Video poker combines the pace of a slot with the decisions of poker. You get five cards, choose which to hold and replace the rest once, and the final hand is paid from the game's paytable. Because your decisions affect the result, it is one of the few casino games where a careful player can get close to the game's theoretical RTP. This guide covers the most popular version, Jacks or Better.
With a good paytable, video poker returns clearly more than most slots: the Jacks or Better games in our catalogue are listed at 99.54% RTP with optimal play.
The game uses a standard 52-card deck, shuffled before every round. You choose your stake, often in coins from one to five, and receive five cards. Mark the cards you want to hold – all, some or none – and press draw to replace the rest from the same deck. The final hand is paid from the paytable; the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks.
These are the winning hands from strongest to weakest, with full-pay returns per coin bet. Video poker paytables show the total return, so a pair of jacks gives your stake back and two pair doubles it.
Because the full house pays 9 and the flush 6, this version is called 9/6, and its theoretical RTP with optimal play is 99.54%. Other hands usually pay the same across versions, so those two numbers tell you the quality of the game: an 8/5 table drops to about 97.3%, and tighter tables lower still. The figure also assumes the 4,000-coin royal on a five-coin bet; a game paying only 250 per coin returns noticeably less.
Like blackjack, video poker has a basic strategy. It does not change the house edge, but it lets you get close to the paytable's RTP. Key rules for 9/6:
In multi-hand versions you get one starting hand, and the cards you hold are copied to every hand. Replacement cards come from a separate deck for each hand, so the hands finish differently. The stake is multiplied by the number of hands. RTP per hand stays the same, but each decision counts several times and results swing more from round to round.
Jacks or Better is available from Playtech and Habanero, including a five-hand Habanero version, all listed at 99.54% RTP. Habanero's All American Poker 1 Hand is listed at 99.38% and Evolution's First Person Video Poker at 99.54%. RTP is a long-run average, and individual sessions vary widely.
It depends on the paytable and how you play. Full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with optimal play, and 8/5 about 97.3%.
A pair of jacks. Jacks, queens, kings or aces return your stake; lower pairs pay nothing.
The full house pays 9 and the flush 6 per coin bet. It is the full-pay Jacks or Better paytable.
Yes. Basic strategy tells you which cards to hold. It does not change the house edge, but mistakes lower your actual return.