Bonus Poker video poker

What Bonus Poker is

Bonus Poker is the simplest member of the ‘bonus’ family of video poker games. It keeps the deck, deal, hold and draw of Jacks or Better, and keeps a pair of jacks as the lowest paying hand. The only change is the pay table: four of a kind is split by rank, and the split is paid for elsewhere.

In practice the game plays almost identically. You will see the same high pairs, the same two pairs and the same flush draws. The difference shows up rarely, when four aces or four low cards land and pay two or three times the normal quad payout. Because those hands are rare, the extra value is modest, and it is balanced by smaller payouts on hands you see far more often.

The 8/5 Bonus Poker pay table

This is the standard version, named after its 8-for-1 full house and 5-for-1 flush. Pays are per coin at max coins, and the chance of each final hand under perfect strategy comes from the Wizard of Odds 8/5 Bonus Poker return table (opens in a new tab).

Add the three quad rows together and four of a kind of any rank still arrives about once in 423 hands, the same rate as in Jacks or Better. Bonus Poker doesn’t make quads more common; it just pays more when certain ranks land. Of every 100 hands, roughly 45 finish with a paying hand, and over 21 of those simply return the stake.

Where the Bonus Poker bonus comes from

The fairest comparison is with 8/5 Jacks or Better, which has the same full house and flush payouts but a flat 25 for every four of a kind. That game returns 97.30%. Bonus Poker 8/5 returns 99.17%. So the quad bonuses are worth about 1.9 percentage points, enough to turn a fairly expensive game into one of the cheaper ones.

Against 9/6 Jacks or Better the story flips. Full houses and flushes together land about once every 44 hands, while the boosted quads (aces and 2s to 4s) land about once every 1,380. Giving up one unit on each common hand to fund a bigger pay on a rare one costs a little: 99.54% falls to 99.17%.

Seen this way, Bonus Poker is a sensible middle option if you can’t find 9/6 Jacks or Better. It is also the gentlest step into the bonus family before Double Bonus Poker, which pushes the quad pays much higher and cuts two pair to even money.

Bonus Poker RTP: comparing pay tables

The four-of-a-kind pays almost never change between versions; the full house, flush and sometimes straight and two pair do. These returns come from Wizard of Odds’ video poker summary (opens in a new tab), with optimal strategy. The cost column assumes 25p coins at max coins, so £1.25 a hand over 1,000 hands (£1,250 staked).

The last row is the one to watch. Its full house, flush and straight look generous, but two pair has been cut from 2 to 1. Two pair lands about 13% of the time, so losing one unit on it removes around 13 points of return before anything else changes. The bigger pays further up only claw back part of that, leaving a table that costs about seven times as much as 8/5.

How to play Bonus Poker step by step

1. Open the pay table and confirm the full house, flush, straight and two pair lines.
2. Check what the royal flush pays at each coin level, as the 800 rate usually needs max coins.
3. Set your coin size and coin count to fit your budget.
4. Deal five cards and look for made hands first, then strong draws.
5. Tap to hold the cards the strategy list below points to.
6. Draw once; the game pays any qualifying hand from the table.
7. Press deal for each new hand yourself; there is no autoplay at UK-licensed casinos.

Our how to play video poker guide covers the screen and controls in more depth if you are starting from scratch.

Bonus Poker strategy: the ranked holds

The published 8/5 strategy is a ranked list. Find every hold your hand allows and keep the highest one. Our condensed version, in plain English, runs from best to worst:

1. Four of a kind, straight flush or royal flush.
2. Four to a royal flush.
3. Full house, flush or straight.
4. Three of a kind.
5. Four to a straight flush.
6. Two pair.
7. A high pair (jacks to aces).
8. Three to a royal flush.
9. Four to a flush.
10. K-Q-J-10 in mixed suits.
11. A low pair.
12. Four to an open-ended straight.
13. Three to a straight flush (the stronger types).
14. A-K-Q-J in mixed suits.
15. Two suited high cards.
16. Weaker three-card straight flush draws and inside straights with three high cards.
17. Unsuited high-card combinations such as J-Q-K, J-Q, K-Q or K-J.
18. Suited J-10, then unsuited A-K, A-Q or A-J, then a lone ace.
19. A lone king, queen or jack.
20. Nothing useful: redraw all five.

Wizard of Odds notes a handful of exceptions that are needed for the full 99.17%, but this list captures almost all of the value. Two points stand out against the way many people play. Unsuited K-Q-J-10 sits above a low pair, because any ace or nine completes the straight and the high cards can still pair. And a low pair sits above four to an open-ended straight, as it does in Jacks or Better. See our video poker strategy page for how these lists are built, and how to hold cards for worked examples.

Strategy only narrows the gap to the table’s listed return. Bonus Poker at 99.17% still has a house edge, so losses are the likely result over time.

Bonus Poker odds of four of a kind by rank

Because quads pay by rank, it helps to know how often each group can turn up. On the deal, each rank’s four of a kind can come with any of the other 48 cards, giving 48 combinations per rank out of 2,598,960.

Low quads (2s to 4s) are about three times as common as four aces simply because three ranks qualify. That is why they supply more of the return than aces, despite paying half as much. For the deeper maths, our expected value guide shows how to turn a pay and a probability into an average return.

Bonus Poker mistakes and myths

• Holding a kicker with aces. No version of Bonus Poker pays extra for side cards; that idea belongs to Double Double Bonus Poker.
• Assuming ‘bonus’ means a higher return. Bonus Poker returns less than 9/6 Jacks or Better.
• Chasing four aces. Breaking up a paying hand to hold lone aces lowers the average return; follow the ranking.
• Reading the top line only. Royal and quad pays rarely change; the full house, flush and two pair lines decide the version.
• Expecting quads after a long gap. Each deal is independent of the last.

Bonus Poker in the UK

UK-licensed video poker follows the Gambling Commission’s game design rules. Since 17 January 2025, no online casino game may offer autoplay, non-slot casino games must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle, and you can’t play several games at once. Your net spend and time played must be shown in real time, and you must be age and identity verified before depositing.

We can’t confirm which Bonus Poker tables individual UK casinos offer, so the help screen is the place to check. If the game shows an RTP, it should match one of the tables above. If you are deciding between this and slots, our answer on whether video poker is better than slots sets out the cost difference, and the budget guide helps you plan a session.

Where to play Bonus Poker

Our partners’ welcome offers don’t target video poker. 18+ and terms apply. Casumo offers new customers who opt in a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more, with 10x wagering within 7 days, a £5 maximum bet and game, play and payment restrictions. 10bet offers a 100% match up to £25, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with maximum bonus winnings of £1,000; Skrill and Neteller deposits are excluded. Coral gives 100 free spins at 10p each when you deposit and bet £10 on slots, to accept within 48 hours and use within 7 days, with no wagering on spin winnings and some payment types excluded.

Video poker is often excluded from bonus play or counts for less, so it is worth asking whether to take a bonus at all. Look in the casino’s lobby for Bonus Poker and see our Casumo, 10bet and Coral reviews for the practical details.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.