Flush Fever Video Poker Guide
Flush Fever video poker makes for a fascinating variation on basic video poker play with a twist that really is a can’t miss proposition. When you make an extra bet of one more coin on top of the usual maximum of five, this twist is activated. And it allows you the chance to keep drawing for a flush until you actually get one. Whenever you receive four cards of the same suit after the draw, a bonus increases your chances of both the royal flush and straight flush hands, which are two of the most lucrative hands on video poker pay tables.
In the world of video poker, there are many different twists and extra features which can be added on to basic gameplay. For some people, it’s enough to simply stick with the most basic version of the game, also known as Jacks or Better. But others like the idea of different pay tables or little quirks that are tacked on the gameplay.
With these twists, you have the chance to bring home more winnings in a single hand than you would otherwise be able to achieve. The ironic thing is that Jacks or Better, in its full-pay version, is actually one of the highest-paying versions of video poker. But you have to grind your way to winnings with it, whereas the other variations might give you the chance to score a big payout much quicker.
Flush Fever video poker certainly fits the bill as one of the more interesting twists. Like many games with an extra feature, you need to bet a little to bit extra to take advantage of the extra feature. And it also gives you full access to the most popular pay tables in video poker, allowing you to tailor your strategy and play the style of game that you want.
As for the extra twist, you can probably tell by the name of Flush Fever video poker that it has something to do with making the hand known as the “flush,” which is when all five cards in your hand are of the same suit. If you’ve ever played basic video poker, you know how frustrating it can be when you get four of either spades, clubs, hearts, or diamonds but don’t have the fifth. This is especially true when you end up just one card short of a royal flush or straight flush.
With Flush Fever video poker, you get a chance to keep drawing cards from the deck until you get the fifth card to make your flush. This happens whenever you make the extra bet and end up with four cards of the same suit on the draw, needing the fifth to finish it off. You are guaranteed to make at least a flush when this happens in this game and, if the cards that you have are situated right, it also increases your chances for the lucrative royal flush and straight flush hands.
Of course, no video poker game is going to give such an advantage away without taking something back. In this case, Flush Fever video poker levels the playing field by forcing you to bet that extra coin to get the feature. That means that you will be betting six coins but only getting paid out for five, and that could result in your bankroll diminishing quickly unless you get the flush hands frequently enough to help you out.
In the following article, we’ll tell you everything that is important about learning how to play Flush Fever video poker. We’ll also show you some of the different pay tables that will be available to you when you play the game. And finally, we’ll teach you video poker tips and strategies for this game and what the advantages and disadvantages of it are when you compare it to other versions of video poker.
Learning the Basics of Video Poker
If you’ve never played video poker online, it might seem like learning a game like Flush Fever video poker right off the bat might be too big a leap for you. The good news is that the basic version of video poker is extremely simple to learn. And once you have that down pat, Flush Fever Poker shouldn’t be too hard for you to understand.
As for basic video poker, it will be easily grasped by anybody who has ever played the card game known as five card draw. Even if you haven’t, you should have a head start if you know how to form winning poker hands. Playing a few hands will allow you to figure everything out very quickly.
Ease of play is just one of the reasons why many people swear by video poker as their game of choice in both casinos and when they are frequenting online gambling sites. But there are many more reasons why people choose it. People who don’t know any better might think of video poker as another variation of a slot machine, but in reality, the two games couldn’t be more different.
Slot machines aren’t very bettor-friendly because the payback is generally on the low side. There is also no way for you to know what kind of payback you will get from a random machine, since that is dictated by the casino and doesn’t really have to be advertised to you. On top of all that, slot machines don’t allow you to have any impact in whether you win or lose, as all you can really do is spin and hope you get lucky.
Now, compare all that to video poker. First of all, there is a strategic element to video poker. If you’re savvy enough to know which cards to keep in your hand and which to discard based on poker probabilities, you will have a better chance of winning than someone who doesn’t have those skills.
Speaking of those probabilities, the fact that they exist means that you can tell right down to the percentage point what the average payback is for a video poker game. All you have to do is combine the probabilities of making each hand with the payback for those hands. Payback information is right there on the machine in the form of a pay table. And those payback percentages are generally much higher than what you can expect from slot machines.
In fact, video poker payback percentages actually come very near or even surpass the percentages of the most competitive table games, which are also governed by probabilities. But video poker requires no assistance from anyone else at the casino to play, unlike table games which require dealers, wheel-spinners, and pit bosses alike. You can play video poker at whatever pace you prefer with no pressure or hassle from anybody else.
It all sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Well, let’s not waste any more time in teaching you how to play. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of the ins and outs of video poker. After you have that down, you can then learn about the Flush Fever video poker twist.
Step 1: Build Your Bankroll
The bankroll is the money that you put into the video poker machine to start playing. If playing online, it will be determined by the money that you put into an account at a gambling website. Video poker bankrolls should be judged by how long you want to play and by your gambling budget, since you should never risk what you can’t afford to lose.
When you put money into the machine, it will be registered within the game as a certain number of credits or coins. To determine how many credits you’ll have, simply divide the amount of money you put in by the denomination of the game that you’re playing. For example, $10 put into a machine with a denomination of a quarter will get you 40 credits to start (10 divided by .25).
Some machines give you the choice of what denomination you would like to use. Others have the denomination already preset. You should try to play a machine that allows you to bet the maximum amount per hand, for reasons that we’ll describe in the next step, and still play the game for as long as you wish.
Step 2: Making Your Bet
In most versions of video poker, you can bet anywhere between one and five coins per hand. But in the case of Flush Fever video poker, you can bet six coins per hand if you wish. And betting the sixth coin will give you a chance to play the game with the extra feature, which actually increases your odds of making a profit on the game.
Many people make the mistake of altering their bets each hand based on hunches they have about what is coming up. For example, they might lose a few hands betting one coin and suddenly bet the max amount because they think they are “due to win.” Video poker is set up to give the exact same chance of winning or losing every single hand, so you shouldn’t deviate from betting the maximum amount.
As we said above, your chances of winning improve when playing Flush Fever video poker at six coins per hand with the extra feature. If you feel that is a bit too much, we recommend that you stick with a wager of five coins. At five coins per hand, the payoff for the royal flush hand, which is the rarest and highest-paying hand in the game, is at a much higher proportion than if you were playing one through four coins.
Step 3: Playing Your Hand
For now, we’ll just assume that you are playing without the Flush Fever video poker, since we are going to get to that in detail in the next section. Once you make your bet, five cards will appear on screen. These cards will be dealt from a simulation of a 52-card deck, meaning your chances of seeing, for example, the ace of spades is 1 in 52 (as is the case for any specific card).
The goal of the game, like with five card draw poker, is to achieve the best hand possible from the five you were dealt and a subsequent draw. In five card draw, however, you are trying to beat other players. With video poker, you are simply trying to make the highest-paying hand as determined by the pay table.
As we mentioned above, Flush Fever video poker gives you access to several different pay tables, all of which pay unique amounts for the winning hands that you can make. But the actual cards that make up winning hands don’t differ much from variation to variation. The most common winning hands in video poker are these:
- Pair of jacks of better
- Two pair
- Three of a kind
- Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
- Flush (five cards of same suit)
- Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
- Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)
When you get your deal, you will assess your cards for the possibilities of one of these winning hands. You might get lucky and have a winning hand on the deal. But more likely than not, you’ll need to improve the card on the draw.
The draw is when you get to discard the cards that you don’t think are helping you and have them replaced with cards from the same deck from which you were dealt. Probabilities for receiving a specific card on the draw will be 1 in 47, since the deck will be down to that amount with the original five cards out of the picture. You will have to judge the potential of making winning hands on the draw against the payoffs for those hands when you decide about the cards to hold and discard.
Let’s take a look at an example. Imagine that you received the following cards on the deal:
You might notice that this hand is winner right off the bat, since a pair of jacks is enough to get you payback of even money on most pay tables, including Flush Fever video poker. And, if you kept the jacks, you could conceivably improve the hand on the draw to something even better. You could make two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or even four of a kind.
But there are other intriguing possibilities in that hand as well. For example, there are four consecutive cards in terms of rank (the eight, nine, ten, and jack), which means that you are just one shy of a straight. If you were to discard one of the jacks, you would be giving up the pair, but you could improve it by drawing a seven or a queen to complete the straight.
You also have three cards to a straight flush with the eight, nine, and jack of hearts. If you kept them and got lucky on the draw, you could end up with one of the most lucrative hands in the game. Or you could end up with a regular flush with two more hearts, and other hands like three of a kind or two pair would still be in play.
You will be faced with choices like these all the time when playing video poker. Often, they won’t be as complicated as this example. But it gives you an idea of how the game requires you to make tough decisions on the spot.
Once you have made your decision about which cards to hold by pressing the buttons beneath the cards, the draw will be made by the machine. Hopefully, you’ll end up with a winning hand. If you do, you will be awarded your credits before the beginning of the next hand.
To continue playing, simply replay steps two and three. Or you can cash out your winnings at any time. If you run out of credits, the game is over until you insert more money into the machine.
Now you know how to play basic video poker. You’re ready to move on and learn the twist of Flush Fever video poker.
Playing the Flush Fever Poker Extra Feature
You can play Flush Fever video poker in normal fashion by simply betting one through five coins. If you bet the sixth coin in a hand, the extra feature comes into the picture. Let’s take a look at how that might work.
Let’s go back to our sample deal from above:
Let’s say that you have decided to keep the three hearts from that hand, since it would keep both the straight flush and the regular flush in play. Going this route, you discard the ten of clubs and the jack of spades.
On this Flush Fever video poker draw, you receive the following:
If you were playing without the twist, that hand would be a loser and you would move on to the next one. But since you’re playing with the Flush Fever video poker twist because you bet the extra coin, you now get the chance to take advantage of the fact that you have four cards to a flush.
What will happen is that the machine will scroll through cards in the position of the nine of diamonds until it comes to another heart. If the heart happens to be a ten of hearts, you will have hit the straight flush and will receive the big payoff. By contrast, if it is any one of the hearts in the deck, you still get credit for the flush.
That is a nice boost, especially if you can manage the straight flush. As you might notice from the pay tables below, the payouts for straight flush hands are boosted in this game. You can really take advantage of the twist in this manner.
The main problem with Flush Fever video poker, however, is that if you don’t manage to get those flush hands with frequency, or a huge straight flush or even royal flush as a result of the twist, it will be hard to keep your bankroll afloat. After all, you are betting six coins per hand. As you’ll see when we get to the pay tables, you’ll only be getting paid for five-coin wagers.
This can really deplete your bankroll in a hurry. If you are concerned about that, you might want to try another game. But if you like the idea of increased flushes and increased chances at the straight flush and royal flushes, Flush Fever video poker is an excellent game for you to try.
Pay Tables for Flush Fever Video Poker
Flush Fever video poker is a kind of umbrella video poker game. What that means is that you can choose among many different pay tables when you play. That will allow you to pick a game that is well suited to your tolerance of risk and your desired payback.
Here are the following games available on a Flush Fever video poker machine:
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Triple Double Bonus
Here is a sampling of what some of those pay tables resemble:
Jacks or Better Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 117 | 234 | 351 | 468 | 585 |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pairs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Bonus Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 76 | 152 | 228 | 304 | 480 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 45 | 90 | 135 | 180 | 225 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | |
| Two pairs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Double Bonus Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 113 | 226 | 339 | 452 | 565 |
| Four aces without any 2,3,4 | 400 | 800 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 2,000 |
| Four 2s, 3s, 4s without any A,2,3,4 | 160 | 320 | 460 | 640 | 800 |
| Four aces | 160 | 320 | 460 | 640 | 800 |
| Four 2s, 3s, 4s | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four 5s through Ks | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Pair of jacks + | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Triple Double Bonus Pay Table
| Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 106 | 212 | 318 | 424 | 530 |
| Four of a kind – aces 2, 3, 4 kicker | 800 | 1,600 | 2,400 | 3,200 | 4,000 |
| Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s A, 2, 3, or 4 kicker | 400 | 800 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 2,000 |
| Four of a kind – aces 5s – Ks kicker | 160 | 320 | 460 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s 5s – Ks kicker | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind – any other | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Pair of jacks + | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
These pay tables actually represent the best pay that you can get out of Flush Fever video poker machines. The machine that you find, however, might have versions of the pay tables that aren’t as lucrative as these. You’ll usually see the discrepancies in hands like the full house or the straight flush.
If at all possible, try to locate the best possible pay table. That will allow you to earn the most money over time playing Flush Fever video poker. Simply playing the first game you see without checking to see if there’s a better pay table available will essentially mean that you’re short-changing yourself.
Flush Fever Video Poker Strategy
When playing Flush Fever video poker, you can maximize your winnings by making the right choice on every single hand that you play when it comes to holds and discards. What we mean by the “right” choice is the one that raises the hand’s expected value to its highest possible level. This will be based on the payback for each winning hand and the chances of drawing the cards to achieve those hands.
If you are only going to be playing Flush Fever video poker for a short time, you might be able to get away with bad strategy. That is because luck holds much more sway in a small sample size. By getting beneficial draws, you can get away with bad choices for a while.
But after a while, the law of averages will work against you. And your bad decisions will end up losing money that you possibly could have won. That is why it’s important that you understand the best ways of learning proper strategy to play Flush Fever video poker.
How can you do that? Well, first of all, decide which pay table you like the best. Trying to learn the strategies for all the pay tables can simply be overwhelming.
Then, once you’ve made that choice, you can learn perfect strategy through one of the following two methods:
- Strategy Charts: These charts rank all the possible card combinations you can get on a deal and rank them based on their expected value. By matching up the combinations from the cards you’ve been dealt with and the chart, you’ll know what cards to discard. You can memorize strategy charts to bring all this information with you into the casino.
- Video Poker Training Software: The video poker training software will allow you to simulate gameplay for top pay tables. When confronted with holding and discarding on a certain hand, your decision will be run through the software. Any time that you make the wrong choice, you will be alerted and told what should have been the correct choice.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Flush Fever Video Poker
- Automatic flush any time that you get four of the same suit on the draw
- Increased chances for royal flush and straight flush hands
- Access to many different pay tables
- Extra feature costs six coins but you only get paid for five
- Your bankroll could suffer without frequent flush hands
- Could be difficult to find top pay tables
Conclusion on Flush Fever Video Poker
Flush Fever video poker, whether you’re playing in your favorite casino or as part of a top real money online casino, creates a lot of different possibilities. You can be assured of a flush with just four of the same suit and can possibly even get a royal flush or straight flush when the extra feature kicks in. When those flushes are late in coming, however, you have to prepare yourself for a potentially dwindling bankroll.
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