Video Poker Software

I'm new to this board and I do realize that the subject here is blackjack but was wondering if anyone could recommend a good video poker software package.

There are a couple of ways to go. One way I'll call "Pro" is to try to squeeze every fraction of a percent out of the casinos by learning exact strategies for the various permutations of the games that may show up. The other way I'll call "Am" is to focus on the relatively few good games that are common at casinos and learn near-optimum strategies for these.

The Pro approach takes a lot of preparation, because there are variations in strategy among the various machines, AND exact strategies tend to be difficult to learn and play well. The Am approach takes a lot less preparation and is easier to play well. How big is the loss from the Am approach? Exact strategy played perfectly returns 99.95% on a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine. Am strategy (e.g., Frome's) played perfectly returns 99.5% on the same machine.

If you want to take the Pro approach, then you probably need a couple of software packages with which I have no experience. Other's can advise you.

If you want to take the Am approach, then the best software on the market is made by Masque and is called Video Poker Strategy Pro. You can't adjust pay schedules, you can't change strategies for a particular game, and you can't add games they don't have. What you do get is a reasonable selection of commonly available good games, Frome's near-optimum strategies for those games, and the best adaptive training engine on the market.

If you are going to play video poker, absolutely subscribe to Skip Hughes' video poker service. It tells you what casinos have what "full pay" machines, where they are located, and how good the slot clubs are. I would give up Current Blackjack News before I would give up Hughes' service. I can tell quickly what blackjack games a casino has. It's impossible for the casual visitor to know what and where to find playable video poker machines.