How to Win at Video Poker

Last Updated: December 12, 2022 Approved

Video poker is a popular form of gambling that provides an edge to skilled players. If you play a game with acceptable pay tables, use optimum strategy, and receive comps for your play, you can generate a slight return on your money over the long term. Video poker is often praised over slot machines, because the return on your money and odds of winning a hand are higher.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Understanding the Basics

1
Pick a game. There are dozens of different video-poker games in casinos. Different games will have different rate of returns, meaning some games, if you win, will give you a higher percentage of your money back and others will give you a lower percentage. A "9/6 Jacks or Better" paytable is the best because the rate of return is 99.54%, meaning the casino only keeps .46% of your money.^{[1]
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- You can find these tables by their names, or look at the pay for the full house and flush. The other categories pay similarly, but the full house and flush will pay more on a "Jacks or Better" game.
- If you are unsure how to locate these games, you can visit a website where they have scouted out the best video poker games and their locations in a number of different casinos.^{[2]
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- When you find a payable that you like, you don't need to jump around to different tables. The odds will be the same on each table if they have the same pay table, so stick with the one you are on. If your pay table does not have a high rate or return, move around to different games until you find one with an acceptable rate of return.
2
Know how to play a basic game. Video poker is simple and similar to regular poker in that you are aiming for a hand that will give you the most return. To play video poker you will tap on the cards you wish to keep or on a button on the console, and then draw cards you wish to replace. You win by having a traditional poker hand, and the amount you win is determined by the machine you are playing on.
- In video poker, just like regular poker, you will be given five cards. With those five cards you'll want to achieve a winning poker hand (royal flush, straight, full house, flush, four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair, jacks or better). To do this, you'll have the opportunity to keep certain cards in your hand and exchange others to gain new cards that may help you gain a winning poker hand.
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3
Play with five coins. Each video poker machine gives you the option to insert five coins, and to best optimize your chances of winning more, you should play five coins, or max bet. On each play table you should see a chart that shows how many coins you will receive when winning a certain hand of poker. If you play five coins on a Jacks or Better table you can get 45 coins for a full house instead of nine coins. You also will receive a bonus for Royal Flush with a max bet.^{[3]
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- If you can't afford to play five coins at once, then switch to a lower-denomination machine. This means that the total amount for five coins is less -- a typical five coin game would be a dollar game, which you don't want to play a quarter at a time. A lower-denomination machine would be a quarter game, where you are playing a few cents at a time.
4
Know the components of the machine. On and around the screen of a video poker game you will see a few different things that are important to understand before playing a game.
- Paytable: This is the table on the poker screen that shows you how much each hand in a poker game is worth. As previously stated, you'll want to choose a table that has the best paytable, meaning the highest payout for a win. Each paytable will show you how many coins you'll get in return for winning a hand from one coin played to up to five coins played.
- Display area: Under the paytable is the display area, where you receive cards.
- Credit total: This is under the card area and shows how many credits, based on the denomination of the machine, you have remaining.
- Money insert/return slots: Cash-insert, voucher and club-card slots are positioned around the screen area of the machine. When you finish playing, the machine will return your balance in the form of a voucher. This slot is at the top left. Insert your player's club card in its slot before you start playing so you can earn reward points. Make sure that the card has been accepted.
- Deal/draw button: On the right side of the keyboard is the deal-draw button. After each hand, hit the button to get the next hand dealt to you. After selecting the cards you want to hold, hit the button again to draw replacement cards. If you have a winning hand, the machine will add the appropriate number of credits to your balance.
- Hold buttons: Directly below the screen are the hold buttons. After each new deal, press the buttons that correspond to the cards you wish to keep in your final hand.
- Cash-out button: Press this button when you're done playing. The machine will provide a voucher with your balance.
5
Sign up for a player's club card and use it every time you play. This is a vital component of extending your gambling dollar. Casinos will want you to come back if you're racking up rewards points. Many will provide cash back or give you coupons for meals. Some will comp your room for your entire stay.^{[4]
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- You can usually sign up for these clubs online or by visiting a club booth at the specific casino. Then, when you visit your casino make sure you bring your card and you can usually place them into a card reader slot. Depending on the casino you can rack up points for different things. For example, at one casino you may earn points for the hours you play, or the amount of money that you bet while playing. Then, a certain number of points will give you an amount of money. At one casino, 100 points may give you $1.00. As you gain more points you may be able to pay for things like meals.
- Usually casinos have different status levels for their player's clubs. The more you play the higher status you will achieve, which will eventually earn you more points and compensation for things like hotels.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Learning the Strategy to Win

1
Learn the basic strategy. Some people will go into video poker without being familiar with the strategy behind the game. If you guess while playing, you may win money, but you'll have a better chance at winning the game if you understand the rules and components of the game.
2
Stick to one or two types of games. Different video poker games have different strategies, and it can be difficult to memorize all of the strategies. The best thing to do is pick a game you like and learn that strategy well.
- If you get bored with that game or don't like it then move onto another game, but try to stick to one or two types of games instead of learning strategies for all the games. Trying to learn all of the games will make it difficult when playing one game because you may confuse some of the strategies.
3
Use a strategy list. A strategy list is like a cheat sheet, that has all of the different ways you can win in a poker game in a list ranked from best hands to worse hands. Using a cheat sheet will help you determine which cards to keep and which cards to exchange for new cards. For example, if you have the opportunity to go for a straight with an outside straight, or you have the opportunity to go for three to four of a kind with a pair, a low pair is ranked higher on the list so that is what you should choose.
- If you choose not to play 9/6 Jacks or Better, strategy cards for virtually every game are available online.
- This strategy list is specifically for a 9/6 Jacks or Better game, which is one of the better games to play:
  - 1. Full house or better
  - 2. 4 to a royal flush (you have four cards and just need one more for a royal flush)
  - 3. Straight, three of a kind, or flush
  - 4. 4 to a straight flush (you have four cards and just need one more for a straight flush)
  - 5. Two pair
  - 6. High pair
  - 7. 3 to a royal flush
  - 8. 4 to a flush
  - 9. Low pair
  - 10. 4 to an outside straight (you have five--cards 6, 7, 8, 9, 2--and need one more on the outside--either a 5 or 10, to complete the straight)
  - 11. 2 suited high cards (face cards)
  - 12. 3 to a straight flush
  - 13. 2 unsuited high cards (if more than 2 pick then pick lowest 2)
  - 14. Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K
  - 15. One high card
  - 16. Discard everything
4
Understand poker probabilities. When playing poker it is a good idea to have in mind the possibilities of winning. Some things to keep in mind when playing the game are:
- The odds of hitting a royal flush are about 1 in 40,000.
- A four of a kind happens about once an hour. The probability of getting a four of a kind is .24%
- When you hold four cards and throw away one, there is a good chance you will receive a card with the same value.
5
Understand your average loss. As well as understanding possibilities in a game of poker, it's good to keep in mind what your average loss during a session of video poker will be, so you go in with realistic expectations. To determine your average loss multiply the house end(the return the casino makes) by the bet size by the number of rounds per hour.^{[5]
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- In a 9/6 Jacks or Better game you would multiply .5% by $1.25 (this is a five coin, max bet game) by 400 (hands per hour). This would bring you to $2.50 an hour on a long term game. If you are playing a short term game, you are more likely to lose $6.50 an hour, because the house end for the casino will be higher (you'll have less chance of hitting the royal).
- An average slot machine brings you to a loss of about $40 an hour, so playing video poker is a much better way to earn money with limited loss.
6
Practice with fake money first. Before you begin playing video poker with your own money, try practicing it on your computer with fake money so you can become familiar with the format of the game and better your chances of doing well at an actual casino. There are several websites you can visit to play video poker online to practice.^{[6]
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- Practicing online with fake money is the best way to familiarize yourself with the strategy for a specific game and give you practice in using the strategy sheet. It could be helpful to watch a few tutorials on video poker so you have a better grasp of how the game works.
- There are also software programs available online that warn you when you're making a strategic error.

Community Q&A

Question

Do casinos change odds on the same game or video poker machines at various times?

Community Answer

Yes, periodically, all machine chips are changed, but the department of gaming in the state you are gaming in, keeps a watchful eye and the percentage of payback can not go below a set amount, usually around 86%.
Question

Should I hold a low pair or a single face card?

Community Answer

It depends on your position, the variation of poker being played and how many hands you are playing against. Generally, you shouldn't be aggressive with low pairs or single, random face cards.
Question

I am a heavy gambler, and I lose a lot of money. Any tips of winning my money back?

Community Answer

There are no surefire strategies to winning your lost money back. If your gambling practices have gotten to the point where you're losing money you can't afford to lose (money earmarked to pay bills for example), you may want look into getting professional help for gambling addiction.