Video poker has a reputation as the casino game for people who do math, and it deserves it. Unlike a slot, every video poker machine shows you its pay table, and that table, combined with a fixed 52-card deck, determines the exact return. The common mistake is to think strategy is the hard part. It is the second part. Choosing the right pay table is worth more than any hold decision you will make all night.
Why does the pay table matter more than your holds?
Because the difference between two pay tables is locked in before you see a card. Jacks or Better is the base game: a pair of jacks or higher pays even money, and the payouts climb from there. The shorthand “9/6” means a full house pays nine credits per credit bet and a flush pays six. Cut those two lines and the return falls, even though everything else on the screen looks identical.
| Jacks or Better pay table (full house / flush) | Return with optimal strategy | Cost per $1,000 wagered, in theory |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6 (“full pay”) | 99.54% | $4.60 |
| 9/5 | 98.45% | $15.50 |
| 8/6 | 98.39% | $16.10 |
| 8/5 | 97.30% | $27.00 |
| 7/5 | 96.15% | $38.50 |
| 6/5 | 94.99% | $50.10 |
Returns are from the standard optimal-strategy calculations published by the Wizard of Odds. Going from 9/6 to 6/5 makes the game roughly eleven times more expensive, and no amount of skill recovers it.
Red flag: a “Jacks or Better” game that pays the full house at 7 or 6 and the flush at 5. It looks like the classic game, and it costs more than many slots.
Which game families return the most?
Bonus versions shift money from the full house and flush toward four of a kind. That makes results swingier, and the return still depends on the exact table.
| Game | Pay table | Return with optimal strategy | What you trade for it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deuces Wild | Full pay | 100.76% | Rare to find; strategy differs sharply from Jacks or Better |
| Double Double Bonus | 10/6 | 100.07% | High volatility; big four-of-a-kind payouts with kickers |
| Jacks or Better | 9/6 | 99.54% | The benchmark; lowest swings of the group |
| Bonus Poker | 8/5 | 99.17% | Extra pay for four aces and low quads |
| Double Double Bonus | 9/6 | 98.98% | Higher volatility than Jacks or Better for a lower return |
| Bonus Poker | 7/5 | 98.01% | One unit off the full house costs about 1.15% |
Tables above 100% exist on paper. Finding them online is another matter, and any return above 100% assumes flawless play over a very long run. Treat these as a ranking, not a promise.
Why does Deuces Wild need a different strategy?
In Deuces Wild all four twos are wild, so the lowest paying hand is three of a kind instead of a pair of jacks. Two pair pays nothing on most tables, and four deuces carries its own large payout. The result is a game where your instincts from Jacks or Better point the wrong way. The first rule is the simplest: never discard a deuce. A hand holding two or three deuces is played almost entirely around them, and a single pair is usually held for its chance to become trips or better with a wild card. Any strategy chart for Deuces Wild must also match the exact pay table, because the full pay and short pay versions reward four of a kind and five of a kind differently.
Why do the published returns assume maximum coins?
Because the royal flush is where the math lives. On classic machines a royal pays 250 per coin for one to four coins and jumps to 4,000 for five coins, which is 800 per coin. The 99.54% figure for 9/6 Jacks or Better uses the 800 rate. Online games often replace “coins” with bet levels, so check whether the royal payout scales evenly with your bet or has a bonus at the top level. If the bonus exists, playing below it lowers the return.
A royal flush appears roughly once every 40,000 hands with correct play. That is why the figures above are long-run averages. The standard deviation of 9/6 Jacks or Better is about 4.42 units per hand, which means short sessions swing far more than the house edge suggests.
What does a simplified Jacks or Better strategy look like?
Below is a simplified hold order for 9/6 Jacks or Better. Start at the top and stop at the first line that matches your hand. Full strategy charts add exceptions, but this ranking captures the decisions that matter most.
- Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind (hold all the cards that make the hand)
- Four to a royal flush
- Three of a kind, straight, flush or full house
- Four to a straight flush
- Two pair
- A high pair (jacks, queens, kings or aces)
- Three to a royal flush
- Four to a flush
- A low pair (twos through tens)
- Four to an outside straight (open at both ends)
- Two suited high cards
- Three to a straight flush
- Two unsuited high cards (if you have three, keep the two lowest)
- A suited ten with a jack, queen or king
- One high card
- Nothing: draw five new cards
Two rules surprise most players. A low pair beats four to an outside straight. And a high pair beats four to a flush, even though the flush draw feels more exciting.
Which mistakes cost the most?
The expensive errors are the instinctive ones:
- Holding a kicker. Keeping an ace next to a pair of fours reduces your chance of improving the pair. In Jacks or Better, kickers never help.
- Chasing an inside straight. Four to an inside straight is near the bottom of the chart. With no high cards, a full redraw is often better.
- Breaking a made straight or flush for a royal draw with three cards. Only four to a royal justifies breaking a made flush or straight.
- Using the Jacks or Better chart on Deuces Wild. With four wild cards in the deck, the hand values change completely. Every variant needs its own strategy.
Reality check: where a licensed site offers free play, it is the cheapest classroom available. Software that plays hands for you is a different matter and is commonly banned in site terms, so read them first.
How does video poker compare with slots?
A slot hides its math; a video poker machine prints it. Slot return figures are set by the game configuration and can differ between versions and states. Starburst from NetEnt, for example, has a published default RTP of 96.09%, and the version an operator runs can be lower. A 9/6 Jacks or Better game played well returns 99.54%, and you can confirm the pay table yourself before betting. The trade-off is effort: slots need no decisions, while video poker returns its full figure only to players who make the right holds.
Where can you play video poker online legally?
Only on sites licensed in the seven states with legal online casino games: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island, and only while physically in that state. Game libraries vary by operator and the pay table on a title can differ between sites. The figures in this guide apply to whatever pay table you see, so compare before you settle in.
If you find the game on a site not covered by a state regulator, the pay table is the least of your concerns. The license check takes five minutes. Players who prefer a table game with similarly low costs should look at the banker bet in baccarat or the pass line with free odds in craps.
So what is the takeaway?
Find 9/6 Jacks or Better or an equally strong table, bet the level that earns the full royal payout, learn one chart for one game and keep the hold order in front of you until it becomes automatic. The edge you are fighting is under half a percent only if you do all four.
21+ only. Availability and legality vary by state. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER, or use the chat at ncpgambling.org. Self-exclusion and limit tools are covered on our safer gambling page.