Video Poker Explained: How to Play & What is the Best Strategy

If you want to play Jacks or Better video poker correctly, we've got you covered. This guide was written for any player who wants to understand video poker strategy properly rather than just stumbling through hands on instinct, and it'll help you push the house edge as low as it goes on one of the most player-friendly games in any online casino.

From the basic mechanics of the game through the hold and draw decisions that separate great gameplay from guesswork, by the end, you'll understand the correct priority for every hold decision, as well as the common mistakes that can reduce your returns.

How to Play Video Poker

Playing video poker follows the same sequence on every hand:

1. Bet: select a coin and the number of coins to wager per hand (1-5 coins; always bet 5 for the reasons explained later).

2. Deal: the machine deals five cards face up from a standard 52-card deck.

3. Hold or discard: decide which cards to keep and which to throw back, then confirm the selection.

4. Draw: replacement cards are dealt for every discarded card, forming the final five-card hand.

5. Payout: the final hand is evaluated against the pay table and any qualifying hand is paid automatically.

The critical point that separates video poker from slots is step three. Every hold and discard decision is entirely your choice, and those decisions have a real mathematical effect on the expected outcome of the hand. This makes video poker a game of skill in a way that no slot machine is.

What Is Jacks or Better?

Jacks or Better is the most widely played video poker variant in both land-based and online casinos. The name defines the minimum winning hand: a pair of Jacks or any higher-ranking poker hand qualifies for a payout. A pair of tens or lower wins nothing.

The game uses a standard 52-card deck with no wild cards, since every hand is decided purely by which cards are dealt and which you choose to hold. The pay table pays progressively more for stronger hands, from one pair of Jacks at the bottom through two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, and straight flush, up to the royal flush at the top.

Jacks or Better is the standard starting point for video poker because its pay table, strategy, and mechanics are the simplest and most transparent of any variant. Everything learned here transfers directly to Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and other variants.

Why Video Poker Strategy Matters

Most casino games don't require you to make any important decisions after placing a bet. Slots spin, roulette wheels turn, and the outcome is determined entirely by chance. Video poker is different because the hold/discard decision is entirely within your control, and the mathematically correct choice is different from the instinctive choice in many situations.

Video poker strategy can make or break your game because correct decisions on every hand reduce the house edge to approximately 0.5% on a full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better machine.

Poor decisions – like holding the wrong cards, chasing draws that shouldn't be chased, or breaking made hands to pursue unlikely better ones – raise the effective house edge substantially, sometimes to 3% or more depending on how frequently errors occur.

The practical implication is that two players sitting at identical machines with identical bankrolls will have very different long-term outcomes based purely on their decisions. The player using correct strategy is playing a different game, mathematically, than the player playing by gut feel.

Understanding the Pay Table: 9/6 vs. Other Versions

The pay table is the first thing to check before sitting down at any video poker machine. Most Jacks or Better machines look identical from the front: same game name, same hand rankings, but pay tables vary significantly and the difference in long-run return is substantial.

The "9/6" designation refers to the payouts for a full house and a flush relative to a single-coin bet: 9 coins for a full house, 6 coins for a flush. A full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better machine carries a theoretical RTP of 99.54% with perfect play, one of the highest returns of any casino game.

Lower-paying versions reduce these figures: an 8/5 machine (8 coins for a full house, 5 for a flush) drops the RTP to approximately 97.3%. A 6/5 machine falls to around 95%. These machines can appear identical to a full-pay version at a glance, which is exactly why checking the pay table before the first hand is a must.

Choosing a 6/5 machine instead of a 9/6 machine at the same denomination reduces your long-term return by about 4.5% of every dollar wagered. That's a significant disadvantage that even perfect strategy can't overcome.

Video Poker Hold and Draw Strategy Explained

Video poker hold and draw strategy for Jacks or Better is built around a fixed priority order. After the deal, you identify the best category that the five dealt cards contain and hold accordingly. The priority order runs from the strongest made hand at the top down to the weakest holdable combination at the bottom.

Standard poker hand-reading instincts are partially useful here but can mislead in situations where a draw to a better hand is statistically inferior to holding a weaker hand. The priority order eliminates guesswork.

Hold and Draw Priority Order

Listed from highest priority (hold always) to lowest (hold only if nothing above applies):

1. Royal flush: hold all five cards, collect the jackpot.

2. Straight flush: hold all five cards.

3. Four of a kind: hold the four matching cards, discard the fifth.

4. Four to a royal flush: hold the four royal flush cards, discard the fifth even if it makes a lesser made hand (e.g. discard the card that completes a flush if the remaining four are royal flush draws).

5. Full house: hold all five cards.

6. Flush: hold all five cards.

7. Three of a kind: hold the three matching cards, discard both kickers.

8. Straight: hold all five cards.

9. Four to a straight flush: hold the four consecutive suited cards, discard the fifth.

10. Two pair: hold both pairs, discard the fifth card (the kicker).

11. High pair (Jacks or better): hold the pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces, discard the other three.

12. Three to a royal flush: hold the three royal flush cards, discard the other two.

13. Four to a flush: hold the four suited cards, discard the fifth.

14. Low pair (tens or lower): hold the pair, discard the other three.

15. Four to an outside straight: hold four consecutive cards with two open ends, discard the fifth.

16. Two high cards (Jacks or better): hold both high cards, discard the remaining three.

17. Three to a straight flush: hold three consecutive suited cards, discard the other two.

18. One high card (Jacks or better): hold the single Jack, Queen, King, or Ace, discard the remaining four.

19. Nothing: discard all five cards and draw a completely new hand.

When to Hold a High Pair vs. Chase a Draw

The most common beginner mistake in Jacks or Better is breaking a made paying pair, i.e., a pair of Jacks or higher, to chase a four-card flush or four-card straight draw.

The math generally favors keeping the pair. A pair of Jacks or better guarantees at least a 1:1 return, while a four-card flush has only about a 19.1% chance of completing. In most cases, the remaining outcomes either don't pay or pay less than the pair.

That's why standard Jacks or Better strategy prioritizes a high pair over a four-card flush. The main exception is four cards to a royal flush, which ranks higher because it has stronger completing odds and a much larger potential payout.

When There's No Pair or Draw

Sometimes, a dealt hand contains no pair and no reasonable draw, leaving you with five unconnected, unsuited cards across multiple ranks. The correct approach is:

• If the hand contains two or more cards ranked Jack or higher, hold the two highest-ranked qualifying cards and discard the remaining three
• If the hand contains exactly one card ranked Jack or higher, hold that single high card and discard the remaining four
• If the hand contains no cards ranked Jack or higher and no connected or suited draw candidates, discard all five and draw a completely new hand

Keeping low cards with no realistic draw potential usually offers less value than drawing five new cards, which is why the strategy prioritizes a full five-card draw in those situations.

Common Video Poker Strategy Mistakes

Here are some common mistakes video poker players can fall victim to:

• Playing a reduced pay table without checking it. Playing at an 8/5 or 6/5 machine when a 9/6 machine is available costs you real money over time. Always check the full house and flush payouts before your first bet.
• Breaking two pair to chase a flush. Two pair ranks higher than four to a flush in the priority list. It already pays 2:1 on a full-pay machine and has a strong chance of improving to a full house. Breaking the hand to chase a flush is a poor mathematical choice.
• Holding a kicker alongside a pair. Holding three cards, a pair plus a high card "kicker", instead of just the pair reduces the draw options without improving expected value. The correct play is always to hold only the pair and discard all three remaining cards.
• Betting fewer than five coins. The royal flush bonus is designed to reward five-coin bets. A five-coin bet typically pays 800 coins for a royal flush, compared with 250 coins per coin on smaller bets. For example, at a 25-cent denomination, a five-coin royal flush pays $1,000, while a one-coin bet pays $62.50. Because this bonus can significantly affect the game's overall RTP, it's generally better to lower the denomination and keep the five-coin bet if the maximum bet is outside your budget.

Video Poker Strategy vs. Slots

The comparison between video poker and slots demonstrates why strategy matters in one and not the other.

A slot machine's outcome on every spin is determined by a certified RNG, and your only decision is how much to bet and whether to activate available bonus features. No action taken after the bet affects the outcome.

In video poker, you must make the hold/discard decision after seeing five real cards, and the draw pool is the remaining 47 cards in the same shuffled deck. The mathematical probabilities of completing every possible draw are fixed and calculable. Good gameplay makes the most of those probabilities.

This is why video poker strategy can push the house edge below 0.5% on a full-pay machine while slots typically run house edges of 2-10% with no player input that affects that figure.

If you're after a broader education in casino odds and strategy, our full range of online casinos guides covers game strategy across blackjack, roulette, and other skill-based casino games.

Tips for Practicing Video Poker Strategy

Learning the priority order by heart takes time. These approaches make the process faster and more reliable:

• Use free demo versions first. Most online casinos offer free-play video poker without a deposit required, allowing you to practice without spending a dime.
• Print a strategy card. The priority order listed above fits on a single card. Land-based casinos permit the use of strategy cards at video poker machines, but online, it can simply stay open in another tab
• Focus on the most common decision points first. The high pair vs. flush draw scenario, two pair decisions, and when to hold three to a royal flush cover the vast majority of hands. Mastering those three situations handles most of what comes up in normal play before moving to the rarer edge cases
• Check every machine's pay table before starting. This takes a few seconds and is the single most impactful step you can take before a single hand is played
• Move down in denomination before reducing coins. If a five-coin bet feels too expensive, lower the denomination instead of betting fewer coins, as this keeps the royal flush bonus intact.

Video Poker Strategy FAQs