In the US there is very little user intervention in playing general slot machines. You probably have the choice of how many lines to play, how much to bet and the button that spins the reels. That’s it, there are no holds, nudges or special features. Yet with so little choice, slots take up the vast majority of most gaming floors. One exception to this is video poker, the player feels more in control and the game even gets installed into bar tops. One variant works on playing 100 hands at a time. You take get a draw of five cards and you choose which to hold. Then the 100 hands get played with the same cards held. Most pay out from pairs of Jacks and above. This is no brainer if you have a winning hand in front of you, the results are pretty much a minimum of what the payout tables say and then a bonus for any gaps that get filled in. If you held 2 jacks, the 100 cards could give you anything from just those 2 jacks through, 2 pairs, 3s full house and 4 of a kind.

 

Below a natural win there are a few decisions that can be played to maximize the players winnings. After some brief research, a top 10 has been developed, but obviously a fuller thrashing of volumes of play would be ideal to finalise the results. The ideal way to evaluate this table is to think about anything not on the list as being zero-options, eg 3 cards of a flush or 3 cards as a straight. There are a few options that seem profitable but the time spent so far show them to rank lower than holding none of them, eg the zero at No 10.

Key:

Hi = Hi cards not of the same value (eg J or above)

Open ended straights can be added to at either end (eg 4,5,6,7)

Close ended straights need the missing card inside the set (eg 4,5,6,8)

Where there is a number, that is the number of cards (eg 3 Hi is 3 none-matched Hi cards)

The next step is to evaluate the long term of 4 Straight Flush to see if this, on average, rates any higher than anything on the payout table, potentially beating a pair or above). If that is the case, the new card will show the pairs and anything not on the card is a complete re-spin.