Rating: 
Summary: First-Rate Tutorial/Reference *****
Review: "Video Poker-Optimum Play" by Dan Paymar is a first-rate tutorial/reference on how to play most of the common varieties of video poker. This book along with "Professional Video Poker" by Stanford Wong and the venerable "Winning Strategies for Video Poker" by Lenny Frome are the standard references on how to play video poker.
These solid video poker books make the points:
1) Some video poker games can be beaten.
2) Some video poker games are sucker bait.
3) Winning consistently requires informed play.
4) For every hand, there is only one "best play".
5) The best play is often different for different games.
Video poker has been called the crack cocaine of gambling simply because it is almost mesmerizing - fortune seems to be just one click away. The combination of frequent small payoffs, occasional medium size payoffs and the possibility of a big win - a Royal Flush - keeps most players riveted to the machines, feeding them more and more money in the hope of hitting that big one.
The interesting thing about video poker games is that you really can make money playing them... IF you know what you are doing and have a big enough bankroll to do it. Any of the standard video poker books can show you how. If you can, you should buy and read all three of them. They will all give you essentially the same information but sometimes it helps to see it in slightly different ways.
If you can only afford the time and money for one book, you might want consider "How to Gamble at The Casinos Without Getting Plucked Like a Chicken" by James Harrison Ford. In addition to telling you which video poker games to play and how to play them, it covers a variety of other casino games. Another possibility is to get one of the better video poker computer programs.
Just make sure that you do your homework before you start stuffing money into the video poker machines. It will save you money in the long run and make playing a lot more fun.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent tutorial
Review: As an avid and successful Video Poker player, and author of "Mastering Video Poker - a professional player's secrets revealed", I always like to take a look at the current state of video poker strategy guides. This book will teach you the basic whys and why nots of various plays. Lacking is any attention to the more advanced psychological aspects of training and playing, as well as how to truly take the casinos for all their worth in player perks, treatment, bonuses and general high-roller benefits.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for all level of players
Review: Great coverage of probability and numbers behind the game.
Easy to follow rules that are much shorter than anything out there with very very very little dropoff in expected return. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best video poker book
Review: Having the discipline to play video poker correctly depends to a large extent on understanding the "Expected Value" of hands. There is no magic to this, it is pure mathematics. Yet, until reading Paymar's book, I never REALLY understood it, probably because I'm pretty much a mathematical idiot.However, Paymar explains the concept in a clear, non-technical way while still conceding that NOBODY can play perfectly according to expected value. I went from just having blind faith in expected value to accepting it as fact. He goes on to provide sound strategies for virtually every form of video poker. I've been playing almost nothing but video poker in casinos for over a year (I've pretty much given up on slots) and, while I often came out ahead, I had never gotten a royal flush. A couple of months after reading this book, I hit one. Sure, luck was involved, but I credit this book with helping me maintain the discipline to play correctly.
Rating:
Summary: Useful if you want to play video poker.
Review: I purchased this book because I saw a TV show that said "Video poker can be beat". I found this hard to believe but it is apparently true on some machines with perfect play. Ah, there is the rub. Along with the book I bought a computer program that teaches you how to play and shows you each error you make. It isn't real hard to learn how to play perfectly but requires a person that can really keep focused for hours on end. Most folks with the intellect to learn this could make much more money doing something (anything ?) else but if you have to gamble this is your best shot. This book with Frugal Gambler and some real effort will make your Vegas trips more fun. I don't think Vegas casinos enjoy losing so I wonder how long this will last ?
Rating:
Summary: A sound foundation for VP play
Review: If you are learning to play the game, or want to learn a new version of VP, this is a great place to start. Good explanations as to the "why's" of the correct plays, and sound strategies for many common games.
Rating:
Summary: Simply indispensable
Review: My dog-eared copy is the first book I ever bought on Video Poker and it remains the most comprehensive guide available.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for the beginner!
Review: Paymar's book outlines an excellent approach to learning VP for the beginner. The optimum play strategies he uses yield close to perfect results with relatively little effort. The book is straightforward, yet also includes enough tables to serve as a useful resource once you learn the rudiments. I agree with the reader who stated that lack of a double bonus strategy is a weakness, but one can learn that fairly easily after the Jacks or Better strategy is mastered. Overall, the finest VP book for the beginner ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book -- Highly Recommended!
Review: Playing video poker is far different from standard card based poker. This book explains what are the proper cards to hold and why. Do you draw ro an inside straight or hold a low pair. Read this book and you will know -- instead of just guessing.
Rating: 
Summary: Book has good info but tough read.
Review: The book has really good information. The problem is that is painfully boring to slog through. I have noticed an improvement in my VP playing. I am playing longer and not losing as much still in search of that magical royal. It took me over 2 weeks to get through this book and it is only 200 pages.
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