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This has been proven in the casinos by tens of thousands of skilled and semi-skilled recreational players who make their vacations more enjoyable by playing at an advantage while earning complementary meals and lodging, by hundreds of serious players who supplement their income with modest video poker winnings, and by a few dozen professional players who make a living playing video poker.

I don't mean just an occasional win. That happens in nearly all games. All casino games are structured so that there is an occasional big winner for the publicity value, but in nearly all casino games the odds are against anyone being ahead in the long run. One of the few exceptions is video poker, where it is possible for anyone, yes even you, to be a winner in the long run.

Forget about those systems you see advertised that are "guaranteed" to beat the odds. They're all selling snake oil. If they offer to send you the system for free, asking only for a percentage of your winnings, they're counting on a few buyers being winners, which would happen anyway. Here we're talking about gaining a real mathematical advantage, making you a favorite to come out ahead in the long run after many playing sessions.

No tricks, no gimmicks, no grandiose claims, no looking for "hot" machines, no progressive or "system" betting, and no cheating. Just intelligent play to gain a small but real advantage on certain games that are widely available in Nevada and some other gaming areas. But even if you decide to play where positive expectancy games are not available, these optimized strategies will minimize the house edge, making your money last longer, thus giving you the best chance of a winning session.

I have been playing video poker since 1989, analyzing and writing about the various games since 1991, and published the Video Poker Times newsletter continuously from 1993 through 2006. Extensive computer analysis by myself and others knowledgeable in probability and statistics has shown that any player can gain a consistent edge, simply by selecting beatable games (which are easily identified by the payoff table), and following my highly optimized strategies to hold the best cards for each play.

Often the best play is not intuitive. A few examples:

• Should you draw to an inside straight? (Yes, in some games, but not in others.)
• Are there situations where you should hold an ace by itself? (Yes in most games, but never in Deuces Wild.)
• Should you hold two pair? (Yes in most games, but in standard full pay Deuces Wild you should hold just one of the pairs.)
• Should you hold any two suited cards (e.g., a 3 and a 7) with an Ace? (Yes in Double Bonus Poker.)

Surprised? There are many such situations where most players miss the best play, which is why the Nevada state-wide average casino hold on video poker is about two percent more than it would be if everyone played perfect strategy.

Please note that I am not saying that you can beat any video poker game. Only a few types of games offer over 100% return, but it is easy to recognize those games and to learn to play them at a profit. But more importantly for most players, there are a lot more games available that offer close to 100% return and may become attractive when slot club or promotion values are included.

Note also that I am not saying that you will be a winner every playing session. Only snake oil peddlers makes such promises. On average, I lose in about two out of three short sessions, but the losses are small enough and the wins big enough to put me well ahead in the long run.

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