Video poker strategy

What video poker strategy does and doesn't do

In video poker you are dealt five cards, choose which to keep, and the discards are replaced from the same shuffled deck. There are 32 ways to hold or discard five cards, and for each one the average payout can be calculated exactly from the 47 cards you haven't seen. Good video poker strategy means picking the hold with the highest average value every time.

That makes video poker unusual among casino games. In slots and roulette nothing you do changes the return. In video poker, the return quoted for a game, such as 99.54% for 9/6 Jacks or Better, is only reached with optimal decisions, and casual play gives back less. Strategy therefore lowers the cost of playing; it does not beat the house. On standard tables the edge stays with the casino, and losses are the likely outcome over time.

The published returns on this page all come from standard optimal-play analysis at the maximum coin bet. They are long-run averages, and a single session can end well away from them.

The maths behind every video poker strategy decision

Every hold decision is a comparison of averages. After you hold some cards, the outcome depends on how many of the 47 unseen cards help you. That counting is simple probability and it explains most of the hold order.

Now combine the chance with the payout. On a 9/6 table, the flush part of a four-card flush draw is worth 9/47 × 6 = 1.15 units on average, before counting the extra chance of pairing a high card. On an 8/5 table the same draw is worth 9/47 × 5 = 0.96 units from the flush. That single change is why a strategy built for one pay table can be wrong on another: the value of each draw moves with the row that pays it.

Pat hands are counted the same way. A dealt flush on 9/6 is worth exactly 6 units if you keep it. Breaking it to chase a straight flush or royal flush makes sense only when the draw's average value is higher, which happens with four to a royal flush and almost nothing else.

Jacks or Better strategy: a simplified hold order

The full optimal strategy for Jacks or Better has many fine distinctions, and the exact version is set out in the Wizard of Odds 9/6 Jacks or Better optimal strategy (opens in a new tab). For everyday play, a widely published simplified ranking gets you very close. Find the highest line on this list that matches your hand and hold those cards.

1. Royal flush, straight flush or four of a kind: hold the made hand.
2. Four to a royal flush.
3. Full house, flush, straight or three of a kind: hold the made hand.
4. A four-card straight flush draw.
5. Two pair.
6. High pair (jacks, queens, kings or aces).
7. Three to a royal flush.
8. A four-card flush draw.
9. Low pair (2s to 10s).
10. Four to an open-ended straight.
11. Two suited high cards.
12. Three to a straight flush.
13. Two unsuited high cards (if you have three, keep the two lowest).
14. A 10 suited with a jack, queen or king.
15. One high card.
16. Nothing matches: discard all five and draw a fresh hand.

Two lines surprise most new players. Four to a royal flush ranks above a pat flush or straight, because a royal pays 800 per coin at the maximum bet. And a low pair ranks above an open-ended straight draw, because a pair can improve to two pair, trips, a full house or four of a kind, while the straight draw has only one way to pay.

Worked hands using video poker strategy

Here is the hold order applied to real hands on a 9/6 Jacks or Better table. The reasons use the counts from the draw table above.

The hand people most often misplay is the first one. A four-card flush draw feels exciting, but the made high pair is worth more on average than the draw on this table. The third hand is the opposite case: breaking a sure 6-unit flush feels wrong, yet the small chance of an 800-per-coin royal, plus the other flushes and straights the draw can still make, gives it the higher average.

How video poker strategy changes in Deuces Wild

Deuces Wild uses the four 2s as wild cards, which turns the strategy upside down. Three of a kind is the lowest paying hand, a pair on its own pays nothing, and four of a kind lands so often that it pays only 5 on the full-pay table. The Wizard of Odds full-pay Deuces Wild strategy (opens in a new tab) gives a return of 100.76% with optimal play.

• Never discard a deuce. Each one can become any card you need.
• Count your deuces first. Hands are best sorted by how many deuces you hold (four, three, two, one or none), because the right play changes completely with each count.
• Pairs are weaker. Without a deuce, a single pair is only a starting point for trips or better, and some strong draws outrank it.
• Stick to charts for the exact table. Not So Ugly Ducks, a different Deuces table returning about 99.73%, pays 4 rather than 5 for four of a kind, which changes some holds.

Deuces Wild has a higher top return than Jacks or Better, but it is harder to play well. If you are still learning, the simpler hold order of Jacks or Better is easier to get close to the published return. Our Jacks or Better vs Deuces Wild comparison sets the two side by side.

Strategy for Bonus Poker, Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus

The bonus family keeps the Jacks or Better hand rankings but pays extra for certain fours of a kind. That shifts a handful of decisions, mostly towards keeping aces.

The Wizard of Odds 9/6 Double Double Bonus strategy (opens in a new tab) shows how detailed these adjustments get. The practical rule is to switch charts when you switch games. Playing Jacks or Better strategy on Double Bonus, where two pair returns only your stake, costs you return you would otherwise keep.

What good video poker strategy is worth in pounds

Expected loss equals total staked × house edge. Assume 50p per hand (five coins at 10p) and 600 hands, so £300 of turnover. On 9/6 Jacks or Better played perfectly, the 0.46% edge gives an expected loss of £1.38. On an 8/5 table at 97.3%, the same session has an expected loss of about £8.10, even with perfect play.

Those are the best-case costs, because they assume no mistakes. Any error lowers the return below these figures, which is why learning the hold order is worthwhile if you enjoy the game. Combine good strategy with a strong pay table, covered in our video poker pay tables guide, and you have done everything that is in your control. The rest is short-term luck, which can swing a session far from the average in either direction. See variance and standard deviation for why.

Myths about video poker strategy

• "The machine is due a royal flush." Each hand comes from a freshly shuffled virtual deck chosen by a random number generator. The game has no memory, as our page on independent events explains.
• "You can count cards in video poker." The deck is reshuffled before every hand, so there is nothing to track from one hand to the next.
• "Raising your stake after losses gets it back." Staking systems change the size of your bets, not the edge. The Wizard of Odds betting systems analysis (opens in a new tab) quotes the mathematician Billingsley: no betting system can turn a subfair game into a profitable one.
• "Holding a kicker with a pair helps." In Jacks or Better, keeping an extra high card with a pair lowers the average; hold the pair alone. (Double Double Bonus has specific kicker rules for three aces, which is a different case.)
• "Gut feel beats the chart." Every chart line comes from exact counting over the 47 unseen cards. Feel is what produces the misplays.

How to learn video poker strategy step by step

1. Pick one game, ideally 9/6 Jacks or Better, and stick with it while you learn.
2. Check the pay table matches the chart you are using, row by row.
3. Memorise the hold order in groups: made hands, pairs, draws, high cards.
4. Practise in demo mode where it is offered; in the UK, free-play games also need age verification first.
5. Keep the chart open beside the game and check any hand you are unsure about before you draw.
6. Set a budget and a number of hands before you start, and stop when you reach either.
7. Only move to Deuces Wild or the bonus games once the first hold order feels automatic.

Learning a strategy does not change the fact that the game costs money to play. Set limits that suit you, and use the safer-gambling tools every UK casino must offer, such as deposit limits and reality checks.

Video poker strategy and UK online rules

UK rules affect the pace rather than the strategy. Since 17 January 2025, casino games other than slots must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle, autoplay is banned for all online casino games, and you cannot play several games at once. Your net position and time spent must be shown as you play. That pace gives you time to think about each hold. Our UK game design rules page covers the detail.

Game information must also be clear before you play. Under the Gambling Commission's standards, the RTP shown for a game with a skill element is calculated using an auto-play strategy or a standard published strategy, so the figure on the help screen describes expert play, not average play.

Where to play video poker at UK partner casinos

Our partner welcome offers are aimed at slots, and video poker is often excluded or counts for less towards wagering, so check the terms before assuming a bonus covers it. 18+ and terms apply. For video poker itself, look in each casino's game lobby and read the pay table before you play.

• Casumo: 50% bonus up to £100 for new customers who opt in and deposit at least £20; wager the bonus 10x within 7 days, £5 maximum bet while it is active, game, play and payment restrictions apply.
• 10bet: 100% match up to £25 for new UK customers who pick the casino welcome bonus and deposit within 7 days of joining; wager 10x on slots within 3 days, maximum bonus winnings £1,000, no Skrill or Neteller deposits.
• Coral: deposit and bet £10 or more on slots to get 100 free spins (10p each, selected games, accept within 48 hours, valid for 7 days, no wagering on winnings); some deposit types such as PayPal, Skrill and Neteller don't qualify. Runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027.

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.