Video Poker: How to Play, Variants & Paytables

Video poker is a machine-based card game played on screen against a fixed paytable, not against a dealer or other players. Five cards are dealt from a virtual deck, the player selects which to keep, and the final hand is evaluated for a payout. This page covers how the game works, standard hand rankings, paytable structure, and an overview of the main video poker variants available online. No strategy advice, no recommendations; just a clear explanation of how the format is built. 

Free video poker is available with no deposit or registration required. Demo mode uses virtual credits, so there are no real-money outcomes; it is a useful way to observe how the game format, hand rankings, and paytable structure work in practice before playing for real money. 

Video poker is a single-player card game played on a machine (online or in a casino) in which the outcome is determined by the cards dealt from a standard 52-card deck (or a 53-card deck in Joker Poker variants). The game combines the mechanical structure of a slot machine with the hand-ranking system of standard poker. 

Unlike table poker, there is no dealer to beat and no other players at the table. The completed hand is evaluated against the machine's fixed paytable, and a payout is made if it meets or exceeds the minimum qualifying threshold. 

The player's hold/discard decision determines which hand is completed, but the outcome of that hand remains probabilistic. The replacement cards are drawn randomly from the remaining virtual deck. Understanding how the video poker variants differ in their rules and paytable structures is a useful starting point for engaging with the game format. For an explanation of standard card game terminology used throughout this page, see the poker terms glossary.

A hand of video poker follows four steps. The sequence is the same across all standard variants, though the specific rules governing hand rankings and qualifying thresholds vary by game. 

Step 1: Choose your bet 

Before the cards are dealt, the player selects a coin denomination and the number of coins to bet per hand, typically between one and five coins. The total bet equals coin denomination multiplied by the number of coins wagered. 

In most video poker variants, betting the maximum number of coins (five) activates the top-tier Royal Flush payout. This is a fixed paytable rule; the Royal Flush row is configured with two separate payout tiers depending on coin count. The full step-by-step guide to how to play video poker covers this and all other mechanics in detail. 

Step 2: Cards are dealt 

Once the bet is placed, the player presses Deal to receive five cards face-up from a virtual 52-card deck. The cards are visible immediately. The hand can be reviewed against the paytable, which is always displayed on screen. 

Step 3: Hold or discard 

The player selects which cards to keep by pressing the Hold button beneath each one (or clicking the card in most online interfaces). Any card not marked Hold is discarded and replaced in the next step. Any number of cards can be held; from none to all five. 

Step 4: Final hand is evaluated 

After the draw, the completed five-card hand is automatically assessed against the paytable. If the hand qualifies (meaning it meets or exceeds the minimum qualifying hand threshold) the corresponding payout is credited to the player's balance. Hands that fall below the threshold return nothing and the bet is lost. 

The table below shows the standard hand hierarchy used across most video poker variants, from highest to lowest payout. The definitions apply to standard variants such as Jacks or Better. Wild card variants modify this hierarchy; see the Variants section below for details. 

For a full breakdown of how hand rankings apply across all video poker variants, see the video poker hand rankings reference page. 

The paytable is a fixed payout schedule displayed on the game screen before and during play. It lists every qualifying hand and the multiplier paid per coin bet for each one. Payouts are expressed as coin multipliers: for example, a Full House paying 9 means nine coins returned per coin bet. The total payout for a hand equals the per-coin multiplier multiplied by the number of coins wagered. 

Paytable values are set by the game configuration and cannot be changed during play. The same variant can appear with different configurations. The most commonly referenced example is Jacks or Better: a 9/6 configuration pays 9 times for a Full House and 6 times for a Flush; an 8/5 configuration pays 8 times and 5 times for the same hands. Both are standard configurations; neither is an error nor a promotional variant. 

The paytable is always visible on screen and defines the payout structure for the entire session. For a full reference on how paytable configurations work across variants, see video poker paytables. 

All video poker variants share the same core format: deal, hold, draw, evaluate. They differ in deck configuration, wild card rules, minimum qualifying hand, and how specific hands are paid. The following are the most commonly encountered variants online. 

Jacks or Better 

Jacks or Better is the foundational video poker variant against which all others are measured. It uses a standard 52-card deck with no wild cards. The minimum qualifying hand is a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces; a pair of tens or lower returns nothing. The paytable structure is most commonly encountered in 9/6 or 8/5 configurations. For a full breakdown, see Jacks or Better. 

Deuces Wild 

In Deuces Wild, all four 2s act as wild cards and can substitute for any other card to complete a hand. Because wild cards significantly increase the frequency of high-ranking hands, the minimum qualifying hand is raised to Three of a Kind; pairs no longer qualify. The Royal Flush is divided into two separately valued hands: Natural Royal Flush (formed without any wild cards) and Wild Royal Flush (formed with one or more deuces substituted), which pay at different multipliers. For a full structural breakdown, see Deuces Wild. 

Double Bonus Poker 

Double Bonus Poker uses the same baseline rules as Jacks or Better: 52-card deck, no wild cards, minimum qualifying hand of a pair of Jacks. The paytable is modified to offer enhanced multipliers for specific Four of a Kind hands: four Aces pay at a premium rate, and four 2s, 3s, or 4s pay at a secondary elevated rate. Other rows in the paytable (typically Full House, Flush, and Two Pair) are reduced to offset these enhanced payouts. 

Joker Poker 

Joker Poker uses a 53-card deck with one Joker added as a wild card. The Joker can substitute for any card to complete a hand. Because the wild card increases the frequency of certain hand types, the minimum qualifying hand is raised to Kings or Better (a pair of Kings or Aces) or Two Pair, depending on the variant configuration. Like Deuces Wild, the Royal Flush is split into Natural Royal Flush and Wild Royal Flush at different payout rates. 

Additional variants include Aces and Faces, Double Double Bonus Poker, and Multi-Hand Video Poker, in which the same initial deal is played across multiple hands simultaneously. For a full reference on all variants and how they differ structurally, see the video poker variants overview. 

The table below compares video poker's structural features with two other machine and table game formats. No conclusions are drawn about which format offers better value. 

Video poker shares its machine-based format with slots; both are played against a fixed paytable rather than against other participants, but the payout logic is hand-based rather than symbol-based. Table poker differs structurally: the outcome depends on hand strength relative to a dealer or other players, and payouts are not fixed in advance. Both video poker and slots fall within the broader casino games library and operate on fixed-paytable structures determined before play begins. 

Free video poker is available with no deposit or registration required. Demo play uses virtual credits with no real-money outcomes. It is a useful way to observe the deal-hold-draw sequence and see how hand rankings translate to paytable results in practice; see the free video poker page for access and a full explanation of how demo mode works.