Video poker is a popular and entertaining casino game that is a bit similar to slot machines. It can be played both in online and land-based casinos. There are different variants of video poker including, Jokers Poker, Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, etc.
Video poker is one of the casino games with the best odds. Unlike other types of poker, video poker is just you versus the computer. Still, you need strategies to improve your winning chances.
This article provides a detailed guide on the best video poker strategies to win online in 2024. We have carefully outlined the best strategies for the most common variants of video poker. Read on to find out all you need to know!
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Why Use a Video Poker Strategy?
Video poker has one of the best odds in the market. The odds of video poker varies depending on the variant. Although, it is game of luck, there are things you can do to increase your chances of winning. Strategies will always help you make more informed decisions and play better games.
Before using a video poker strategy, it is essential to know the rules of the game, card rankings and worth of each hands. Video poker strategies will tell you the different paytables of each variant, the RTP as well as which cards to keep, discard or substitute. With this information, you have a better approach at the game and better chances of winning.
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Video Poker Strategies in 2024
Like most casino games, you need strategies to play a smarter game and also to help you improve your winning potential. Each video poker variant has its own strategy.
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In this section, we will explain the best strategy to use in a given variant. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is the most common variant of video poker with a high RTP of 99.54%, making it more favorable to players. The rules of the game are pretty straightforward, your hand needs at least two jacks to get a payout. The best hand is Jacks or Better including Four of a Kind, Straight Flush, or Royal Flush.
The first thing to do in Jacks or Better is to check the paytable. The best paytable has a 9/6 payout. This means that the game will pay 9 coins for a Full House and 6 coins for a Flush.
Take a look at the table below:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 9 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pairs | 2 |
| One Pair (Jacks or Better) | 1 |
Follow this strategy list in the exact order to improve your chances of winning:
- Keep a Full house
- Keep a four to a Royal Flush
- Keep a Straight Hand
- Keep a four to a Straight Flush
- Keep two pair
- Keep a high pair
- Keep a three to a Royal Flush
- Keep a four to a Flush
- Keep a low pair
- Keep a four to an outside Straight
- Keep two suited 10JQKA
- Keep a three to a Straight Flush
- Keep two unsuited 10JQKA
- Keep suited 10JQK
- Keep a single high card
- Last resort: discard all cards
We advise that you do your best to memorize this strategy list so that you can use it in your next video poker game.
Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild is another common variant of video poker with the best odds. It has a high RTP of 100.762%.
The rules od Deuces Wild are pretty simple. You’re dealt five cards at the start of each hand. You decide which cards you want to keep, which card you want to discard or substitute. In Deuce Wild, every deuce dealt is a wild card.
You have to pay attention to the paytable of Deuces Wild. Take a look at the paytable below showing the payout with a one-chip bet:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush | 800 |
| Four Deuces | 200 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 25 |
| Five of a Kind | 15 |
| Straight Flush | 9 |
| Four of a Kind | 5 |
| Full House | 3 |
| Flush | 2 |
| Straight | 2 |
| Three of a Kind | 1 |
From the table, you would notice that hands have less value than the rest. This leads us to our next section. We’re going to tell what cards to keep or discard when playing Deuces Wild video poker.
Holding 4 Deuces
- Keep them
Holding 3 Deuces, keep the following:
- Wild Royal Flush
- 3 Deuces, Discard 2 non-paired cards
- 3 Deuces, Discard pair of 9s or lower
- Five of a Kind
- Four to a Royal Flush
- Straight flush or lower
Holding 2 Deuces, keep the following:
- Wild Royal Flush
- Five of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- 2 Deuces and consecutive cards (6 and 7 or lower)
- 2 Deuces
Holding 1 Deuce, keep the following:
- Wild Royal Flush
- Five of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Four to a Royal Flush
- Full House
- 1 Deuce and three cards to a Straight Flush (5, 6, 7 or higher)
- Three of a kind
- A Straight
- A Flush
- Four to any Straight Flush
- Three to a Royal Flush having K as the highest card
- 1 Deuce and two cards to a Straight Flush (6 and 7 or higher)
- Three cards to a Royal Flush having A as the highest card
- 1 Deuce
Holding no deuce, keep the following:
- Natural Royal Flush
- Four to a Royal Flush
- Straight flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Three of a Kind
- Straight or a Flush
- Four to an open-ended Straight Flush
- Suited Q-J-T
- Four to an inside Straight Flush
- Three to a Royal Flush
- One pair
- Four to a Flush
- Four to an open-ended Straight
- Two to a Royal Flush having J as the highest card
- Four to an inside Straight
- Two to a Royal Flush having Q as the highest card
- Two to a Royal Flush having K as the highest card
- Discard all cards
Keep in mind that it will take you so many hands to realize your equity. We also advise that you stick to this strategy.
Bonus Poker
Bonus Poker has a lower RTP of 99.17% or less depending on the version . In Bonus Poker, different hands get different bonus payouts. Let’s take a look at the 8/5 paytable with a one-chip bet below:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 200 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind (Aces) | 80 |
| Four of a Kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 40 |
| Four of a Kind (any other) | 25 |
| Full House | 8 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 |
- The 6/5 Bonus Poker paytable has an RTP of 96.87%
- The 7/5 Bonus Poker paytable has an RTP of 98.01%
Now, let’s take a look at the strategy list of cards you want to hold from top to bottom:
- Straight Flush, Royal Flush, Four of a Kind
- Four to Royal Flush
- Straight, Full House, Flush
- Three of a Kind
- Four to a Straight Flush
- Two Pairs
- A pair of J, Q, K, or A
- Three to a Royal Flush
- Four to a Flush
- Unsuited KQJT
- Low Pair
- Four to an outside Straight
- Three to a Straight Flush
- Unsuited AKQJ
- Two suited high cards
- Three to a Straight Flush
- Four to an inside Straight with 3 high cards
- Unsuited JQK
- Unsuited JQ
- Three to a Straight Flush
- Unsuited KJ, KQ
- Suited JT
- Unsuited AK, AJ, AQ
- Ace
- Three to a Straight Flush
- Suited QT, KT suited
- Jack, King, or Queen
- 3 to a Straight Flush
- Discard all cards
Tens or Better
Tens or Better video poker is also one of the easiest casino games to play and it pays out with a pair of tens. It has an RTP of 97.96%.
Tens or Better is a quite similar to Jacks or Better. The difference is that the paytable for Tens or Better video poker isn’t as profitable as Jacks or Better. Payouts for hands like Royal Flush, Full House, and Flush are much lower when compared to Jacks or Better.
Let’s take a look at the paytable with a one-chip bet below:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 6 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Tens or Better | 1 |
Now, let’s get to the strategy list of cards you should keep from top to bottom:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Four to a Royal Flush
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Four to a Straight Flush
- Two pairs
- High pair (Tens to Aces)
- Three to a Royal Flush
- Four to a Flush
- Tens paired with JQK
- One pair
- Four to a Straight with 3 high cards
- Three to a Straight Flush
- Three to a Straight with 3 high Cards
- Two suited high cards
- Four to an open-ended Straight
- JQK
- KQ, KJ
- Two to a Royal Flush
- Suited 10J, 10Q
- Two high cards
- One high card
- Discard all cards
Keep in mind that even the payours and RTP are lower, you can still increase your chances of winning when you stick to this strategy list.
Aces and Faces
What makes Aces and Faces video poker different is that is the bonus payout on Four of a Kind. There are no wild cards in Aces and Faces. There are different versions of this video poker but the best one is the 8/5 Aces and Faces with an RTP of 99.26%. Other versions include:
- 7/6 Aces & Faces with an RTP of 99.2%
- 7/5 Aces & Faces with an RTP of 98.1%
- 6/5 Aces & Faces with an RTP of 97%
For the sake of this article, we will focus only the 8/5 since it has the best payouts an should be your main target. Take a look at the paytable table with a one-chip bet below:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 500 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four Aces | 80 |
| Four Face Cards | 40 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 8 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pairs | 2 |
| Pairs of Jacks | 1 |
The strategy list of Aces and Faces is quite simple. Here’s a list of cards you want to keep from top to bottom:
- Royal Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Four cards to a Royal Flush
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Four cards to a Straight Flush
- Two pairs
- One pair of Jacks or Better
- Four cards to a Royal Flush
- Four cards to a Flush
- Unsuited 10JQK
- Any low pair
- Four cards to a Straight draw
- Three cards to a Straight Flush
- AKQJ unsuited
- Two cards to a Royal Flush
- Three cards to a Straight draw
- KQJ, QJ, KQ, or KJ, unsuited
- Three cards to a Straight Flush
- JT or QT, suited
- Unsuited high cards
- One high card
- Discard all cards
Aces & Eights
Aces and Eights is similar to Aces and Faces.They both offer bonus payouts on Aces and Four of a Kind, all other bonus prizes are different. There are different paytables and RTPs of Aces and Eights depending on the version.
The best version is the 8/5 Aces and Eights with an RTP of 99.78%. Others include:
- 70/70/20/8/5 Aces and Eights with an RTP of 98.72%
- 7/5 Aces and Eights with an RTP of 98.63%
- 20/7/5 Aces and Eights with an RTP of 97.72%
- 6/5 Aces and Eights with an RTP of 97.49%
We will focus on the 8/5 paytable in this article.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four Aces or Eights | 80 |
| Four of a Kind Sevens | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 8 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 |
The probabilty of getting each hand includes:
- Royal flush: 0.0025%
- Straight flush: 0.011%
- 4 aces or eights: 0.037%
- 4 sevens: 0.018%
- 4 of a kind: 0.18%
- Full house: 1.15%
- Flush: 1.08%
- Straight: 1.12%
- 3 of a kind: 7.45%
- 2 pair: 12.93%
- Jacks or better: 21.53%
Now let’s get to the strategy list:
- Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind
- Four cards to a Royal Flush
- Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a kind
- Four cards to a Straight Flush
- Two pairs
- High pair (Jacks or Better)
- Three cards to a Royal Flush
- Four cards to a Flush
- Low pair (10s or lower)
- Four cards to an open-ended Straight
- Two suited high cards
- Three cards to a Straight Flush
- Two unsuited high cards
- Suited JK, JQ, or J10
- High card
- Discard all cards
Joker Poker
Joker Poker is sometimes called Joker Wild. Joker Poker is similar to Jacks or Better, the difference is that the joker is a wild card. In Joker Poker, you’re playing with a virtual 53-card deck instead of the normal 52-card deck.
The most common version is the 7/5 Joker Poker with an RTP of 100.64%. Take a look at the paytable with a one-chip bet below:
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush | 800 |
| Five of a Kind | 200 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 100 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 20 |
| Full House | 7 |
| Flush | 5 |
| Straight | 3 |
| Three of a Kind | 2 |
| Two Pair | 1 |
| One Pair (Kings or Better) | 1 |
Here’s the strategy list for Joker Poker:
Playing with a Joker
- Pat Royal Flush
- Five of a Kind
- Four of a Kind
- Four to a Wild Royal Flush with King
- Full House
- Four to a Wild Royal Flush with an Ace
- Four to a Straight Flush with no gap
- Flush
- Four to a Straight Flush with up to two gaps
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Four to a Flush with one or two Kings or Better
- Four to a Straight Flush with no gaps or one or two Kings or Better
- Three to a Straight Flush with no gap
- Joker and any unsuited 10JK or 10QK or 10JQK
- Jokers plus A or K
- Three to a Straight Flush with two gaps
- Four to an outside Straight
- Four to a Flush with no high card
- Joker
Player without a Joker
- Pat Royal Flush
- Four to a Natural Royal Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Four to a Straight Flush
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Three to a Natural Royal Flush with a king or queen
- Two pair
- Three to a Natural Royal Flush with ace high
- AA or KK
- Four to a Flush
- Three to a Straight Flush with no gap
- Any pair
- Unsuited 10JQK
- Three to a Straight Flush with a high card up to two cards
- Suited KA
- Four to an outside Straight
- Three to a Straight Flush with two gaps
- Suited 10K or JK or QK
- Suited 10A or JA or QA
- Ace or King
- Suited 10J or JQ or Q
- Discard all cards
Tips to Play Video Poker
- Learn the Terms: Learning the terms is as important as learning the rules. Video poker has a bunch of terms that you should be familiar with before you begin to play.
- Practice for Free: Practicing with free video poker sites will help you understand the whole idea of video poker.
- Claim Bonuses: Online casinos offer bonuses and promotions to their players. Take advantage of these bonuses to play video poker.
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Claim your Welcome Bonus Now!- Choose the Right Casino: Not only should you confirm the seal of approval from gambling authorities, you should also look out for their games library, payout percentage, payment methods, bonuses and promotions.
- Choose the Right Paytable: It is important to know the paytable of each versions so that you choose the one with the highest payout.
- Know the Odds: You have to understand the odds of video poker to use the right strategy. Take a look at the table below:
| Hand | Odds |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush (First dealt) | 1/650,000 |
| Royal Flush (Created by players) | 1/40,000 |
| Four Aces with a Kicker | 1/16,236 |
| Straight Flush | 1/9,150 |
| 2s to 4s with a Kicker | 1/6,984 |
| Four Aces | 1/5,761 |
| Four Deuces | 1/4,909 |
| 2s to 4s | 1/2,601 |
| Four of a Kind | 1/423 |
| Full House | 1/90 |
| Flush | 1/85 |
| Straight | 1/80 |
- Join a Player’s Club: Joining the VIP club of the casino you choose to play can increase your winning odds because you get the chance to win loyalty points and increase your bankroll.
- Play Max Coins: Don’t be afraid to hit the max bet button when you play video poker, say Jacks or Better, you’ll be rewarded with top payouts when you do.
- Play the Progressive Jackpot Video Poker Machines: Progressive jackpots give you opportunities to win big on a small bet. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.
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Claim your Welcome Bonus Now!Things to Avoid in Video Poker
- Avoid holding a kicker
- Avoid keeping three cards while chasing a Flush or Straight
Final Thoughts – What is the Best Strategy for Video Poker?
If you’re looking to win big at the casino, we recommend playing games with favorable odds and video poker is one of them. Now that you know the best video poker strategy to win online, study each of them and pick the right one for you.
If you’re a beginner, practice these strategies on free video poker sites. As long as you play the right cards and use the right strategy, you have a better chance of winning the game.
FAQ
How Can I Increase My Chances of Winning Video Poker?
You can increase your chances of winning by using the right strategy and taking advantage of bonuses and promotions.
Is Video Poker Skill or Luck?
Video poker is a combination of skill and luck.
What Video Poker Has the Best Odds?
Video poker with the best odds includes Jacks or Better, Tens or Better, Jokers Wild, and Deuces Wild.
Are Video Poker Games Rigged?
No, video poker games aren’t rigged at reputable casinos.
Is Video Poker Truly Random?
Video poker machines are designed with RNG which ensures that the outcomes are truly random.
Can I Play Video Poker for Free?
Yes, you can play free video poker at free video poker sites.
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