We posed this one to video poker expert Bob Dancer. Here's what he had to say on the subject. (For weekly doses of video poker strategy, general advantage-play wisdom, and occasional square-dancing tangents, check out his regular Tuesday column on our site.)
The numbers you see quoted are the royal flush frequencies when playing perfectly and the strategies change for different pay schedules. Playing the same hands differently alters the probability of making the various paying combinations, including the royal flush.
For example, in games where flushes pay 7 for 1 (e.g., 10/7 Double Bonus), it's usually correct to hold a flush kicker, such as a suited AKQ5. When you make that play, you can't get a royal flush on that hand. If you hold AKQ only, which would be correct if the flushes paid 5 (8/5 Bonus Poker) or 6 for 1 (9/6 Jacks or Better), you get royal flushes more often.
If you play all games the same, you'll get the same frequencies of royal flushes. But if you make the correct adjustments to your strategy as you change games, the royal flush frequencies will vary, possibly being reduced in exchange for a higher expected return on the game, which is the primary goal. By the way, the frequency of royal flushes on wild card games also differs as strategy changes.
Editor’s Note: Following are the royal flush frequencies for various games.
Please note that an email was sent out by mistake yesterday, indicating that today's answer was about bingo. Our apologies for any confusion; we'll be addressing the bingo question in a day or two, so stay tuned!
