Video Poker Strategy: Best Plays for Every Hand

How Video Poker Works

Video poker is a single-player electronic card game. You're dealt five cards, choose which to hold, discarded cards are replaced, and your final hand pays according to a paytable.

Unlike slots, video poker uses a genuine card deck — every combination is equally likely. You can calculate the correct strategy mathematically and play at a known expected return. The house edge is set by the paytable and your decisions, not a hidden setting.

Paytables: The Most Important Factor

Always find the best paytable before playing — the differences are enormous:

Card Holding Priority

Always hold the highest-value combination from this list:

1. Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind — hold all five
2. Four cards to a Royal Flush — draw fifth even breaking a flush or straight
3. Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind — hold the made hand
4. Four cards to a Straight Flush — hold four, draw one
5. Two Pair — hold both pairs, discard fifth card
6. High Pair (Jacks or better) — hold the pair
7. Three cards to a Royal Flush — hold three, draw two
8. Four cards to a Flush — hold four, draw one
9. Low Pair (2s–10s) — hold pair, draw three
10. Four cards to an open-ended Straight — hold four
11. Two high cards (J, Q, K, A) — hold two, draw three
12. One high card — hold one, draw four
13. Nothing — draw all five

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Holding a kicker with a pair: Never keep a high card alongside a pair. Hold only the pair and draw three — kickers reduce your chance of improving.

Ignoring Royal Flush draws: Four cards to a Royal should be chased even breaking a made flush or straight. The 800:1 payout is what makes full-pay machines profitable long-term.

Playing short-pay machines: A 9/6 machine returns 99.54%. An 8/5 returns 97.3%. That 2.2% gap costs you significantly over thousands of hands.

Not playing max coins: Royal Flush pays 250:1 for 1–4 coins but 800:1 for 5 coins. Always play 5 coins — drop to a lower denomination if needed.

Deuces Wild: Higher Variance Alternative

Deuces Wild replaces all four 2s with wild cards. Full-pay Deuces Wild theoretically returns over 100% with perfect strategy — one of the only beatable casino games.

Full-pay versions are extremely rare. Most Deuces Wild machines return 94–96%. Verify the paytable: Three of a Kind (1:1 full-pay), Four of a Kind (4:1), Natural Royal Flush (800:1).

Deuces Wild strategy is completely different from Jacks or Better — never apply one strategy to the other variant.