(I am simply re-posting here Dan's post about the software. All words are his. Link to the product in our online catalog is at the bottom. -Bettie)

The new Optimum Video Poker has finally been released for all three popular computer platforms: Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

This program teaches correct play according to the strategy chart of your choice. It was inspired by Frank Kneeland, manager of the largest professional video poker slot team in Las Vegas in the 1990?s and author of The Secret World of Video Poker Progressives (see the Books section of this site). This feature is based upon the highly successful methods developed while training hundreds of professional players for the team.

A strategy chart (hand rank table) for the game being played is displayed next to the game window. When you make an error, instead of just telling you which cards you should have held, it highlights both your play and the correct play in the strategy chart. That way, you can see exactly why it was an error. It also tells you the cost of the error and the effect that repeating this error would have on your long term expected return.

Need an accurate strategy for a new payoff schedule? Generate one in less than ten seconds, then edit it as desired to optimize it for your own use, and evaluate it to know the precise Expected Return with that strategy.

Have you ever wondered about the actual payback with a strategy chart that you have been using? Just enter it into the chart, then click a button to calculate the exact Expected Return with that strategy. You can edit a strategy as desired, then evaluate it to find out exactly how the changes affect the payback.

Other new features include calculation of the break-even meter for a progressive royal and generating a strategy chart for minimum cost of a royal.

All penalty card considerations can be handled. You may be surprised, however, to find that their value is greatly exaggerated in many cases. For example, my cue card for 9/6 Jacks or Better ignores penalties, yet a precise analysis shows that it will yield within 0.0058% of perfect play.

You have a choice of various formats for a strategy chart. For example, the dealt hand Jh-8h-7h-9c-As in Jacks-or-Better could be described as:

SF 3 di h1 1h2s Three cards to a Straight Flush, double inside draw, with one high card. One high card penalty and a 2-point straight penalty.

3SF 1-way h1 p1h2s Three cards to a Straight Flush, with one high card, and one way to make the straight. One high card penalty and a 2-point straight penalty.

Choose your favorite format in Player Preferences, and all strategy charts will automatically be displayed in that format.

A strategy can be printed either page size or card size, or exported to a plain text file for import into a spreadsheet.

Note: In order to accommodate the new features, OpVP 3 requires a monitor with a minimum 1024x768 pixels. This should not be a problem on any recent computer system.

Go to www.OptimumVideoPoker.com for a free demo version download and special pricing.

Note: Because of the complexity of the many new features, it would not be surprising to find a few bugs and cases where improvements are possible. All reported bugs will be fixed as soon as possible, and bug fixes and minor updates will be sent free by e-mail or a complete new package for $5.00 on CD.

If you are the first to report a bug or suggest an improvement that we decide to implement, you will receive a $5.00 credit against any future purchase from my web site. To get this credit:
* You must be the first to report the particular bug or suggestion (a list of reports already received will be on the OptimumVideoPoker web site).
* A bug report must describe a situation where the program does not work as described in the advertising or in the User Manual, and it must include enough information to duplicate the problem.
* A suggestion for improvement must include details on how it would look to a user, must be desirable for a large number of users, and must be practical to implement.
* There is a limit of one $5.00 credit per customer.