Article: Some people will go into video poker without being familiar with the strategy behind the game. If you guess while playing, you may win money, but you'll have a better chance at winning the game if you understand the rules and components of the game. Different video poker games have different strategies, and it can be difficult to memorize all of the strategies. The best thing to do is pick a game you like and learn that strategy well. If you get bored with that game or don't like it then move onto another game, but try to stick to one or two types of games instead of learning strategies for all the games. Trying to learn all of the games will make it difficult when playing one game because you may confuse some of the strategies. A strategy list is like a cheat sheet, that has all of the different ways you can win in a poker game in a list ranked from best hands to worse hands. Using a cheat sheet will help you determine which cards to keep and which cards to exchange for new cards. For example, if you have the opportunity to go for a straight with an outside straight, or you have the opportunity to go for three to four of a kind with a pair, a low pair is ranked higher on the list so that is what you should choose.  If you choose not to play 9/6 Jacks or Better, strategy cards for virtually every game are available online. This strategy list is specifically for a 9/6 Jacks or Better game, which is one of the better games to play:  1. Full house or better 2. 4 to a royal flush (you have four cards and just need one more for a royal flush) 3. Straight, three of a kind, or flush 4. 4 to a straight flush (you have four cards and just need one more for a straight flush) 5. Two pair 6. High pair 7. 3 to a royal flush 8. 4 to a flush 9. Low pair 10. 4 to an outside straight (you have five--cards 6, 7, 8, 9, 2--and need one more on the outside--either a 5 or 10, to complete the straight) 11. 2 suited high cards (face cards) 12. 3 to a straight flush 13. 2 unsuited high cards (if more than 2 pick then pick lowest 2) 14. Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K 15. One high card 16. Discard everything When playing poker it is a good idea to have in mind the possibilities of winning. Some things to keep in mind when playing the game are:  The odds of hitting a royal flush are about 1 in 40,000. A four of a kind happens about once an hour. The probability of getting a four of a kind is .24% When you hold four cards and throw away one, there is a good chance you will receive a card with the same value. As well as understanding possibilities in a game of poker, it's good to keep in mind what your average loss during a session of video poker will be, so you go in with realistic expectations. To determine your average loss multiply the house end(the return the casino makes) by the bet size by the number of rounds per hour.  In a 9/6 Jacks or Better game you would multiply .5% by $1.25 (this is a five coin, max bet game) by 400 (hands per hour). This would bring you to $2.50 an hour on a long term game. If you are playing a short term game, you are more likely to lose $6.50 an hour, because the house end for the casino will be higher (you'll have less chance of hitting the royal). An average slot machine brings you to a loss of about $40 an hour, so playing video poker is a much better way to earn money with limited loss. Before you begin playing video poker with your own money, try practicing it on your computer with fake money so you can become familiar with the format of the game and better your chances of doing well at an actual casino. There are several websites you can visit to play video poker online to practice.  Practicing online with fake money is the best way to familiarize yourself with the strategy for a specific game and give you practice in using the strategy sheet. It could be helpful to watch a few tutorials on video poker so you have a better grasp of how the game works. There are also software programs available online that warn you when you're making a strategic error.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Learn the basic strategy. Stick to one or two types of games. Use a strategy list. Understand poker probabilities. Understand your average loss. Practice with fake money first.

If you want your cookies to stay fresh in the mail, then you should avoid sending soft, buttery, or moist cookies, because their moisture will make them more likely to deteriorate. Instead, opt for cookies that are drier and more crisp, such as shortbreads, sugar cookies, biscotti, or crisp gingerbread cookies. Here are some other types of cookies that you can send:  Cookies that have a slightly chewy texture, like chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, and white chocolate-cranberry cookies. Macaroons and Pignoli. Though these cookies are more chewy and moist, their textures actually improve after a few days. If you bake the cookies on a Saturday afternoon, then they won't ship until Monday, which means you've wasted almost two full days of cookie freshness. Try baking the cookies the morning of the day you're going to send them, or at least the night before.  If you want to consider a faster shipping method, you can also choose to express-ship the cookies through UPS or FedEx, or to send them as Priority or Express mail through your local post office. If you're mailing them over the holidays, make sure you send them enough days in advance that they get to their recipient before the holiday and don't end up waiting in a warehouse because the mail will be closed for a day or two during the holiday season. Once you've baked your cookies, you should let them cool for a while to get rid of any additional heat or moisture and to let them harden a bit. If you package them immediately after you take them out of the oven, you'll be packing them in with the moisture and heat, which will make them spoil faster. But once they've cooled, you should package them as quickly as you can to maximize their freshness.
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One-sentence summary --
Choose the right cookies. Plan to mail the cookies as quickly as you can. Package the cookies shortly after you bake them.