Video Poker: Converting Free Play To Cash (And Budget Building)

 Hello everyone. Just wanted to drop a quick run down of how I convert free play to cash with video poker. This can also be used as a budget building tool. I will preface this with saying yes I know it goes against one of the rules that every video poker player should follow and that's playing max credits. In this method I do spend a considerable amount of time playing one credit, trying to work my way up to playing max credits. If you are not prepared to miss out on the royal flush bonus credits that come with playing max credits then this method is not for you, but give it a shot as it has worked well for me in the past. Granted that it needs to be said that it is still gambling. There's no guarantee you will succeed. You can always lose, but I try to limit the losses when I am playing with a small budget. 

This method can be used for any budget or any free play amount. You can determine what denom you are more comfortable with for your bankroll. Generally I try to follow these guide lines. $10 and under I play quarters. $20-50 I play $1 machines,  $50-100 I will play $5, and with over $100 I will generally revert to playing max credits on quarters as one would normally do with video poker. 

Game choice: Choose either Jacks or Better or Bonus poker. These two are the lowest volatile and avail themselves to giving you the most churn (as Dave from Gamble Smart calls it) and keep you in the game longer until you reach your goal. Obviously the best paytable available. I tend to lean towards Bonus poker if possible just because of the 4 of a kind bonuses that can easily push you to a double up even on one credit. 

The process. Start by playing 1 credit on your denom of choice. Continue playing until you are 5 credits ahead or you have ran through your free play at which point you will stop and cash out. If you get 5 credits ahead (or more) then you play max credits until you are back to even or you have ran through your free play. If you are doing this as a budget building method. I stop when I double up. As a budget building method I will do $20 on a $1 machine or $100 on a $5 machine again stopping when I double up. 

As I mentioned earlier be prepared to miss out on the royal flush bonus if you do get lucky enough to hit a royal while doing this method. If you start with $20 on a $1 machine hitting a $250 royal is still a nice win to build your bankroll with. 

One more note of importance. Since you are often playing 1 credit instead of 5, this can change what optimal strategy is. So practice on your tutorial app or website of choice until you are familiar with the differences. The main difference is you dont hold a 10 that's suited along with a J,Q, or K. Because you arent getting the royal flush bonus, the math changes so that the other hands possible with the single face card are more valuable in the long run. But since you are playing such few hands if you insist on holding the 10 it wont affect you too much. 

If you find this strategy interesting give it some practice on  play money and see how it does for you. I have had decent results converting free play with it and using it as a budget building method.