Tens Or Better Gameplay And Rules
The gameplay in Tens or Better is very simple. Upon starting the online game, the player is first prompted to choose the amount of coins they want to bet, usually between 1 and 5 coins. It is always recommended to bet the full five coins, as the game pays a bonus for royal flush if the maximum amount is bet, which makes the house edge smaller.
Once you have determined the number of coins you wish to bet, simply click a button to deal your first ever hand of Tens or Better. A random hand of five cards out of the virtual deck of cards will be dealt and you will get the option to keep these cards or discard as many of them as you want, replacing them with others.
The final five card combination will then pay out according to a preset payouts table, with the goal being getting a poker hand that is as good as possible. If you are unfamiliar with general poker hand rankings, or want to know the exact payouts for each combination, check out the table below:
- Royal Flush: 800 x Bet
- Straight Flush: 50 x Bet
- Quads: 25 x Bet
- Full House: 6 x Bet
- Flush: 5 x Bet
- Straight: 4 x Bet
- Trips: 3 x Bet
- Two Pair: 2 x Bet
- Pair of Tens or better: 1 x Bet
Tens Or Better Gameplay Tips
Playing the game of Tens or Better may seem very simple, and it is, as long as you know the perfect strategy. If you play anything other than this strategy, you are in fact increasing the house edge, which in optimal scenario is less than 1%, with the game paying out 99.14% to the players.
The optimal strategy is very simple, and you can even use this article for reference every time you are playing Tens or Better, and never make a mistake again. Optimal strategy simply means always keeping the highest cards combination from the following list:
- Royal flush, straight flush, quads
- 4 of a royal flush
- Full house, flush, straight, trips
- 4 of a straight flush
- Two pair
- Pair of tens or better
- 3 of a royal flush
- 4 of a flush
- 4 of an open ended straight, K, Q or J high
- Suited JT9
- Pair under tens
- 4 to any open ended straight
- Suited JQ, JT, QT
- 4 to any high straight
- 3 to straight with no gaps or 1 gap if you have 1 high card
- 2 Suited cards tens or better
- 4 of a gutshot straight with 3 high cards
- 3 off suite high cards with no ace
- 2 off suite high cards with no ace
- High card (ten or better)
- 3 to straight flush with 2 gaps and no high cards
- Nothing
Always keep the best combination of cards from the list above and you will be playing in a mathematically optimal way. Many players make the mistake of chasing long shot draws because they are “feeling lucky” or discarding good draws, “cause they never come” and both of these assumptions are simply wrong. Play the optimal strategy and you will be playing in a mathematically perfect way that gives you the best possible chance of winning.
Tens Or Better Pros and Cons
Tens or Better is certainly one of the more profitable casino games that can be played online. While Jacks or Better does offer a slightly higher payout overall, Tens or Better is a bit lower variance, because it generally pays a bit more often than the other variations of video poker.
The game offers a very simple gameplay, and easy to learn optimal strategy, that will make you almost even money in the long run and give you a good chance of winning in the short run. The only real downside of the game is that it can become somewhat tedious, and any mistakes you make in optimal strategy will be costing you money in theoretical terms, so you will have to be on the edge more than you would with a video slot.
If you are the kind of player who likes to think while playing and loves taking advantage of strategy, then Tens or Better is the video poker game for you. Start playing at one of our promoted casinos today, and get a generous welcome bonus to give you even more reasons to play Tens or Better.
