This only grew the subculture, as players flocked to video poker lessons and bought up books to learn strategies to optimize their chances. Redd’s IGT came up with new twists like bonus four-of-a-kind payouts in the Bonus Poker genre, Deuces Wild and other variations that could squeeze the house edge down to zero and beyond for the perfect strategist with enough of a bankroll. Smart gamblers picked up on this, creating a loyal subculture of video poker players that became some of the most valuable players in the casino. By manipulating the payoff amounts on the ascending hands, Redd had perfected a game which, with perfect strategy, returned an overall 99.54 percent-a lower house advantage than any table game in a casino. Redd’s first video poker machine was a Jacks-or- Better draw poker game. And by the time Redd broke from Bally to form the company now known as IGT, players were already on to the fact that the better they knew draw poker strategy, the better they could do in the casino.

When, some eight decades later, what we now know as video draw poker was perfected by Bally Manufacturing employee Si Redd, all 52 cards were there.

The spools held 10 cards each-a deck of 50, with a couple of high cards missing. Prizes for winning hands were usually free drinks or cigars, but bar owners didn’t need to worry too much. Even before the modern reel-spinning slot machine was invented in the mid-1890s, bars in San Francisco and elsewhere offered mechanical poker machines featuring five spinning spools of cards. The idea of an automated version of the game of poker, to be played alone while enjoying drinks, goes all the way back to the origins of the slot machine. Editorial Staff | Posted on Febru| Bonus features like multipliers and free games spice up the traditional video poker game, while offering a fair shake that diehards will appreciate By Frank Legato

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