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Video Poker strategy
Pick the best payout table
The key to a successful video poker strategy is to pick the the game
with the best payout table. Learn to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad'
payout tables, and act accordingly. For example, compare the following payouts
for the traditional game of Jacks or better video poker in the following
table.
| Hand |
Full pay |
Short pay |
| Royal Flush |
800 |
800 |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
50 |
| 4 of a Kind |
25 |
25 |
| Full House |
9 |
8 |
| Flush |
6 |
5 |
| Straight |
4 |
4 |
| 3 of a Kind |
3 |
3 |
| 2 Pairs |
2 |
2 |
| Pair of Jacks or better |
1 |
1 |
The second column refers to full pay, or 9/6 Jacks or better
video poker, while the third column lists the payouts for short pay,
or 8/5 Jacks or better video poker. 9/6 Jacks or better video poker
is associated with a house edge of 0.5%, while 8/5 Jacks or better
video poker has a much higher house edge. Please note that some casinos
use payout tables that are actually better than 9/6 Jacks or better
video poker, but worse payout tables are more common.
Tip: Playtech casinos and Microgaming
casinos offer full pay Jacks or Better video poker.
Always bet max. coins
Most of the time the payout table depends on the number of coins bet on a
turn. More specifically you have to bet max. coins to be eligible for the
proportional higher bonus payout on a Royal Flush. So as a rule of thumb always
bet max. coins.
Play the highest jackpot
Some video poker games offer a progressive jackpot, as opposed to the more
common 'flat top' machine. All other things being equal, you should play the
machine that offers the highest jackpot. However, often the high jackpot for
the Royal Flush is compensated by a negative deviation from the 9/6 payout
table.
Royal Flush
As stated earlier 9/6 Jacks or better video poker is associated with
a house edge of 0.5%. But beware that when not counting the Royal Flush the
house edge is much higher. The chances of hitting a Royal Flush is about 1
in every 40.000 hands. As the average player will never play so many hands,
you should take into account the higher house edge when comparing video poker
with other games.
Average return versus Variation
The average return for 9/6 Jacks or better video poker is 99.5%. Some
video poker variants offer an even higher average return, at the expense of
a higher variance. The average return for Deuces wild video poker is
above 100%, but the variance is higher. The average return for Joker's
wild video poker is even higher, but the variance increases accordingly.
A higher variance means you have to start with a higher bankroll when you
plan to go for the regal Royal Flush.
9/6 Jacks or better video poker strategy chart
As the number of video poker variations approaches infinity, it would be impossible
to list the optimal strategies for each variation. However, we *will* provide
you with a basic strategy for full pay Jacks or Better, which can be found
here.
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