Realtime Gaming video poker games online have slightly different rules than your standard game. The credits wagered are not deducted from the overall account balance. Instead, credits must be added to each game from that balance and are deducted as bets are placed. Similarly, when winning, your casino account is not affected until the credits are transferred from the game to the total balance.
The Psychological Toll
As a result of this difference, credit management is extremely important. One common question is, how much should I load into a game of video poker at a time? Although the short answer is it does not matter because you can always reload, it does play a psychological toll over time. Players tend to wager more than is necessary because they have a large bankroll in their game account (which is usually a huge portion of their total account balance).
Credit Management Methods
Instead, it is more practical and effective to adopt a rational money management approach. To do this, the player should have a wagering target for credits and time. For instance, if the player chooses 1,000 credits over 60 minutes, then they need to only load 1,000 credits. If the credits are lost prior to the 60 minutes then the player should end the game prematurely and not reload.
The primary downside to this method is that the player continues to wager with winnings. Ideally to combat this issue, the player should withdrawal after each win and keep the 1,000 credit reload in their account. Unfortunately this is not practical and efficient so withdrawing everyone once in a while may be more effective.
This balance can be met by setting target amounts for cashing out after each win. For example, the player loads 1,000 credits and sets the target at 200 won credits. If after 15 minutes the player reaches 1200 credits, they should then cash out and leave a pro rated amount for the remaining 45 minutes which would equate to 750 credits.
The final successful method for managing video poker credits is to wager half for the same time period. For instance, if the player has a target of 1,000 credits over 60 minutes then they should load only 500 credits. If they maintain that amount over 60 minutes, they have saved themselves 500 credits from not loading the initial 1,000. If the player exhausts the credits after 45 minutes then the reload should be pro rated at 250 credits.
Finding your Comfort Zone
The ideal strategy for money management is what is most comfortable for you. Perhaps it is one of the methods mentioned above, perhaps it is a hybrid of a few of them or you may have your own system. Whatever the method, it is important to have one to help you manage your credits at online casinos.