Video Poker Strategy Calculator

Why the same cards are played differently from one game to the next

Every return above is worked out for the pay table you pick, which is why the calculator asks for it first. The example hand, K♥ K♠ Q♥ J♥ 7♣, shows how much it matters. On 9/6 Jacks or Better the pair of kings returns 1.5365 for every 1 you bet and the royal draw, K♥ Q♥ J♥, returns 1.4884, so you keep the kings. On 9/6 Double Double Bonus the order flips, 1.4690 for the royal draw against 1.4461 for the kings, because two pair pays 1 there instead of 2. In full-pay Deuces Wild, where a pair of kings pays nothing at all, it is not close: 1.3710 for the royal draw, 0.5602 for the kings.

Across the 21 pay tables the calculator covers, 11 keep the kings and 10 draw to the royal. The split even runs through one game: 9/6 and 10/6 Double Double Bonus draw to the royal, but 8/5 Double Double Bonus keeps the kings, by 1.4359 to 1.4292. Cutting the flush from 6 to 5 is enough on its own: it costs the royal draw, which can make a flush, and leaves the pair untouched. Open “The same cards on every pay table” under any hand to see its best hold on all 21.

Reading the answer

The dark panel is the best hold and its expected return: the average you get back for every 1 you bet, over every card the draw can bring. A return of 1.5365 means 1.5365 back for 1 bet on average, not a chance of winning. The light panel prices the hold you have selected, so tap the cards to try your own choice and see what it gives up. When two or more holds tie, any of them is right. When the best hold wins by less than 0.01, it is a close call that a small change in the pay table can flip.

Under the panels you can open what the best hold can turn into, with the chance of each final hand; all 32 holds side by side; the same five cards on every pay table; and the pay table being used. To learn the play rather than look it up hand by hand, read the strategy guide for your game: Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus or Deuces Wild. Choosing a hold explains the method behind every answer here.

Which pay table to pick

The calculator covers seven Jacks or Better tables, three Bonus Poker tables (Bonus Poker Deluxe among them), two Double Bonus, four Double Double Bonus (with Triple Double Bonus), three Deuces Wild and two Joker Poker. Within a game, a pay table is usually named by what it pays per credit for a full house and a flush: 9/6 Jacks or Better pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush. Online, the pay table is shown on the game screen or in its help page. Compare every line with the one under “The pay table being used”, not just those two, before you trust the answer.

With each played its best way, the returns run from 94.9961% on 6/5 Jacks or Better to 100.7620% on full-pay Deuces Wild. Every table assumes five credits a hand except one: 9/6 Jacks or Better played with fewer than five credits, where a royal pays 250 per credit instead of 800 and the return falls to 98.3735%. Our pay tables guide shows how to read a table and what each one returns.

What it does not cover

Progressive jackpots, which raise the royal above 800 per credit and can change the best hold once they grow large enough. Multi-hand games with multipliers or bonus features, such as Ultimate X. The double-up offered after a win. And pay tables other than the 21 listed: Loose Deuces, Double Joker, Deuces Wild Bonus and the many other variants need their own figures. Plain multi-hand play without multipliers is covered, because each hand draws from its own deck and the best starting hold is the same as on a single hand.