Video Poker Strategy 
Unlike most casino games, video poker is a game where the players' decisions matter. Appropriate strategy on a video poker machine will actually improve a player's expectation, and on certain video poker games a player can actually achieve a positive expectation. (These are usually called full pay games, although not all full pay video poker games have a positive expectation.)
The most widely-played version is called Jacks or Better. In this game obtaining a pair of Jacks or any higher-ranking Poker hand nets the player an increasingly larger payout based on both the quality of the hand and the number of credits wagered. The payout scales vary from machine to machine, and are classified by the ratio of payout between the Full House and Flush hands. A "Full Pay" Jacks or better machine offers returns as detailed in the chart to the right, known as the 9/6 chart. As stated, this is because a Full House will payout 9x the initial wager, and a Flush will payout 6x, giving a 9/6 Full House to Flush payout ratio. Use our chart to determine if the machine you'll be playing on is offering you the correct odds for play. The 9/6 payout schedule is the basis for our strategy guide and is the only machine you should play. Even a 9/5 is significantly inferior.
| Jacks or Better, Full Pay 9/6 Chart |
| Hand |
Payout |
| Royal Flush |
800x |
| Straight Flush |
50x |
| Four of a Kind |
25x |
| Full House |
9x |
| Flush |
6x |
| Straight |
4x |
| Three of a Kind |
3x |
| Two Pair |
2x |
| JJ, QQ, KK, AA |
1x |
| None of the above |
None |
It is important that the player understands how a machines payout schedule affects the odds of the player. This is crucial to succeeding.
A payout of 9 units for a full house and 6 units for a flush. This is called a Jacks or better 9/6 and has a higher payout than an 8/5 or 7/5 etc.
It is important that the player understands how a machines payout schedule affects the odds of the player. This is crucial to succeeding. The payout schedule should consist of at least these minimum components.
Video Poker Strategy Chart
| Initial Hand |
Decision |
| 4 of a kind |
draw none |
| 4 card royal |
draw 1 |
| Full House |
draw none |
| Flush |
draw none |
| 3 of a kind |
draw 2 |
| 4 card straight flush |
draw 1 |
| Straight |
draw none |
| 2 Pair |
draw 1 |
| Pair (Jacks or Better) |
draw 3 |
| 3 card royal |
draw 3 |
| 4 card flush |
draw 1 |
| Low Pair |
draw 3 |
| 4 card straight |
draw 1 |
| 3 card straight flush |
draw 2 |
| 2 card royal(10, no ace |
draw 3 |
| 1 high card (J,Q,K,A) |
draw 4 |
| Mixed low cards |
draw 5 |
The Jacks or Better strategy guide is based on identifying the card combinations in your initial hand that will offer the best chance at ending up with the highest paying combination of cards after the redraw. The hands are listed from the strongest hand (A) to the weakest (F) at the bottom. They consist of all hands pairs or higher, along with non-pair hands classified by the number of Pay cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces) contained in the hand. The draws below each bold entry are also listed top-down in importance, with #1 being the preferred option and so on.
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