Are Video Poker Machines Rigged?

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Introduction: Are Video Poker Machines Rigged?

To model video poker machines, imagine we were to play a game of poker at the kitchen table. We have a single deck of cards. So, to ensure that the game is completely honest we maintain a playing standard as follows. You make your bet and we use a standard deck of 52 playing cards, give it a good shuffle, and then select five cards at random, placing them face down on the table. While you look at your cards, we’ll continue to shuffle the remaining 47 cards. Say you want to hold onto the first three cards. So we’ll remove the other two cards from your hand that you want to discard. We would put those to the side. We then give you the top card from the 47 shuffled decks and place it face up in front of you.

The next card, number five would also be taken from the deck and placed in the same way. The hand is over. Suppose that your five-card hand contains a pair of jacks or any higher poker hand, then we pay you out according to the paytable we showed you before we started to play. After we paid you, we would collect all the cards from the table, put them back in a 52 card stack and start to shuffle in order to play again.

How does that sound to you? Well, we’re sure that you’ll agree that it sounds perfectly fair. Each card has exactly the same probability of being selected. Also, you’ll note that the cards you have discarded will be seen again. Otherwise, that would be a rigged game!

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Are Video Poker Machines Rigged?: The Return To Player

Now if we play as we did above, well, that’s exactly how a video poker machine plays. The cards are shuffled and dealt in exactly the same manner. The only difference is that a computer chip simulates all the above actions. It then makes a random selection ensuring that each card has the same chance of being chosen. This chip is the basis of every rigging tale of woe. Obviously it’s been programmed to perform certain functions within certain perimeters. So why couldn’t the casino have it programmed in order to maximize their own winnings against the player? Inside every machine sits a Random Number Generator (RNG), who’s a job it is to spit out random selections.

You’ll note on every machine there’s a number called Return to Player (RTP) which is the amount you can statistically get back as a % of your total bets over time. For example, for every $100 you bet, you’ll receive $97 back. The casino keeps the $3. And it’s this RTP that the casino uses to make its money. It doesn’t need to “cheat” you.

Are Video Poker Machines Rigged?: Testing

Every casino has to undergo rigorous testing to ensure that all the hardware and software in use meets required trading standards for that particular jurisdiction. Only if all the boxes are ticked can the casino get a trading license? This is one of the main reasons we are pushy about only gambling on web sites or in casinos that have a proper license from a reputable gaming authority. If the casino makes any mistakes, accidental or deliberate, they can have massive fines rain down on them or even lose their hard-won license entirely. Remember that they make their money from their pay tables.

Read The Pay Tables

And talking of paytables, these are the only factor that changes throughout casinos anywhere in the world. Think about odds for a moment. The odds of receiving a winning hand are always the same as every card has exactly the same probability of being chosen. So you have the same chance of getting a pair of Jacks as you have of a Royal Flush. And that’s the same no matter where in the world your casino is based. Because the casino can’t change the odds of getting a winning hand, they have to make their money on the payouts for those winning hands. And that’s why, ladies and gentlemen, it’s so important to read the pay tables before you start to play.

Casinos Alter The Odds

Now with slots machines, the story is a little different. Those symbols you see on the reels don’t have to appear with the same probability as with the cards in poker. So, for example, the first symbol on the reel could be programmed to appear only 0.1% of the time. Another symbol could be programmed to appear 5% of the time. So casinos can alter the odds of certain symbols making an appearance. But they can’t do the same thing with cards. The only thing they can change with video poker is the payout table for winning hands.

Are Video Poker Machines Rigged?: Be Patient

If you’ve been playing forever without getting a Royal Flush, you might be tempted to think that the machine is rigged. But the maths are as follows; you can technically play over 40,000 hands without receiving a Royal Flush. that’s because the average number of hands to get one is….40,000! That’s the average number of cycles before it’ll pop up. Of course, we did say “average” meaning that you could get three within the next ten hands. But just so you know, playing a long time without a result is how these machines are set up. They are not rigged.

Why Risk It All?

And a final thought. Do you really think that a major (or minor) casino chain would risk everything in order to rig a poker machine? They would be saying bye-bye to their license, their name would be dirt and there would no doubt be a class action lawsuit waiting for them. So just ignore all this silliness and get on with having a good time. Nothing is rigged. Well, except the crab meat in the casino buffet is actually fish paste! Sometimes you can have a better time if you stick to the online jackpot sites and gamble from home.

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