Video Poker Strategy Guide
Video poker combines slots with decision-making. The right holds can reduce house edge below 1% on certain machines. Learn optimal strategy for Jacks or Better and other common variants.
Why Video Poker?
Video poker offers some of the best odds in the casino, if you play correctly. Full-pay Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with optimal strategy, making it one of the lowest house edge games available.
Jacks or Better Strategy
This is the most common video poker variant. The strategy below tells you what to hold, in order of priority:
Hold in This Order (Top = Highest Priority)
- Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind
- 4 to a Royal Flush
- Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind
- 4 to a Straight Flush
- Two Pair
- High Pair (Jacks or better)
- 3 to a Royal Flush
- 4 to a Flush
- Low Pair (2s through 10s)
- 4 to an Outside Straight
- 2 suited high cards
- 3 to a Straight Flush
- 2 unsuited high cards (keep lowest 2)
- Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K
- One high card (J, Q, K, or A)
- Discard everything
Pay Table Matters
Not all Jacks or Better machines are equal. Look at the payouts for Full House and Flush:
| Pay Table | FH/Flush | RTP |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6 (Full Pay) | 9/6 | 99.54% |
| 8/6 | 8/6 | 98.39% |
| 8/5 | 8/5 | 97.30% |
| 7/5 | 7/5 | 96.15% |
| 6/5 | 6/5 | 95.00% |
Always check the pay table before playing! The difference between 9/6 and 6/5 is massive over time.
Always Bet Max Coins
The Royal Flush bonus only applies at max bet (usually 5 coins). Betting less significantly reduces your RTP. If max bet is too expensive, find a lower denomination machine.
Common Mistakes
- Keeping a kicker: Never keep an extra card with a pair
- Breaking a flush for a Royal draw: Only break a made flush for 4 to a Royal
- Ignoring pay tables: Don't play 6/5 machines
- Not betting max: Reduces RTP by ~1.5%
Other Video Poker Variants
Deuces Wild
All 2s are wild. Full-pay Deuces Wild has 100.76% RTP with perfect play (player advantage!). Strategy is more complex.
Double Bonus
Higher payouts for four-of-a-kind hands. RTP varies widely by pay table (94-100%+).
Joker Poker
Includes a Joker as wild card. Usually requires Kings or better to win.
Complete Jacks or Better Strategy
Optimal strategy for 9/6 Jacks or Better involves holding cards in a specific priority order. When dealt a hand, check from the top of this list and hold the first combination that applies:
Premium Made Hands
Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, always hold these completed hands. Never break them for draws.
Four-Card Royals
Four cards to a Royal Flush beats everything except a completed premium hand. Break a flush, straight, or even two pair for four to a Royal. The Royal pays 4000 coins at max bet, making this draw extremely valuable.
Two Pair and High Pairs
Hold two pair or a pair of Jacks or better. These are paying hands that shouldn't be broken except for four to a Royal.
Three to a Royal
Three cards to a Royal Flush (like Q-J-10 suited) is a strong draw worth keeping over a single high pair in some situations. The exact cutoffs depend on which cards you have.
Four-Card Flushes and Straights
Four to a flush is a strong draw. Four to an open-ended straight (like 7-8-9-10) is decent. Inside straight draws (like 7-8-10-J, needing the 9) are weaker.
Low Pairs
A pair of 2s through 10s doesn't pay immediately but beats most draws. Hold a low pair over three to a straight or two to a Royal, but not over three to a Royal or four to a flush.
High Cards
Keep unsuited high cards (J, Q, K, A) when you have nothing better. Two unsuited high cards beat one. Prefer J-Q-K over J-Q or J-K because it offers more straight possibilities.
Jacks or Better Hand Frequencies
Understanding how often hands appear helps evaluate their importance. In 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect strategy:
Royal Flush appears approximately once per 40,000 hands. Despite rarity, it contributes about 2% of total return due to the 800:1 payout at max bet.
Straight Flush occurs once per 9,000 hands. Four of a Kind appears once per 420 hands. Full House comes once per 87 hands. Flush appears once per 91 hands.
Straights appear once per 89 hands. Three of a Kind occurs once per 14 hands. Two Pair comes once per 8 hands. Jacks or Better (high pair) appears once per 5 hands.
You'll win something on about 45% of hands with optimal play. The remaining 55% are losing hands, but the higher payouts on premium hands balance the equation.
Expected Value Calculations
Each decision in video poker has an expected value (EV). Perfect strategy means choosing the hold that maximizes EV for every hand. Strategy charts are derived from calculating EVs for all possible holds.
For example, if you're dealt Ks-Qs-Js-10s-2h, you have a made flush worth 6 coins. But holding Ks-Qs-Js-10s (four to a Royal) has an EV of about 18.7 coins because hitting the As completes an 800-coin Royal. Breaking the flush is correct.
Conversely, with Ks-Qs-Js-9s-2h, the four-card Royal draw is missing the 10 (an inside draw needing the Ace). The EV is lower, and holding the flush becomes correct.
Multi-Hand Video Poker
Multi-hand games let you play 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, or 100 hands simultaneously. You're dealt one hand and choose which cards to hold; those cards are duplicated across all hands while discards are replaced independently.
Strategy doesn't change: the mathematically correct hold is the same whether playing one hand or a hundred. What changes is variance. Multi-hand play amplifies both wins and losses.
Multi-hand is entertaining but increases risk. A bad session in 100-hand play can burn through a bankroll quickly. Conversely, hitting a Royal in 100-hand play produces 100 Royal payouts: an enormous win.
Finding Good Pay Tables
Physical casinos often have different pay tables on identical-looking machines. Always check before playing. Online casinos typically list RTP clearly, but verify before depositing.
Full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better is increasingly rare in physical casinos. Many have downgraded to 8/5 or worse. Vegas downtown and locals casinos generally offer better pay tables than Strip properties.
Online casinos often have better video poker odds than physical casinos because overhead is lower. Research before playing, aggregator sites track which online casinos offer full-pay games.
Deuces Wild Strategy Overview
In Deuces Wild, all four 2s are wild cards that substitute for any card. This dramatically changes hand frequencies and strategy. Full-pay Deuces Wild (paying 15 for five of a kind) returns 100.76% with perfect play.
With deuces, three of a kind becomes common (about 30% of hands with optimal play). Natural Royals without deuces pay 800:1 while Wild Royals pay only 25:1. Strategy prioritizes natural Royals heavily.
The number of deuces dealt determines strategy. Zero deuces: look for pairs and draws. One deuce: four of a kind draws become strong. Two deuces: hold them and look for big hands. Three deuces: you're guaranteed three of a kind minimum. Four deuces: automatic jackpot.
Video Poker Bankroll Requirements
Video poker variance requires adequate bankroll. For 9/6 Jacks or Better, a session bankroll of 400-500 base bets handles normal variance. For higher-variance games like Deuces Wild, 800-1000 bets is safer.
The Royal Flush contributes significantly to long-term return but appears only once per 40,000 hands. Until you hit Royals at the expected rate, actual returns will likely be below theoretical RTP.
Video Poker vs. Slots
Video poker offers significant advantages over slots. RTP is transparent and verifiable from the pay table. Optimal strategy exists and is learnable. Skilled players achieve returns within fractions of a percent of theoretical maximum.
Slots hide their RTP in the programming. No strategy affects outcomes. Returns vary widely and aren't verifiable from observation. For mathematically-minded players, video poker is clearly superior.
Practice and Improvement
Free video poker trainers let you practice optimal strategy without risking money. These programs flag incorrect holds and explain the mathematically correct play. Practice until strategy becomes automatic.
Strategy cards are available for reference during play. Physical casinos allow strategy cards; online play obviously has no restrictions. Use these tools until you've internalized optimal holds.
Video Poker Summary
Video poker offers the best odds in most casinos when you find good pay tables and play optimal strategy. The game rewards skill and study in ways that pure chance games cannot.
Find full-pay games, learn correct strategy, always bet max coins, and accept that short-term variance is inevitable. With patience and discipline, video poker can be among the least costly casino entertainment available.
Advanced Video Poker Concepts
Expected Value Per Hand
Every video poker decision has calculable expected value. Strategy cards list holds in EV order, higher expected value holds appear first. When multiple holds seem reasonable, the highest EV option is mathematically correct.
Sometimes counterintuitive holds are optimal. Breaking a made flush to draw to a Royal Flush can be correct because the Royal's payout outweighs the flush sacrifice. Trust the math over intuition.
Variance by Game Type
Different video poker variants have different variance profiles. Jacks or Better has moderate variance with frequent small pays. Deuces Wild has higher variance, more big wins but longer losing stretches. Double Bonus variants have very high variance due to enhanced quad payouts.
Match game selection to your bankroll and risk tolerance. Higher variance games need larger bankrolls to survive the swings.
Multi-Hand Video Poker
Triple Play, Five Play, and higher multi-hand games let you play multiple hands simultaneously from the same draw. This increases variance dramatically, your base hand affects all multiplied hands.
Multi-hand games can be fun but require proportionally larger bankrolls. The strategy is identical to single-hand play, but the emotional swings are amplified.
Finding Video Poker Games
Full-pay video poker is increasingly rare, especially online. Many casinos offer reduced pay tables that look similar but have significantly worse returns. Always verify the pay table before playing.
Casino game selection databases track which properties offer full-pay games. This information helps you find the best opportunities in your area or online.
Video Poker Myths
Machines aren't "due" for a Royal Flush. Each hand is independent, previous results don't affect future probability. A machine that just hit a Royal has the same odds as one that hasn't in months.
The casino can't "tighten" machines remotely during busy periods. Video poker RNG is regulated and audited. Pay tables are fixed and verifiable.
Responsible Video Poker Play
Even optimal video poker has a house edge (except rare advantage situations). Treat it as entertainment with a cost. Set loss limits, play within your means, and don't chase losses.
The skill element can create illusion of control. Remember that optimal play reduces but doesn't eliminate the house edge. Long-term losses are expected for most players.
Getting Started
Begin with Jacks or Better on free trainers. Master the basic strategy before risking money. Graduate to paid play only when correct holds become automatic.
Start with low-denomination games to extend play time while learning. As skill improves and bankroll allows, move to higher denominations where full-pay tables are more common.
Video poker rewards study and discipline. Invest the time to learn properly and you'll enjoy one of the best return rates available in any casino game. The combination of skill and favorable odds makes video poker unique among casino offerings.