Learn how to beat the house with video poker.
Since its introduction in the 1970s, video poker has become a staple of casino gambling. There are two reasons for its popularity: firstly, it’s very easy to play. Secondly, it presents some of the best odds for players.
Our guide will get you up to speed with the rules of video poker, take you through some popular variants (with pay-out percentages) and teach you how to minimise (even beat) the house edge.
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Video poker is a game that’s based on five-card draw poker. It’s a single player game, where the player tries to create as valuable a poker hand as possible. If they create a hand above a certain value (usually a pair of jacks) they win cash. If they don’t, they lose their stake.
For each round, the player is dealt five cards face up via a video screen. They must then choose whether to hold any of their cards for the ‘draw’. They can hold any number from zero to five. All cards that are not held are then re-dealt, and the final hand evaluated.
Winning hands can often be gambled via a ‘higher or lower’ game. UK players will be familiar with this concept as it was used in the popular 70s/80s quiz show ‘Play Your Cards Right’. A single card is dealt and the player must guess if the next card in sequence will be higher or lower. If they choose correctly, their prize is doubled. Choose incorrectly, and all winnings for that hand are lost. Players can usually gamble in this way up to five times in succession.
The first video poker games arrived at the same time as ‘Pong’ and early, primitive personal computers. Video monitors were hooked up to integrated circuits in which the game was programmed. Early video poker consoles were dismissed as a passing fad.
All this changed in the early 1980s when SIRCOMA, the company that would eventually become International Game Technology, decided to concentrate on perfecting the video poker console. This turned out to be a Vegas-shattering success, as it gave poker players who felt intimidated while playing on casino tables the chance to play their favourite pastime against a faceless ‘opponent’.
The popularity of video poker has yet to wane. While not too popular with Las Vegas visitors, the locals tend to enjoy playing video poker machines off the main Vegas strip. Nearly all real-world casinos will house a few video poker terminals under their roof.
Despite massive strides in computer technology and in particular video graphics, contemporary video poker machines are little different from their primitive forebears. Video poker fans are keen that their game is kept as ‘traditional’ as possible, and video poker has not developed in the same way that online slots games have evolved to be feature-rich monsters.
Nearly every single online casino will offer at least one variety of video poker, and most will offer several. While not as popular as slots, blackjack or roulette, video poker is a rarity as with correct play and taking in all factors, the house edge can be swung ever-so-slightly in favour of the player.
There are four main varieties of video poker:
Multi-hand video poker games have become popular at online casinos in recent years. This allows you to play up to 100 hands at one from the draw. If, for example, you hold two aces before the draw and play 100 hands, you can play all 100 hands with two aces and three newly drawn cards. This is very beneficial if you are dealt a winning hand before the draw.
Other less common varieties of video poker are as follows:
Learn how to play online video poker with RightCasino’s online guide.
Online video poker was introduced to casinos in the 1970s as a single-player equivalent to table poker. At the time, it was a bit of a technological marvel and quickly became popular. Today, the game is still played widely for its simple rules, low house edge and the possibility of big wins. Our step-by-step guide will steer you through the rules and variants of video poker so you can get the most out of this exciting casino game.
The rules of video poker are extremely straightforward…
In most versions of video poker, you will use an electronic interface to bet on a virtually-generated straight poker hand. You begin by making a wager of up to five ‘coins’ (the value of which depend on the game and chosen settings). The more money you are happy to wager, the more you can win. Usually, your winnings are simply multiplied by the amount of cash you gamble, although you may receive a bonus lift if you go the whole hog with five coins.
Once your stake has been set, the game will generate a hand of five cards based on a digital, 52-card deck (up to 53 in ‘Joker Wild’ games). This is your starting hand. In some games you can play 5, 10, 25 or even 100 hundred hands all at the same time. Each hand will begin with your ‘main’ hand as the base.
Once your starting hand has been generated, you can choose which of your cards to discard. The discards are then replaced with new cards from the remaining deck.
You are then paid on the value of your hand according to a paytable. Usually for a qualifying pair, you receive back the same amount of money you gambled. Payouts go up as far as a royal flush, for which you typically receive back 250x your stake.
You can usually gamble your winnings when you hit a successful hand at video poker. If you do decide to gamble, you’ll be presented with a card, and you have to guess whether the next card drawn will be higher or lower. If you pick right, your prize is doubled. If you choose unwisely, then you lose everything. Depending on the game, you should be able to go ‘double or quits’ up to five times in succession.
Find the best house edge with our list of popular video poker variations.
There are several different versions of video poker, all of which come with extremely favourable odds for the player (even positive expectation by some estimates). See which variants present the best edge with our overview of video poker variants (along with pay-tables). All pay-outs are calculated according to betting five credits and assume ‘optimal’ play.
Also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better. This is the most common form of video poker and payoffs begin at a pair of Jacks.
| Hand | 1 Credit | 2 Credits | 3 Credits | 4 Credits | 5 Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
House edge: 0.54%
In this game, all 2s (‘deuces’) are wild, changing their rank and suit to form better hands. This variant returns a higher return for ‘natural’ hands that contain no wild cards.
| Hand | Pay-out (multiple of bet) |
|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush | 800 |
| Four deuces | 200 |
| Deuces Royal Flush | 25 |
| Five of a Kind | 16 |
| Straight Flush | 13 |
| Four of a Kind | 4 |
| Full House | 3 |
| Flush | 2 |
| Straight | 2 |
| Three of a kind | 1 |
House edge: 1.1%
This variant features higher pay-outs on flushes and straights and lower returns on full houses and pairs.
| Hand | Pay-out (multiple of bet) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 200 |
| Four of a Kind | 34 |
| Full House | 8 |
| Flush | 8 |
| Straight | 8 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 1 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 |
House edge: 1.5%
As you would expect, pay-outs start at a pair of 10s.
| Hand | Pay-out (multiple of bet) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 6 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Tens or Better | 1 |
House edge: 0.9%
This variant includes one Joker as a wild card. The lowest qualifying hand is a pair of Kings and, as with Deuces Wild, natural hands offer a better return.
| Hand | Pay-out (multiple of bet) |
|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush | 1000 |
| Five of a Kind | 200 |
| Joker Royal Flush | 100 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 17 |
| Full House | 7 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 3 |
| Three of a Kind | 2 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Kings or Better | 1 |
House edge: 1.4%
This variant offers different pay-outs for four of a kind, depending on rank, with aces giving the best return.
| Hand | Pay-out (multiple of bet) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 70 |
| Four of a Kind (Aces & 8s) | 80 |
| Four of a Kind (Sevens) | 50 |
| Four of a Kind (Other) | 20 |
| Full House | 8 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 |
House edge: 0.74%
Most online casinos offer full pay machines only, meaning that pay-outs are nine times your wager for a full house and six times for a flush. Low pay machines offer a lower return (8/5, where full houses and flushes return eight and five times your bet respectively are most common). This results in a higher house edge.
If possible, you should always aim for full paying machines with a better return. Any game with a lower return than those in the tables above would be considered ‘low-pay’. Be sure to check the pay-outs before hazarding any cash.
Beat the house edge with our guide to basic video poker strategy.
Video poker is one of the few casino games where it is possible to beat the house edge. This page will introduce you to basic strategy for full-pay video poker variants (with and without wilds) via a series of hand charts, helping you get an edge over the casino with mathematically ‘perfect’ play. Credit to Michael Shackleford (AKA ‘The Wizard of Odds’) for these systems. If you need some help with the terminology, check out our poker glossary here.
The following are the best plays, in order of absolute best to absolute worst (‘high’ card indicates a pair of Jacks or better).
| 1 | Dealt Royal Flush |
| 2 | Dealt Straight Flush |
| 3 | Dealt Four of a Kind |
| 4 | Four to Royal Flush |
| 5 | Dealt Full House |
| 6 | Dealt Flush |
| 7 | Three of a Kind |
| 8 | Dealt Straight |
| 9 | Four to Straight Flush |
| 10 | Two Pair |
| 11 | High Pair |
| 12 | Three to Royal Flush |
| 13 | Four to a Flush |
| 14 | Unsuited K/Q/J/10 |
| 15 | Low Pair |
| 16 | Four to an outside straight with 0-2 high cards |
| 17 | Three to a Straight Flush |
| 18 | Suited Q/J |
| 19 | Four to an inside straight, four high cards |
| 20 | Suited K/Q or K/J |
| 21 | Suited A/K, A/Q, Q/J |
| 22 | Four to an inside straight, three high cards |
| 23 | Three to a straight flush |
| 24 | Unsuited K/Q/J |
| 25 | Unsuited Q/J |
| 26 | Suited J/10 |
| 27 | Two unsuited high cards, kings highest |
| 28 | Suited Q/10 |
| 29 | Two unsuited high cards, ace highest |
| 30 | J only |
| 31 | Suited K/10 |
| 32 | Q Only |
| 33 | K Only |
| 34 | A Only |
| 35 | Discard anything else |
Pay-out: 99.54%
In the list below, a natural denotes a hand that uses no wild cards.
| 1 | Natural Royal Flush |
| 2 | Four to a Royal Flush |
| 3 | Straight Flush |
| 4 | Four of a kind |
| 5 | Full House |
| 6 | Three of a Kind |
| 7 | Straight/Flush |
| 8 | Four to an outside straight flush |
| 9 | Suited Q/J/10 |
| 10 | Four to an inside straight flush |
| 11 | Three to a royal flush, except Q/J/10 |
| 12 | Pair |
| 13 | Two Pair |
| 14 | Four to a Flush |
| 15 | Four to an outside straight |
| 16 | Three to a straight flush, spread 3-4, suited |
| 17 | Two to a royal flush, jack highest |
| 18 | Three to a straight flush, spread five and suited |
| 19 | Four to an inside straight, except missing deuce |
| 20 | Two to a royal flush, queen highest |
| 21 | Two to a royal flush, king highest, no penalty cards |
| 22 | Discard anything else |
Pay-out: 100.76%
Play virtual video poker anytime, anywhere on a variety of compatible devices.
Advancements in technology have made it possible for online gambling to be enjoyed from the convenience of a mobile phone. Video poker is an extremely popular game that is enjoyed across the globe by millions of players, many of whom choose to play via a smart device.
By recent estimates, around $10 billion is wagered through mobile platforms every singly year, and mobile revenues are increasing all the time.
Video poker on mobile devices is identical to the game you would expect on desktops: the interface is the same, as are the rules of play. The only difference is that you can gamble literally anywhere, as long as you have a compatible device and a robust internet connection.
As video poker is a relatively simple game to port to mobile platforms, it’s genuinely surprising that more software providers do not provide versions of video poker for mobile devices. The reason for this could be due to the ban on US-based players from the mobile casino arena, and that video poker is still seen as an activity suited to US casinos.
There are a few mobile casinos that do offer a version of video poker on mobile devices – 32Red, for example.
Most casinos that offer video poker requires a download in order for players to be able to play the game. These downloads are only typically available for Android and iOS based systems. As more and more mobile software providers begin to embrace HTML5 as the mobile-coding ‘option of choice’, more games will be available for Windows Phone and BlackBerry users.
Playing video poker on a mobile devices is as simple an affair as playing video poker at any online casino.
Unfortunately, only the most basic version of video poker – Jacks or Better – seems to be available for mobile platforms.
You begin the game by selecting the size of your bet, using from one to five coins. Once you’re happy hit the ‘Deal’ button to be dealt your poker hand consisting of five cards.
Tap any cards that you want to keep. You will see some indication that the card you have selected has been held. When you’re satisfied with your selection, hit the ‘draw’ button to receive your final poker hand. If you’ve managed to land a poker hand with at a least the value of a pair of jacks, then you will be paid according to the pay table as presented with the game.
The latest and best video poker game reviews.
