
While video poker is a heavily luck-based game, it still involves a good degree of skill. Players who make proper decisions are going to win more than those who adopt bad habits or don’t pay much attention to their style of play.
While some poor habits can slip by undetected, others can directly cause you to lose money. Here are four bad habits that could be costing you a lot of money when playing video poker.
Betting Without a Bankroll
This is a bad habit that mostly plagues inexperienced or casual video poker players. However, this is a mistake that can literally cost you all of your money.
Even if you’re planning on playing only a couple of hours weekly or monthly on Online Casino Singapore or a similar site, having a set bankroll is a must.
When you set a realistic bankroll that’s in line with your financial situation, you’ll be able to bet more responsibly and make the most out of the money you have.
There are many ways to calculate the necessary bankroll. For example, some players set a bankroll between 20 and 50 times their expected hourly loss rate. Others set it three to four times bigger than what the game’s biggest jackpot is.
Whatever strategy you employ, the only thing that matters is that you stick to it. Playing within your bankroll’s limits will ensure you don’t unnecessarily lose money and help you maintain good betting habits.
Playing by Superstitions and Misconceptions
While some will find this hilariously impossible, many video poker players have developed strong superstitious habits they follow when playing the game.
That said, this is easy to understand, as superstitions run strong among many gamblers, in general.
A superstition can be a fickle thing. One moment you’re totally free from it. The next, you’ll line up a few wins or losses seemingly based on a recurring pattern. From that point on, you are hooked.
And, when it comes to video poker, superstitions can reach far and wide. For example, some video poker players seek specific seats and play end machines, only bet on certain days, or focus on a particular technique that they think is working for them.
The truth is that superstitions are just that. They are false beliefs that aren’t based on any reliable data. Believing in superstitions can be a costly habit for a video poker player.
So, if you have an unfounded belief or superstition that you know of, it’s best to work on it sooner than later. Getting rid of it can help you save a lot of money in the long run.
Chasing Big Hands
Video poker offers some of the best RTP percentages you’ll find in any casino, especially when you play online. This means that, with responsible betting habits, you can make solid returns over the long run.
Unfortunately, some video poker players disregard this basic math. Instead, they adopt an aggressive strategy of only chasing the big combinations that pay out the most credits.
This is a very poor habit to develop and can cost you a lot of money.
Of course, sometimes, you should try your luck and chase the big hand. But, most of the time, you should go for a safer and smaller payout.
Higher-valued hands are much rarer than lower-valued ones. So, it doesn’t make sense to rack up huge losses just to have a shot at hitting a Royal Flush.
Playing the Game With an Unfavorable Paytable
Similarly to slot machines, video poker machines come in all varieties. And, every video poker variation has its paytable. Needless to say, some games have significantly more favorable paytables than others.
In short, the paytable shows the casino edge for that game. This is the percentage of all of your bets that the casino takes. So, the best video poker game is the one that has the lowest house edge and the highest RTP.
With this in mind, you should always research the game before playing to ensure you’re not playing a game with a disadvantageous paytable.
For example, if you play Jacks or Better, look for the 9/6 version. In the same breath, if you mainly play Deuces Wild, stick with the Full Pay version.
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