Five-card draw against a pay table: the rules, the Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild pay tables, how often each hand comes up and how to spot a full-pay game.
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Every hand follows the same four steps, whichever version you play.
Estimated Time Needed : 00:05Tools Needed: AccountSupplies Needed: Time, Money
Step 1
Choose your stake
Pick a coin size and how many coins to bet, usually one to five. Most machines pay proportionally more for a royal flush when you bet the maximum 5 coins, so the full return assumes the maximum bet.
Step 2
Take your five cards
Press Deal and five cards are dealt from a virtual 52-card deck. Check the pay table on screen: in Jacks or Better, a pair of jacks or higher already pays.
Step 3
Hold and draw
Choose which cards to keep by pressing Hold, then press Draw. Every card you did not hold is replaced with a new one from the rest of the deck. You get one draw per hand.
Step 4
Get paid
Your final five cards are compared with the pay table and any winning hand is paid automatically. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, about 45% of hands end with a paying hand.
Video poker is five-card draw poker played against a pay table instead of other players. You are dealt five cards, choose which to keep, draw replacements, and are paid according to the hand you end up with. Because you make real decisions and the pay table is on screen, it is one of the few casino games where you can work out the return in advance: full-pay Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with perfect play. This guide covers the rules, the Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild pay tables, how often each hand comes up, and how to spot a good machine.
Video Poker at a Glance
Based on
Five-card draw poker, one draw
Deck
A virtual 52-card deck (53 with a joker in Joker’s Wild)
Most common game
Jacks or Better: pays from a pair of jacks
Best-known returns
99.54% on 9/6 Jacks or Better; 99.2% on full-pay Bonus Poker (perfect play)
Maximum bet
Usually 5 coins, which unlocks the higher royal flush payout
Jacks or Better: the Pay Table and the Odds
Jacks or Better, sometimes called Draw Poker, is the most common video poker game. Any pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces pays even money, and every better hand pays more. The full-pay version is known as 9/6 Jacks or Better, after its payouts for a full house (9) and a flush (6).
The table shows what each final hand pays per coin bet, how often it comes up when you play every hand perfectly, and how much of the total return it provides:
Final hand
Pays
How often
Share of return
Royal flush
800*
1 in 40,391
1.98%
Straight flush
50
1 in 9,148
0.55%
Four of a kind
25
1 in 423
5.91%
Full house
9
1 in 87
10.36%
Flush
6
1 in 91
6.61%
Straight
4
1 in 89
4.49%
Three of a kind
3
1 in 13
22.33%
Two pair
2
1 in 8
25.86%
Jacks or better
1
1 in 5
21.46%
Total
–
–
99.54%
* Per coin, when you bet the maximum 5 coins (4,000 coins in total). Most machines pay proportionally more for a royal flush at the maximum bet, so playing fewer coins lowers the return. About 55% of hands end with nothing.
Two things stand out. Small hands do most of the work: three of a kind, two pair and a high pair together provide almost 70% of the return. And the royal flush, rare as it is, is worth about 2% on its own, which is why the maximum bet matters.
Why the Pay Table Is the First Thing to Check
The rules of Jacks or Better never change, but the pay table does. Casinos cut the return by lowering the payouts for a full house and a flush, and they rarely advertise the result. Each step down costs you around a percentage point:
On £100 of play, a 9/6 machine keeps £0.46 on average and a 6/5 machine £5.00. The cards are dealt the same way on both.
So before you play, look at the full house and flush lines. If they read 9 and 6, you have the full-pay game.
Deuces Wild
In Deuces Wild every two is wild and stands in for any card. Because wild cards make hands easier to complete, the lowest paying hand is three of a kind, and new hands appear at the top: four deuces, a wild royal flush and five of a kind. Four of a kind comes up about once every 15 hands and provides about a third of the return.
The full-pay version paid, per coin:
Hand
1 coin
5 coins
Natural royal flush
300
4,000
Four deuces
200
1,000
Wild royal flush
25
125
Five of a kind
15
75
Straight flush
9
45
Four of a kind
5
25
Full house
3
15
Flush
2
10
Straight
2
10
Three of a kind
1
5
Return (perfect play)
99.7%
100.8%
That full-pay schedule was only ever found in Nevada, and the last known machine, at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas, was removed in March 2023. The Deuces Wild games you will find today pay less, so compare the table before you play.
Other Video Poker Games
Bonus Poker is Jacks or Better with bigger payouts for four of a kind, depending on the rank of the four. The full-pay version returns 99.2%. Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus push those payouts further.
Joker’s Wild adds a joker to the deck as a wild card, which makes five of a kind possible.
Tens or Better starts paying at a pair of tens instead of jacks.
All American pays more for flushes, straights and straight flushes and less for full houses and two pair.
Multi-hand games such as Triple Play, Five Play, Ten Play and up to Hundred Play deal one starting hand; the cards you hold are copied to every hand, and each one draws from its own deck.
Video Poker Online
Online video poker plays exactly like a machine in a casino: the cards come from a virtual deck and are dealt at random, and the game pays from the table on screen. What changes from casino to casino is which pay tables they offer, so the same game can return 99.54% at one site and 95% at another. Many online versions also have a demo mode, which is the easiest way to practise which cards to hold before you stake money.
If you plan to play with a bonus, check the terms first to see whether video poker counts towards the wagering requirement, and at what rate.
Welcome bonus
The welcome bonus is primarily due to its size, definitely the most popular bonus on the market. It can be activated by newly registered players, with the first payment to the casino account. What you have to be careful about is the minimum amount of money, which the casino requires you to pay, in order to fulfill the condition to activate this promotion. Most often, the welcome bonus comes from several parts, a percentage on your deposit along with free spins. Depending on the casino, you can get the reward on the first deposit, or even on each of the first four deposits. Whatever type of player you are, the fact is that this bonus will come in handy and you will have a much higher chance of winning with its help. The list below is to use it in a way by trying some new poker strategy, which you may not have had the courage to try before.
Free spins
Next to the welcome bonus, the second most popular promotion is the free spins. Although they are much smaller in size than the welcome bonus, slots fans really like the extra spins. This promotion is often used by online gambling sites to promote a certain slot title, or developer software, which players are very happy to respond to. What you have to pay attention to with this type of bonus, but also with others, is the terms and conditions. Each comes with a certain wagering requirement that you must meet in order to be eligible to withdraw the money won with the help of the bonus. Therefore, before the actual activation, read all the rules in detail and thus avoid potential problems.
No deposit bonus
The last type of bonus is the no deposit bonus, which is the least available on the market. As the name suggests, you don't need any initial deposit to activate it. Usually you just need to register on a site and the bonus is yours. Considering such a tempting offer, you will find them most difficult in a casino.
Free Video Poker vs Real Money Video Poker
Most online video poker games can be played in demo mode as well as for real money. The cards, rules and pay tables are the same in both; what changes is what is at stake.
Free Online Video Poker
No stake, so nothing to lose
A good way to practise which cards to hold
Winning hands pay nothing
vs
Real Money Video Poker
Winning hands pay out for real
The same rules and pay tables as the demo
You can lose your stake
Playing Video Poker Sensibly
Even at 99.54%, video poker keeps a small edge over time, and a game this quick can get through a lot of hands in an hour. Decide on a budget before you start, choose a coin size that lets you bet the maximum without stretching it, and stop when it is gone. Free, confidential support is available at BeGambleAware.org. 18+ only.
Also worth a look: the highest RTP slots, for how the best slot returns compare with video poker.
Like video poker at a table:Let It Ride pays your five-card hand from a fixed pay table, starting at a pair of 10s.
Video Poker: Pros and Good to Know
What makes video poker different from other casino games, in short.
Pros
Full-pay Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with perfect play
You choose which cards to hold, so your decisions change the result
The pay table is on screen, so you can see the return you are getting
Simple rules, based on five-card draw poker
Good to know
The return depends on the pay table the casino offers
The top royal flush payout needs the maximum 5-coin bet
Perfect strategy takes practice to learn
Video poker: frequently asked questions
That is the end of this online video poker casino review. The final section answers your most frequently asked questions.
What is video poker?
A casino game based on five-card draw poker. You are dealt five cards, choose which to hold, draw replacements for the rest, and are paid according to a pay table for the hand you end up with.
What is the best video poker pay table?
In Jacks or Better, the full-pay 9/6 table, which pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush, returns 99.54% with perfect play and the maximum bet. 8/5 returns 97.30% and 6/5 returns 95.00%.
What does 9/6 mean in video poker?
It is the payout per coin for a full house (9) and a flush (6) in Jacks or Better. Those two lines are the ones casinos change most often, so they tell you at a glance which version you are playing.
How often do you get a royal flush in video poker?
In 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect play, about once every 40,391 hands. Four of a kind comes up about once every 423 hands.
Should you always bet max coins in video poker?
Most machines pay proportionally more for a royal flush at the maximum 5-coin bet, and the published returns assume it. If the maximum bet is too high for your budget, choose a smaller coin size rather than fewer coins.
What is Deuces Wild?
A video poker game in which every two is wild. The lowest paying hand is three of a kind, and four deuces, a wild royal flush and five of a kind are added to the pay table.
Is video poker better than slots?
The returns are easier to know: a video poker pay table tells you what each hand pays, and full-pay Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with perfect play. The catch is that you only get that return if you pick the right cards to hold.
Can I play video poker for free?
Many online casinos offer video poker in demo mode, which uses the same rules and pay tables as the real game without a stake.
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
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