This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

A.C. says: You’ve probably heard the term variance in discussions and analyses of gambling games. This article will help you better understand what it means. Variance is an assessment of risk. In video poker, the risk of suffering a big loss is greater when variance is high. Correspondingly, high-variance schedules enhance the chances of getting a big win. Many players gravitate toward the higher-variance games because of that big-win factor, but those games often have lower overall return percentages. For example, a typical bar selection might include high variance 7/5 Double Double Bonus returning 96.71% and lower-variance 6/5 Bonus Poker returning 96.87%. It’s not a big discrepancy, but Bonus Poker is still the better game, yet it tends to get less play.

Low Variance or High Variance Video Poker – Which is Your Style?

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

As most video poker players know, not all video poker is alike. There are different games, different pay tables for each game, games with few jackpot-sized winners and those with many jackpot-sized winning hands.

Each of these variations in the game affect that specific game’s variance – a measure of the size of swings, both up and down, in the player’s bankroll.

This article explores the differences between high variance and low variance games.

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