How to play video poker
One player, one machine, five cards: hold the ones you like, draw once, and the pay table decides what you get.
How does video poker work
- Bet – choose coins per hand.
- Deal – the machine deals five cards from a fresh, shuffled full deck.
- Hold – tap the cards you want to keep.
- Draw – the other cards are replaced once.
- Get paid – the final hand is checked against the pay table.
Every hand starts with a new shuffled deck, so past hands never change the next one.
Hand ranks: from jacks to a royal flush
- Royal flush – ace, king, queen, jack and ten of one suit
- Straight flush – five cards in a row of one suit, like five to nine of spades
- Four of a kind – four nines and a king
- Full house – three queens and two fours
- Flush – any five hearts
- Straight – five cards in a row in mixed suits, like four to eight
- Three of a kind – three sevens, a king and a two
- Two pair – two eights, two threes and an ace
- Jacks or better – a pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces
| Jacks or Better 9/6 | Pays per coin |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 |
| Straight flush | 50 |
| Four of a kind | 25 |
| Full house | 9 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a kind | 3 |
| Two pair | 2 |
| Jacks or better | 1 |
Why bet max coins
Pay table numbers are per coin. A royal flush pays 250 per coin with fewer than max coins, but 800 per coin at max coins.
With perfect play and max coins, Jacks or Better 9/6 returns 99.54% – still less than you put in over time.
If max coins is too much per hand, pick a lower coin value instead of fewer coins.
Hold example: pair or royal draw?
| Hold | Average return | Cost vs best |
|---|---|---|
| J♠ J♥ | 1.537 | best |
| J♠ Q♠ K♠ | 1.488 | 4.8% |
| J♠ Q♠ J♥ | 1.416 | 12.0% |
| J♠ K♠ J♥ | 1.416 | 12.0% |
| J♠ J♥ 4♦ | 1.416 | 12.0% |
You have a paying pair of jacks and three spades toward a royal. Keep the pair of jacks – the table shows it returns more than chasing the royal.
Hold example: break a paying pair
| Hold | Average return | Cost vs best |
|---|---|---|
| 10♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥ | 19.660 | best |
| K♥ K♦ | 1.537 | 1812.3% |
| 10♥ K♥ K♦ | 1.416 | 1824.3% |
| J♥ K♥ K♦ | 1.416 | 1824.3% |
| Q♥ K♥ K♦ | 1.416 | 1824.3% |
Here you hold a pair of kings and four hearts toward a royal. Drop the king of diamonds and keep the four hearts – the royal chance makes this hold worth more.
Hold example: flush draw or low pair
| Hold | Average return | Cost vs best |
|---|---|---|
| 3♠ 8♠ J♠ K♠ | 1.277 | best |
| 3♠ 3♦ | 0.824 | 45.3% |
| 3♠ 3♦ 8♠ | 0.675 | 60.1% |
| 3♠ 3♦ J♠ | 0.675 | 60.1% |
| 3♠ 3♦ K♠ | 0.675 | 60.1% |
A pair of threes pays nothing on its own. Keep the four spades and draw one card for the flush.
Try your own hands in the calculator or learn the full strategy.
Questions
What are video poker games?
Video poker games are machines where you play five-card draw poker alone against a pay table. Popular versions include Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.
Is video poker luck or skill?
The cards are random, but your hold choices change the return. Jacks or Better 9/6 returns 99.54% only with perfect play; mistakes lower it.
Should you always bet max coins?
On most machines, yes, because the royal flush pays 800 per coin at max coins instead of 250. If that costs too much, choose a lower coin value.
Do previous hands affect the next deal?
No. Each hand is dealt from a fresh shuffled deck, so earlier wins or losses do not change the next hand.