Video poker looks like a slot machine, but it plays like a card game with a fixed set of rules. You’re dealt five cards from a fresh 52-card deck, you choose which to keep, and the machine pays according to a posted paytable. Two things decide how much it costs you: which paytable you pick and how well you hold. On a good machine with perfect play, Jacks or Better returns 99.54%. On a bad machine with sloppy play, the house edge can be many times higher. This guide covers Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus and Deuces Wild. Every return below was computed exactly in Casino Coach from all 2,598,960 possible deals with optimal holds, and matches Wizard of Odds’ published figures.
How to play
- Choose a machine and paytable. Check the paytable on the glass before you sit down. More on this below.
- Bet one to five coins. Five is “max bet.” It matters a lot.
- The deal. You get five cards, face up.
- Hold. Tap the cards you want to keep. You can hold all five, none, or anything in between.
- Draw. The machine replaces every card you didn’t hold, from the same deck.
- Get paid. Your final hand is paid per the paytable. In Jacks or Better, a pair of jacks or better is the lowest paying hand and returns your bet.
Paytable
How to read a paytable
Paytables are listed per coin. In Jacks or Better, most lines stay fixed across machines. The casino changes the full house and flush pays, and players name machines by those two numbers. “9/6” means 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush. “8/5” means 8 and 5.
| Hand (Jacks or Better) | 9/6 | 8/5 | 6/5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush (5 coins) | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Full house | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Flush | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two pair | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Return, perfect play | 99.54% | 97.30% | 95.00% |
Two numbers, one coin each, make a big difference. The 8/5 machine has almost six times the house edge of the 9/6, and 6/5 has 10.9 times the edge. There’s also a 7/5 version at 96.15%.
Other games
| Game | Key pays (per coin) | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus Poker 8/5 | Four aces 80, four 2s–4s 40, four 5s–Ks 25, FH 8, F 5 | 99.17% |
| Double Bonus 10/7 | Four aces 160, four 2s–4s 80, four 5s–Ks 50, FH 10, F 7, S 5, two pair 1 | 100.17% |
| Double Double Bonus 9/6 | Four aces + 2–4 kicker 400, four 2s–4s + A–4 kicker 160, four aces 160, four 2s–4s 80, four 5s–Ks 50, FH 9, F 6, two pair 1 | 98.98% |
| Deuces Wild, full pay | Wild royal 25, five of a kind 15, straight flush 9, four of a kind 5, FH 3, F 2 | 100.76% |
| Deuces Wild, Not So Ugly | Five of a kind 16, SF 10, four of a kind 4, FH 4, F 3 | 99.73% |
| Deuces Wild, Illinois | Five of a kind 15, SF 9, four of a kind 4, FH 4, F 3 | 98.91% |
In Deuces Wild, every 2 is wild, the lowest paying hand is three of a kind, and four deuces pay 200 per coin. Notice that “worse” pays on one line can be offset by better pays on another. That’s why you should compare full paytables, not single lines.
Strategy
Always bet max coins
The royal flush pays 250 per coin on one to four coins, and 800 per coin on five. That bonus is part of the published return. Short-coin play costs about 1.2% of the return:
| Paytable | 5 coins | 1–4 coins |
|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better 9/6 | 99.54% | 98.37% |
| Jacks or Better 8/5 | 97.30% | 96.06% |
| Deuces Wild full pay | 100.76% | 99.57% |
If five coins is too much, play a lower denomination at max coins instead of a higher one at one coin.
9/6 Jacks or Better: hold priorities
Find the highest line your hand qualifies for and hold those cards. “High card” means J, Q, K or A. This simplified list returns 99.46%, against 99.54% for perfect play, per Wizard of Odds:
- Four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush
- 4 to a royal flush
- Three of a kind, straight, flush, full house
- 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 (if more than two, keep the lowest two)
- Suited 10/J, 10/Q or 10/K
- One high card
- Discard everything
A few examples from exact analysis:
- A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 9♦: hold the four to the royal. It’s worth 18.55 per coin, three times a made flush’s 6. So even if that 9 were a spade, you’d break the flush.
- K♠ K♦ Q♠ J♠ 4♣: hold the kings. The high pair beats 3 to a royal.
- Q♦ Q♥ A♣ 6♣ 3♥: hold just the queens (1.54 per coin). Adding the ace kicker drops it to 1.42.
- 7♣ 8♦ 9♠ 10♥ 3♣: an outside straight draw with no high cards is worth 0.68. If you’d been dealt a low pair instead, the pair (about 0.82) would be worth more.
The simple list isn’t perfect. For example, exact analysis keeps all three of K-Q-J unsuited rather than the lowest two. Casino Coach grades every hold by exact analysis, so it settles these close calls for you.
Bonus and Double Double Bonus
These games pay big for four of a kind, especially aces, and pay only 1 for two pair. The strategy shifts to match. In Double Double Bonus 9/6, a pair of aces ranks above two pair, and three aces rank above a full house. Each game has its own list; the trainer shows them all.
Deuces Wild: count the deuces first
Full-pay Deuces strategy is grouped by how many deuces you hold:
- 4 deuces: keep all four.
- 3 deuces: keep a pat wild royal; keep a pat five of a kind if it’s tens or higher; otherwise keep just the three deuces. (With five 9s or lower, the three deuces alone are worth slightly more.)
- 2 deuces: keep a pat four of a kind or better, 4 to a royal, or certain 4 to a straight flush; otherwise keep just the deuces.
- No deuces: never keep two pair. Keep one pair and draw.
The honest truth about full-pay Deuces
Full-pay Deuces Wild returns 100.76% with perfect play, a slight edge to the player. Even the simple strategy only gets you to 100.71%. That edge is real but thin. It needs near-perfect play on every hand, max coins, and the exact full-pay paytable. A large share of the return comes from rare hands like the natural royal and four deuces, so variance is large, and you can play for a long time below the expected return. Short paytables like Not So Ugly (99.73%) and Illinois (98.91%) look similar but give the house the edge.
Common mistakes
- Playing short coins. Costs about 1.2% of return on every hand.
- Playing a bad paytable. 6/5 Jacks or Better has 10.9 times the house edge of 9/6.
- Holding a kicker with a pair. In the hand above, it costs about 0.12 per coin.
- Breaking a high pair for a 4-flush. The pair ranks higher on the list.
- Keeping two pair in Deuces Wild. Keep one pair instead.
- Keeping two pair over a pair of aces in Double Double Bonus. The aces are worth more.
House edge explained
Video poker’s house edge comes entirely from the paytable and your play. The deck is a fair 52 cards, reshuffled every hand. With perfect play, the return is fixed by the paytable: 99.54% for 9/6 Jacks, 99.17% for 8/5 Bonus, 98.98% for 9/6 Double Double Bonus, and 100.76% for full-pay Deuces. Every mistake lowers it further.
The best machines are full-pay Deuces Wild, 10/7 Double Bonus, 9/6 Jacks or Better and 8/5 Bonus Poker. Avoid 8/5, 7/5 and 6/5 Jacks or Better, and short-pay Deuces. Always bet max coins.
Practice in Casino Coach
Casino Coach has Jacks or Better (9/6, 8/5, 7/5, 6/5), Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus and three Deuces Wild paytables. In trainer mode, every hold is graded by exact analysis of all 32 possible holds. On a mistake you see the best hold, the EV of each top option per coin, and what your hold cost. You can stop on a wrong hold or grade on the draw. Three drills build skill: Best Hold (adaptive, with a tough-calls-only mode), Strategy Ranking for learning the hold order, and Paytable IQ for spotting full-pay machines. The Strategy tab has every hold list and a hold analyzer, and analytics show your return by machine and mistakes by hand type. Chips are free and have no cash value. Train video poker free and learn to hold like the math.
Video Poker FAQ
What does 9/6 mean in video poker?
It's the payout per coin for a full house and a flush in Jacks or Better. A 9/6 machine pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush and returns 99.54% with perfect play. An 8/5 machine pays 8 and 5 and returns 97.30%.
Should you always bet max coins in video poker?
Yes, if you play at all. The royal flush pays 250 per coin on one to four coins but 800 per coin on five. Playing short coins cuts a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine from 99.54% to 98.37%.
Can you beat full-pay Deuces Wild?
In theory, full-pay Deuces Wild returns 100.76% with perfect play, a slight player edge. In practice you need flawless strategy, and much of the return comes from rare hands such as the natural royal and four deuces, so results swing widely and small errors erase the edge.
Should you hold a kicker with a pair in video poker?
No. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, holding Q♦ Q♥ alone is worth 1.54 per coin, while Q♦ Q♥ with an A♣ kicker is worth 1.42. The kicker takes away a draw that could improve the hand.
Is 4 to a royal flush better than a made flush?
Yes. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, four to a royal is worth about 18.55 per coin, three times the 6 per coin a pat flush pays, so you break the flush.
Which video poker game is best for beginners?
9/6 Jacks or Better. Its strategy is the simplest of the common games, and a short hold-priority list returns 99.46% against 99.54% for perfect play.
Practise Video Poker until it's automatic
Real table, free chips, and a trainer that grades every decision with the expected value of each option.
Updated October 24, 2026