What's a Penalty Card in Video Poker and How Are They Handled?

What is a “penalty card” in video poker and how should players handle them?

[Editor's Note: Penalty cards is a subject that's near and dear to Bob Dancer's heart. So we treated him to this question and he responded in kind.]

A penalty card is one whose presence negatively affects the value of other holds in the hands.

As a simple example, consider the following two hands in 9/6 Jacks or Better:

a. A Q T 9 4

b. A Q T 9 4

To many players, the hands look identical, but expert players hold Q T in the first hand and A Q in the second. The difference is that in the first hand, the 4 is unsuited with the Q T and in the second the 4 is the same suit at the Q T.

The 4 in this case is called a “flush penalty,” and lowers the chances of Q T turning into a flush just enough to change the play. For a five-coin dollar player, holding the hearts in the first hand is worth 5.85¢ more than holding AQ. In the second hand, AQ is superior by 2.23¢.

The 9 in the hand is a straight penalty to the Q T. in this particular hand, it does not affect which is the better play, but it does affect “by how much.” Had the 9 in the hand been a 7, the differences in the plays would have been 6.07¢ and 2.25¢ respectively. The difference between a 9 and a 7 doesn’t affect the value of AQ, but it does affect the value of Q T.

There are a variety of types of penalty cards, and each game has its own collection. There are frequently more than one penalty card in the same hand. The best (basically, the only) description of penalty cards for the common games is found in the Dancer/Daily Winner’s Guide series along our strategy cards. We basically had to invent the terminology as we went along.

What should players do about penalty cards? Well, that depends on how serious the player is. For a casual player, penalty cards are a waste of time. It’s time-consuming to learn about them and keep them straight and, relatively speaking, aren’t worth much.

For me, I attempt to play perfectly and learning penalty cards is part of the deal. I’m positive that knowing penalty cards has earned me several hundred thousand dollars over the years, but I’ve played for high stakes for almost three decades. Good games aren’t nearly as plentiful as they used to be.

Were I a new player, I would buy and study the Winner’s Guides. I’m not going to take up a hobby casually.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Comments

Mike Nov-29-2022

Video poker time of day

Hi Bob,  is there a specific time of day that is better to play video poker than other times?  Do the machines pay more/less late at night, early in the morning, weekends or during promo times?  Can casinos set Video Poker to pay off the best during off hours?

Brent Peterson Nov-29-2022

Mike

No, there's not a specific time to play VP. The pay schedules determine the winning percentage, so that's what to be aware of when picking a machine. 

During promos, the machines will not pay more/less, but the points you earn on your casino club card may make a game worth playing that otherwise was not worth playing based just on the pay schedule.

The cost to change the machines is too high in many terms (money, time, effort) to make it a smart thing for casinos to do.

Kevin Lewis Nov-29-2022

Penalty card worth it?

Bob plays for $5 million a hand (I may be exaggerating a tad), but for most of us, the gain in recognizing penalty card situations and adjusting our strategy accordingly just isn't worth the time and trouble. While I learned most penalty card adjustments for the games I played back when VP didn't suck, those games were 75% FPDW or DB, games at which such adjustments are fairly frequent. Still, learning them at FPDW increased the 100.65% return to the optimal 100.76%--about a buck and hour at quarters. And initially, at least, watching out for penalty cards slowed down my game to the extent that my ultimate return was about the same as it was without those adjustments.

Lotel Nov-30-2022

worth how much???

 You say "a five-coin dollar player, holding the hearts in the first hand is worth 5.85¢" Is that 5.85 for a certain amount played i.e. $1000 or amount of hands played?  I never thought about penalty cards but does make sense if you are a serious player, good Question, thanks .

Luke Conerly Dec-09-2022

confused

How does the 4H lessen the chance of a flush?

Question of the Day - 29 November 2022

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