Video Poker Strategy: Playing With an Edge
Video poker is one of the few casino games where player skill significantly affects returns. With perfect strategy on the right machines, the house edge can be under 0.5%—comparable to blackjack. Some rare machines even offer positive expected value.
Why Video Poker Is Different
Unlike slots, video poker deals from a standard 52-card deck (or 53 with jokers). The probabilities are knowable. Every possible hand combination has a mathematically optimal play. Learn the strategy and you play with a defined edge instead of a black-box algorithm.
The key variables are the pay table (how much each hand pays) and the strategy used (which cards to hold in each situation). Both dramatically affect your expected return.
Understanding Pay Tables
Two machines might look identical but have different pay tables with vastly different returns. Jacks or Better is the most common game—here's how pay tables affect returns:
| Hand | 9/6 (Good) | 8/5 (Bad) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 9 | 8 |
| Flush | 6 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 |
| Return | 99.54% | 97.30% |
The "9/6" refers to the full house and flush payouts. That single difference—9/6 versus 8/5—represents 2.24% in expected returns. Over hours of play, this is hundreds of dollars.
Basic Strategy Principles
Complete strategy charts exist for every video poker variant, but general principles apply:
Never break a made hand for a draw unless the draw is significantly better. Don't break a flush to chase a royal flush draw. Don't break a straight to chase a straight flush. The math almost never supports it.
High cards matter in Jacks or Better. A single high card (J, Q, K, A) is worth keeping when you have nothing else. Four to a flush beats a high pair, but a high pair beats three to a royal.
Always play max coins. The royal flush bonus on the fifth coin changes the math significantly. Playing fewer coins increases the house edge substantially.
The Variance Challenge
Video poker has high variance. Much of your expected return is locked in rare hands like royal flushes and straight flushes. You might play for hours without hitting one. This creates short-term volatility even with perfect strategy.
To survive variance, bankroll management matters. Standard recommendation: 1,000-2,000 times your base bet in available bankroll. For $1 video poker, that means $1,000-2,000 available. This prevents going broke before the math works in your favor.
Finding Good Games
Not all casinos offer good pay tables. Some regions (Las Vegas downtown, certain tribal casinos) tend to have better games than others (Las Vegas strip, many regional casinos).
Use pay table databases and apps to identify which casinos offer full-pay games. The difference between a 99.5% machine and a 97% machine is the difference between entertainment with minimal cost and slow bleeding.
Video poker rewards knowledge. Learn the pay tables, learn the strategy, and you're playing one of the best games in the casino.