Video Poker
The only casino machine where your decisions change the outcome — and where the math is published right on the screen.
What is Video Poker?
Video poker is a casino machine game based on 5-card draw poker. You're dealt five cards, choose which to hold, draw replacements, and get paid based on the final hand.
Unlike slots, video poker has a published pay table and a known, calculable RTP. You can walk up to any machine, read the pay table, and know your expected return before betting a single coin. There are no hidden algorithms — just math.
Unlike table poker, you're playing against the machine — not other players. No bluffing. No reads. No one staring you down. Your only job is to make the mathematically correct hold decision on every hand.
And that matters, because skill is real here. The better you hold your cards, the better your return. Most players leave 2–5% on the table through bad decisions. That gap is real money.
Why Video Poker Is Special for Advantage Players
The RTP is on the machine.
Walk up, read the pay table, know your edge before you bet a single coin. No guessing, no inside info required.
Some machines pay over 100%.
Deuces Wild (full pay): 100.76%. Double Double Bonus (10/6): 100.07%. Double Bonus (10/7/5): 100.17%. Joker Wild (full pay): 100.64%. These machines are rare, but they exist — and the math is provable.
The skill gap is massive.
Most players make 2–5% mistakes off optimal strategy. A $1/hand player doing 600 hands/hour and losing an extra 3% from bad play is paying $18/hour in unnecessary mistakes. Learning proper strategy is literally worth real money.
Strategy cards are legal.
Unlike blackjack where counting draws heat, you can pull out a printed strategy card at the machine and casinos explicitly allow it. No heat. No act. Just math.
The Five AP-Viable Games
These are the games worth learning. Each has a full-pay version that's either near 100% or over it.
Jacks or Better (9/6)
99.54% RTPThe foundation. Learn this first. Simplest strategy, widely available, lowest variance.
Deuces Wild (Full Pay NSUD)
100.76% RTP+EVThe best long-term edge of any common VP game. All four 2s are wild cards.
Double Double Bonus (10/6)
100.07% RTP+EVFour aces with a 2/3/4 kicker pays 400:1 — a "lottery ticket" inside the game that makes it barely +EV at full pay.
Double Bonus (10/7/5)
100.17% RTP+EVThree numbers to memorize: 10/7/5. Full House/Flush/Straight payouts. Four aces pays 160:1.
Joker Wild (Kings or Better)
100.64% RTP+EV53-card deck with one joker. Minimum paying hand is a pair of kings or aces — not jacks.
How to Find a Full-Pay Machine
The pay table is always displayed on screen. Check it before you sit down — it takes 10 seconds and can be the difference between a winning and losing session.
The numbers to check:
Full-pay machines are less common but real — often found in locals casinos, lower-traffic areas, or bar-top machines rather than the main casino floor.
💡 Vegas Tip
Station Casinos, Palace Station, and similar locals casinos in Las Vegas consistently offer better pay tables than Strip properties. If you're hunting full-pay games, locals casinos are your first stop.
The Players Card Multiplier Effect
← This is where it gets really interesting.
Most casino players clubs return 0.1%–0.3% cashback on video poker play. Sounds tiny. But stacked on top of a near-breakeven game, it changes everything.
Base game (Double Bonus 10/7/5)
Already +EV at full pay
+ 0.2% cashback (standard players club)
Standard play
+ 2× multiplier day (cashback doubles to 0.4%)
Common promo
+ 5× multiplier day (1.0% cashback)
Locals casino special
+ 10× multiplier day (2.0% cashback)
Best case scenario
Real example:
$1 denomination · max coins ($5/hand) · 500 hands/hour · 101.5% combined RTP
= $2,500/hour wagered × 1.5% edge
= +$37.50/hour expected
The core insight:
This is why serious video poker players join every players club, track their mailers, and specifically wait for multiplier events. The base game gets you close to even. The promotions push you over. The machine isn't the edge — the players club is the edge on an already-near-breakeven machine.
How to Practice
The only way to get edge at video poker is to play perfect strategy. That means knowing exactly which cards to hold in every situation — and that requires practice.
Start with Jacks or Better. Master the strategy chart, then practice hold decisions until they're automatic. Only then move to higher-variance games like Double Bonus or Deuces Wild.
Use the Check a Machine tool to verify any machine before you play. Enter the pay table numbers and it tells you the exact RTP.
Print a strategy card before your next casino session. It's legal — you can use it right at the machine.