Video poker follows five-card draw on a screen: bet, deal, choose holds, then draw once. Paytable choice drives long-run results, so start with Jacks or Better and compare 9/6 (99.54% under optimal play) vs 8/5 (about 97.30%) before betting.
How to Play Video Poker: Quick Guide for Beginners
Video poker is a single-player, five-card draw game with a fixed paytable widely available on gambling sites across the US. Unlike table poker, there are no opponents and no betting rounds. Every hand follows the same loop: deal five cards, choose which to hold, draw once, and get paid based on the posted paytable.
What separates strong play from weak play is not the rules—it’s paytable selection and correct hold decisions.
Start With the Paytable (Before You Bet)
For beginners, Jacks or Better is the baseline variant because its math is well-studied and forgiving. But not all Jacks or Better games are equal.
Quick reference: full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better (per credit)
Hand Payout Why It Matters | Royal Flush 800* Drives most of the game’s long-term return | Straight Flush 50 Fixed payout | Four of a Kind 25 Fixed payout | Full House 9 “9” in 9/6 = full-pay indicator | Flush 6 “6” in 9/6 = full-pay indicator |
*Important: The 800-per-credit royal payout usually applies only at max bet (commonly 5 credits = 4,000 total). Playing fewer credits typically reduces the royal to 250 per credit and lowers overall RTP.
Under optimal play, 9/6 Jacks or Better returns about 99.54%, while a reduced 8/5 version returns roughly 97.30% (detailed pay tables and probabilities from Wizard of Odds). That ~2.2% gap comes almost entirely from the full house and flush lines, even though the game looks identical on screen.
Beginner shortcut:
Before playing a single hand, check just two numbers:
- Full House = 9
- Flush = 6
If either number is lower, the game’s return drops meaningfully.
How a Video Poker Hand Works
Every hand follows the same sequence across online poker sites:
Step What to Check Why It Matters | Choose the game Confirm the exact variant Strategy changes by variant | Read the paytable Check full house / flush first Small changes shift RTP by 2%+ | Set coin value Pick a denomination you can sustain Controls loss rate per hour | Set credits Usually 1–5 per hand Affects wager size and bonuses | Verify max-bet rule Confirm royal payout rules Non-max bets reduce EV | Deal Receive five cards No decisions yet | Choose holds Make one hold decision This determines nearly all EV | Draw Replace unheld cards Outcome resolved | Review payout Match hand to paytable Confirms correct setup | Continue or stop Re-check only if switching games Prevents RTP drift |
There is one decision per hand. That decision—what you hold—is where almost all mistakes (and losses) occur.
What Beginners Should Focus On (and Ignore)
- Ignore intuition. Many “obvious” draws are mathematically weak.
- Do not memorize long priority charts. They’re brittle and lead to errors.
- Focus on paytable quality first, then learn how to handle close decisions (edge cases).
- Always verify the royal payout rule before choosing stake size.
If two holds look close, the correct play is the one with higher expected value, not the prettier draw. Inside straights and weak flush draws are the most common beginner leaks.
Understanding Video Poker Rules
Video poker follows a simple five-card draw structure: one deal, one hold decision, one draw, then a payout based on the posted paytable. What matters is not the rules themselves, but the math behind the paytable. There is no single house edge for “video poker”—expected return changes materially depending on the exact payouts and the strategy used.
Start every session with two mandatory checks:
1) Paytable quality: In Jacks or Better, the key lines are full house and flush. A 9/6 paytable returns about 99.54% with optimal play, while an 8/5 version drops to roughly 97.30%, even though the game looks identical on screen.
2) Max-bet rule for the royal flush: Most games reserve the full 800-per-credit royal payout for max bet (commonly 5 credits). Playing fewer credits often reduces the royal to 250 per credit, which lowers expected return even if every other payout stays the same.
Finally, confirm that the game is independently RNG-certified (e.g., tested by iTech Labs, eCOGRA, or GLI). Certification ensures the cards are dealt randomly and that the game pays exactly according to the displayed paytable—making RTP figures meaningful when the correct strategy is applied.
Common Video Poker Mistakes That Cost Return
- Skip the paytable check: 9/6 and 8/5 play the same, but the return is not the same.
- Bet max without verifying the royal rule: confirm whether the top royal payout requires max bet before choosing stake size.
- Break high pairs too often: keep high pairs (J–A) as default holds unless a higher-priority draw is present.
- Overvalue inside straights: treat inside-straight draws as lower priority than high pairs and premium flush or royal draws.
- Switch variants without switching priorities: hold rules change across Deuces Wild, Bonus, and Joker formats, even when the deal-draw loop looks identical.
Video Poker Tutorial: From Beginner to Advanced
Video poker practice is most effective when it stays narrow and repeatable: one variant, one paytable, and the same decision types drilled until errors disappear. Use demo mode to isolate specific hold decisions and repeat them until the correct play becomes automatic.
Practice examples (Jacks or Better):
- A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 3♦ → Hold A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ (four to a royal), draw one.
- K♣ K♦ 7♠ 4♥ 2♣ → Hold K♣ K♦, draw three. Treat this as baseline high-pair protection.
Improvement comes from eliminating recurring mistakes, not from playing more hands. Lock in a single variant and paytable and stay on it long enough for hold priorities to stabilize.
Efficient practice routine:
- Choose one variant and one paytable and keep them fixed for at least a week.
- Run short demo sessions with a single focus.
- Rotate between two core themes: high-pair protection and premium draws (four to a royal, three to a royal).
- Track errors by category, not by full hand history (e.g., missed high pair, wrong straight draw, over-valued inside straight).
- Drill the same decision types in clusters until the error rate drops.
Set a hard stop before you start. Define a time or credit limit in advance and end the session when it’s reached—discipline matters as much as correct holds.
Comparing Video Poker Styles
Online video poker runs on the same deal-hold-draw loop, so platform evaluation should focus on what changes outcomes and control.
Paytables and royal payout rules matter more than payment method. When comparing regular operators and Bitcoin poker sites, use the same checklist: paytable visible before betting, clear max-bet rule for royals, limits that match the session budget, and basic tools that support limit-setting.
Format names can match across sites, so verify the paytable lines on screen instead of relying on the label alone.
Video Poker Format What Changes What to Focus On | Jacks or Better Lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks or higher Paytable check first; play tight around high cards and made hands | Bonus Poker / Double Bonus Four-of-a-kind payouts are boosted; swings can be sharper Prioritize routes to quads | Deuces Wild 2s act as wild cards; hand rankings and payouts shift Learn the format’s specific premium hands | Double Double Bonus Even higher quad payouts for certain ranks Memorize rank-based quad priorities | Joker Poker One joker is wild; hand categories and payouts differ Treat wild draws differently; follow a Joker-specific strategy chart |
Source note: Format/paytable principles and variant definitions based on Wizard of Odds video poker reference pages (updated/maintained pages across variants).
Understanding Video Poker Fully Before Playing
Video poker rewards correct structure, not volume. Once the paytable and stake are set correctly, results are driven almost entirely by hold accuracy over time.
Use practice sessions to isolate repeatable decision types—especially borderline holds involving high pairs, premium draws, and weak straights—and eliminate errors category by category rather than hand by hand.
Play responsibly, 21+. T&Cs Apply.
