Video poker strategy for beginners
Video poker sits in an interesting spot in the casino. It looks like a slot machine, but it plays more like a card game. And unlike slots, your decisions actually matter. Hold the wrong cards and you are handing the casino extra money. Hold the right ones and you are playing one of the lowest-edge games available.
Why strategy matters
In slots, you press spin and the outcome is determined by an RNG. You have no decisions to make. Video poker gives you five cards and asks which ones to keep. That choice directly affects your expected return.
With perfect strategy on Jacks or Better 9/6 (the full-pay version), the house edge is just 0.46%. Play the same game with random holds and the edge jumps to 3-5%. That is a massive difference — the gap between a game that costs you a few pounds per hour and one that costs you ten times that.
Pay tables: the first thing to check
Before you play a single hand, look at the pay table. Specifically, look at the payouts for a Full House and a Flush. On a full-pay Jacks or Better machine, these pay 9x and 6x your bet respectively (hence "9/6"). An 8/5 machine pays less for the same hands, increasing the house edge to about 2.7%. A 7/5 machine is even worse.
The pay table is displayed on the machine. There is no excuse for playing a bad pay table when a better one is available at another machine or casino.
Basic holds for Jacks or Better
The full optimal strategy for Jacks or Better involves memorizing dozens of specific situations, but these basic rules cover the vast majority of hands:
Always hold a made hand of Two Pair or better. Never break a winning hand to chase a better one unless you have four cards to a Royal Flush.
With four cards to a Flush or Straight, hold the four and draw one. Four to a Flush is generally stronger than four to a Straight.
With a low pair (below Jacks), hold the pair and draw three. With a high pair (Jacks or better), always hold it.
With three cards to a Royal Flush, hold those three even if it means breaking a made pair. The expected value of the Royal draw is higher.
With nothing, hold any high cards (Jacks through Aces) and draw to replace the rest. If you have no high cards, draw all five.
Deuces Wild basics
Deuces Wild plays differently because the four 2s are wild cards. The minimum paying hand is Three of a Kind instead of Jacks or Better. With a full-pay table and perfect strategy, Deuces Wild can actually have a positive expected return (100.76%), making it one of the rare casino games where the player theoretically has the edge.
The key rule in Deuces Wild: never discard a deuce. Ever. Beyond that, the strategy changes significantly depending on how many deuces you are dealt.
Common mistakes
Breaking a low pair to keep a single high card. The pair is almost always the better hold. Holding a "kicker" alongside a pair. In video poker, there is no benefit to keeping a high card next to a pair — discard it and draw three. Chasing inside straights when you have a pair. The pair is usually worth more in expected value.
For more on game selection and odds, see our best odds guide. For understanding how house edges work across games, check the house edge explainer.