Deuces Wild Video Poker Strategy: The Complete Guide in 2025

Deuces Wild video poker boasts an impressive 97-99% RTP, making it one of the highest-paying casino games. The full-pay Deuces wild video poker’s RTP can reach 100.7%, making it one of the only casino games where you can beat the house.

The high-paying potential of deuces wild video poker is due to 2s acting as wild cards in the game, i.e., replacing other cards.

But it’s not only RTP that wilds increase; they also increase the game’s complexity. Hence, there is a need to play strategically to obtain optimal results. Keep reading to learn how to play deuces wild and apply the deuces wild video poker strategy chart. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Deuces Wild Video Poker Basics

Deuces Wild video poker has the same gameplay as other draw video poker, such as Jacks or Better. You still get five cards and decide which one to hold or discard to form the best five poker hands.

However, the power of deuces (2s) to act as wild and replace other cards differentiates from other poker variants.

Deuces improve your chances whenever you have them, bringing you one step closer to forming a winning hand.

For example, if you have 2 ❤-3♦️-4♦️-5♦️- 7♦️. The deuce can act as 6♦️ to complete a straight flush with a 10x return.

✅ Deuces Wild Video Poker Vs Jacks or Better

The key difference between Deuces Wild and Jacks or Better is the ability of the deuce (2) to act as wild in the former. This gives rise to other differences such as:

✅ Winning Hands in Deuces Wild Video Poker

Below are standard winning hands in deuces wild video poker (ranked from weakest to best), and their meaning:

✅ Key Terms and Terminology in Deuces Wild Video Poker

Some of the popular terms and terminologies used in Deuces Wild video poker include:

Check our complete poker glossary to learn all the terms used in video poker. Now, let’s talk about the deuces wild pay table.

Pay Tables and Their Impact on Strategy

A pay table displays Deuces Wild’s winning hands and their returns. It is a crucial element of the game as it determines your expected return per hand and betting strategy. Below is a paytable of some common Deuces Wild video poker variations.

• Full Pay: The full pay deuces wild video poker has the best paytable and gives the highest return, especially for rare hands. Its massive 100.76% makes it unavailable at many casinos. However, it offers the best return when you play strategically.
• Not So Ugly (NSU): With 99.73% RTP, NSU is among the best Deuces Wild video poker variants. It is more common than full-pay and pays well, especially for common hands. NSU is still unavailable at many physical casinos, but many of our best video poker online casinos offer it.
• Illinois: Has a 98.91% RTP when played strategically and is quite common in many casinos, especially tourist regions like Illinois and Nevada.

✅ How Different Paytable Affects Optimal Strategy

Paytable influences the game RTP, which in turn affects the playing strategy. Let’s examine the playing strategies mentioned above:

• While the full pay table boasts the best RTP, it is more volatile. As a result, you must adjust your strategy when playing. Also, the deuces wild video poker strategy is essential to maximize your returns.
• The NSU deuces wild video poker pay table, on the other hand, is less volatile. Therefore, it’s more forgiving than full-pay games, but you still need a dedicated NSU strategy to win.
• Illinois is the least risky of the pack. It pays less for five of a kind and straight flush, dropping its RTP to 98%. In return, the game offers more moderate bankroll swings, making it the right pick for casual players and fun seekers.

How to Play Deuces Wild: Rules and Gameplay

Deuces Wild video poker is a 52-card game in which the object is to have a strong five-card poker hand. In this section, we’ll cover the basic rules and gameplay to help you understand how to play effectively. Here is a step-by-step guide for playing deuces wild video poker for the first time:

1️⃣ Betting

Insert chips into the poker machine, select the bet size, and the unit of coins you want to bet.

Credit: Slots Empire

You have the option to stake 1 to 5 coins per hand. So, if the minimum stake is $1 and you choose a 1-coin bet, the machine deducts $1 per round. Similarly, if you select 2-coin bets, the machine takes $2 per hand from your credit.

2️⃣ Card Dealing

The machine deals five cards to you in face-up position.

3️⃣ Hand Assessment

Analyze your cards to determine which to hold and discard. You can discard one or all five cards. To keep a card, click on it and press draw to get replacements for the ones you didn’t select.

4️⃣ Result Estimation

Wait for the machine to assess your final hand. You’ll get paid if you land a winning hand.

Earnings = Returns on winning hand x unit of coins you bet 

For instance, if you bet two coins per match and land a straight flush in NSU, your earnings will be 20x (10×2) of your stake.

Core Deuces Wild Strategy Principles

Some of the basic rules of thumb for succeeding in deuces wild video poker include:

💡 Never Discard a Deuce

The number 1 rule of Deuces Wild video poker is never to discard a deuce, as it helps you form a higher-paying hand.

The presence of one deuce increases your expected return by 1.5-2. And when you have two deuces, you automatically get three of a kind and the potential to form four of a kind, wild royal flush, etc.

The inverse of this rule is never to hold any single card that doesn’t form part of a winning hand.

💡 Master Hand Ranking

Another fundamental principle for excelling in this game is mastering hand rankings, as various hands pay different returns.

The rarer it is to get a hand, the higher its rank and expected return. Natural royal flush is the best hand in Deuces Wild video poker with an 800x payoff on a 1-coin bet.

Below is the hand ranking (from strongest to weakest) in full-pay deuces wild game:

💡 Learn Hand Evaluation

Every play in Deuces Wild poker is driven by strategy. So you must know how to assess your hand to know what to do in each situation. Here is how:

• Check your hand
• If you have a made hand, hold it or try for a better hand
• If you don’t have a winning hand, always hold deuces and check the deuces wild video poker strategy chart to know which cards to hold.

Below is a simplified version of the order to prioritize your hand:

• Always hold four deuces
• Chase four deuces or wild royal if you hold three deuces
• Try for wild royal or five of a kind with two deuces
• Keep one deuce to chase straight flush or a better hand
• In the absence of any deuce, keep pat hand, four to royal flush, four to a straight flush, and other high-value cards (king, Queen, Ace, etc)

Deuces Wild Strategy Chart: Your Ultimate Cheat Sheet

The deuces wild strategy chart shows the optimal way to play your hand to maximize your return. It eliminates guesswork from your gameplay and tells you what to do when you have no wilds, many deuces, or tricky hands.

Deviating from the deuces wild strategy chart doesn’t mean you’ll lose automatically. But more often than not, your play will not yield the optimal returns.

How to Use the Strategy Chart

The deuces wild strategy chart may seem daunting initially, but it’s easy to use. Follow the steps below to start using and applying the strategy chart:

• Check your hand to see if you have any deuces and how many.
• Locate the Deuces Wild video poker strategy chart section that correlates with your hand, e.g, if you have two deuces, you’ll follow the rules of the 2 deuces strategy section.
• Next, compare your hand with the hand types to know which card to hold or discard.
• Where there are multiple possible plays, go for the highest-ranked play to optimize your returns.

Now that we’ve set the foundation, let’s dive into the strategy chart for different hands. We’ll focus mainly on the Not So Ugly Deuces Wild strategy chart since it’s one of the most common.

✅ Strategy with No Deuces

The No Deuce NSU strategy chart is given below.

✅ Strategy with One Deuce

Below is the NSU strategy chart with one due date:

✅ Strategy with Two Deuces

Below is the detailed NSU strategy chart for two deuces or wilds

✅ Deuces Wild Strategy Chart for Three Deuces

The deuces wild strategy chart for when you have three wilds is given below:

If you have three deuces, hold all five cards if you have a completed wild royal flush, or five of a kind. Otherwise, discard the extra two cards to try for a better hand. The worst-case scenario is that the two new cards will form four or five of a kind.

✅ Deuces Wild Strategy Chart for 4 Deuces

Hold four deuces and discard the fifth card since four deuces are strong pat hands with 200x return.

✅ Downloadable Cheat Sheet

The complete deuces wild video poker strategy chart is attached below. Study it carefully and return to it during practice to master how it works. You can also download it and keep a copy near you while playing online video poker.

Advanced Deuces Wild Strategy Tactics

Every play and hand ranking in Deuces Wild video poker has a strategic reason. This section addresses some advanced tactics and video poker betting strategies.

Understanding Expected Value

Expected Value (EV) is the amount of money you can expect to win or lose per hand.

EV estimates the probabilities of all outcomes from a play and their payout. Therefore, it denotes the optimal play that yields the maximum result of all the possible outcomes.

As a result, you should always consider your hand’s EV while deciding which cards to keep or discard.

Analysis of Common Decision Points

The following are tricky hands you may encounter in Deuces Wild video poker, and what to do:

Holding Two Pairs or Not 

If you have no deuce, it’s often better to hold one pair and discard the other three cards for a chance to draw 3OAK, or a better hand.

If you have a deuce and two low pairs (33, 55), you must hold all five cards to complete a Full House.

If you have a deuce and two high-value cards (KK, AA), hold a deuce plus one of the high cards each (2-A-K), which forms a three-to-wild royal flush with a higher EV than a Full house.

Keeping Straight or Flush/ Breaking For Royal Flush

Only break straight or flush with no deuce if you have 4 to a Natural Royal flush.

The reason is that 4 to NRF has an EV of 18 in full pay compared to straight and flush, which have 2 and 3 EV, respectively.

If you have deuce, the playing field is entirely different, as you would be chasing a wild royal flush with only 25x expected return.

It’s almost always better to keep a made deuce straight or flush than to break it unless there is a strong guarantee for 5OAK or WRF.

Keeping Pair Vs Going For Straight or Flush 

If you have no deuce, it is almost always better to break a low pair (33, 55) in favour of 4 to a straight, 4 to a flush, or 3 to a royal flush.

The only exception to this rule is a high-value pair (KK, AA), which has the potential to fetch a natural royal flush.

With deuces, it’s almost always better to discard a pair and go for a better hand unless they already form a 4OAK or higher hand.

Adjusting Strategy Based on Pay Tables

Deuces Wild video poker is one of the most sensitive casino games, and slight changes in the paytable can alter your strategy.

To understand how paytable affects strategy, let’s compare the structure of full-pay and non-full-pay games:

Glancing through the paytable, a few key differences stand out:

• Payout for 4OAK drops from 5 to 4 in NSU
• Payout for full house, flush, and straight flush pays more in NSU than Full Pay.

These changes in pay structure subtly shift which hands are prioritized. For instance, Four of a Kind is slightly less valuable in NSU but remains a strong hand.

On the other hand, Flushes and Full Houses are worth more, so you may be more inclined to keep them, unless you have a highly promising draw like 4 to a Natural Royal Flush or 4 to a Straight Flush with high expected value.

Below are the other adjustments in the NSU (non-full pay) strategy based on the changes in pay structure:

Practical Tips for Winning at Deuces Wild

Apart from knowing how to play video poker and use the deuces wild strategy chart, here are other valuable tips to ensure success in your gameplay:

1️⃣ Learn Bankroll Management Strategies

Deuces wild is a highly volatile game where you’ll experience long, cold streaks. Hence, you must manage your budget wisely to survive everything the game throws at you.

Some bankroll management best practices in poker include:

• Bet small at the start
• Budget wisely
• Take profit when you win
• Refrain from chasing losses

2️⃣ Choose Well-Paying Deuces Wild Games

The full pay deuces wild poker with a 100.7% expected return is your best choice to maximize your earnings. But because they’re rare, any game with 99 %+ RTP, such as NSU, is also good.

Unfortunately, most casinos don’t write the game payout on the machine. Check the help section of online Deuces Wild Poker to determine its RTP and pay structure. Check the game paytable when you turn it on for video poker machines.

Credit: El Royale Casino

Usually, online video poker casinos like El Royale Casino and Jackpot City Casino are your best options for finding full-pay and high-paying tables. Your best options for live video poker are limited to NSU and Illinois variants.

3️⃣ Use Practice Tools and Online Resources

Deuces wild video poker may seem daunting at first. But it’s pretty easy to master with constant practice and patience.

Our poker guides cover how to play poker and win, poker odds, and winning strategies. Once you master the basics, register at any of our best online video poker casinos to play free video poker until you’re ready to wager your money.

But before playing at a casino, you must level up your skills. The VpFREE2 website features many deuce wild poker games and gambling tools to practice and improve your skills. The games display the EV and odds of your hand, allowing you to know the best play to optimize your return.

If you prefer a gamified approach to learning video poker, we recommend apps like DTO, SnapShove, and Tournament Cruncher. These apps offer numerous poker games, hand simulations, and charts to level up your strategy. Check our top poker training apps guide for a review of the apps and how they work.

Deuces Wild Statistics and Probabilities

Although hidden from plain sight, every play on the strategy chart is driven by statistics and probability.

Let’s examine some of these maths to broaden your poker knowledge even further:

📊 Understanding the Odds

Poker odds are the likelihood of a play resulting in a win or the probability of getting a hand if you play for long.

High-paying hands are rare and tend to have lower winning odds, and vice versa.

For example, the odds of getting four deuces in Deuces Wild are 1/5100 for 1 1-coin bet in a full-pay game. This means that this hand only comes 1 out of 5100 times. But don’t let that discourage you from trying, as you might be the lucky winner.

Below are the payouts and odds of standard winning hands in NSU and full pay games for a one-coin bet.

Some key insights from the odds table are:

• Big payouts like four deuces and natural royal flush are rare in both games. As such, you must have good hands, e.g, four royal cards with deuces to chase a natural royal flush. Even then, ensure you have a sizable bankroll to survive cold swings.
• Five of a kind occurs the same number of times but pays better in NSU than full-pay games (16 vs. 15). Thus, we advise prioritizing 5OAK in NSU.
• NSU’s payoffs are evenly spread, leading to reduced RTP and a rare occurrence of big hands.

📊 Expected Return Percentages

Expected return percentage is the percentage of your bet you’ll get back (in theory) if you use perfect play. It is the same as the return to player percentage in slots.

The theoretical or expected return percentage in full pay Deuces Wild is 100.76%, i.e, you’ll get $100.76 out of every $100 you stake on the game when you play optimally for long.

In comparison, RTP drops slightly to 99.73% and 98.91% in NSU and Illinois deuces wild poker, respectively.

The fluctuation in RTP is caused by differences in pay structure across various Deuces Wild video poker games.

Deuces Wild Video Poker Vs Other Games 

Here is how Deuces Wild’s RTP compares to other poker variants and casino games:

Typically, full pay deduce wild video poker gives the most return of all casino games if you play with perfect strategy.

📊 Variance and Volatility

Variance or volatility is the frequency of time you win in a game.

A high-volatility game like Deuces Wild video poker pays big, but winning hands are rare and vice versa.

Therefore, long dry spells are common in this game, but massive earnings await when you win.

How To Manage The High Volatility of Deuces Wild 

Some of the best techniques for managing swings in deuces wild video poker include:

• Proper Bankroll Management: Bankroll management is a crucial skill for riding the volatility of Deuces Wild. First, determine your budget for the session and stick to it. For beginners, we recommend a bankroll of $2000- $5000. Pros can budget $10000-$15000 for much higher stakes.
• Play Low-Stakes Games: Choose tables with a deposit as low as $0.25 to minimize your spending.
• Prepare for Streaks: Some players go as long as thousands of hands without getting a huge win, while others can secure a massive payoff in their first 100 rounds. So, always budget enough money to survive the cold streaks and never deviate from your strategy during streaks.

Conclusion

Deuces wild video poker is quite lucrative but tricky. So, you must play optimally to win.

The first step to optimum play is learning to read and apply the deuces wild strategy charts for different hands and pay tables. This may seem daunting initially, but it’s possible with patience and consistent practice at our free video sites and training apps.

Here are the key insights from the Deuce Wild strategy chart:

• Never give up a deuce.
• Prioritize plays based on hand ranking on the paytable and strategy chart
• Discard a made hand where there is potential for a better hand
• Break straight or flush if you have a strong draw to a royal flush
• Break a pair for straight or flush in low cards and keep it four to straight, flush, and other high-potential draws.

After mastering deuces wild video poker charts, you’re ready for an actual casino experience.

First, play free games at our top free poker casinos like William Hill and Red Dog Casino to master how casino poker works, then proceed to real-money games. Again, set a budget enough to survive long, cold streaks and always stick to your strategies. Good luck, and have a fun time.

FAQs

How Do You Win in Deuces Wild Poker? 

The best way to win in Deuces Wild video poker is to play at well-paying tables and manage your money correctly. Most importantly, always hold deuces, never keep a low pair, and prioritize hands with higher returns. Check out our complete Deuces Wild video poker strategy guide to learn how to use the chart and other strategies.

Is Deuces Wild Better than Other Video Poker Games?

Yes, Deuces Wild video poker has a better RTP than other poker games, making it the preferred choice of players who want to maximize their profit.

Who Should Play Deuces Wild Vs. Other Variants?

Deuces Wild video poker is most suitable for pro players with a high risk appetite and desire for massive wins. Casual players should go for Jacks or Better, which has lower volatility and a friendlier pay structure.

What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid in Deuces Wild?

Rookies’ most common mistakes are mismanaging their bankroll and not using a perfect play strategy. To triumph, manage your funds wisely and apply the Deuces Wild strategy charts.