Read a video poker paytable before you play
Video poker is one of the few casino games where the price is printed on the screen before the first hand is dealt. This guide explains how to read that price, which is the paytable, and how to tell a full-pay machine from a trimmed one that looks identical. It is written for players in Ireland who already know the hand rankings and want to understand why two games with the same name can return very different amounts over the long run. We checked the published return figures for common paytables, and every one quoted here assumes perfect strategy at maximum coins.
What a video poker paytable actually tells you
A paytable is the list of payouts for each winning hand, shown per coin bet. In video poker it does a job that a slot’s hidden reel weighting does elsewhere: it sets the return, and it sits in plain view at the top of the screen.
The cards themselves behave the same way on every fair machine. A certified random number generator deals from a single 52-card deck, so the chance of drawing to a flush does not change between one game and the next. What changes is how much that flush pays when it lands.
That is why players name games by two numbers. In Jacks or Better, “9/6” means a full house pays 9 for 1 and a flush pays 6 for 1, while “8/5” means 8 and 5. The other lines, from a pair of jacks paying even money up to four of a kind at 25, are usually identical, so those two figures are the quickest way to identify the table in front of you.
One more line matters: the royal flush. On the common full-pay example it pays 250 per coin for one to four coins and jumps to 800 per coin when five coins are played, which is why published return figures assume the maximum bet.
The paytable is the price tag.
Return as a long-run average
A return of 99.54% does not mean a player will get €99.54 back from every €100. It describes the average across millions of hands, and a single evening can finish well above or well below it, because the royal flush carries a large share of the total return and arrives roughly once in every forty thousand hands or so.
Published returns for common paytables
| Game | Paytable | Return | House edge | Key lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | 9/6 (full pay) | 99.54% | 0.46% | Full house 9, flush 6 |
| Jacks or Better | 8/5 | 97.30% | 2.70% | Full house 8, flush 5 |
| Double Double Bonus | 9/6 | 98.98% | 1.02% | Full house 9, flush 6 |
| Deuces Wild | Full pay | 100.76% | Player edge 0.76% | All four 2s wild |
How to choose and play the right machine
Choosing well takes less than a minute, and it happens before any money is staked. The routine below works for any variant, though the lines you compare differ from one game to the next.
In Jacks or Better the full house and flush carry the difference. In Double Double Bonus the same two lines are again the tell, while the large bonuses for four aces stay fixed across most versions. Deuces Wild is read differently, by its five of a kind, straight flush, four of a kind, full house and flush lines together.
A rule of thumb helps here: if the game does not show the full paytable before the deal, or hides it behind an extra menu, open the help file and look for the stated RTP. Many studios release the same title in several RTP versions, and the casino chooses which one it hosts, so the figure in the help file is the one that applies to that lobby.
Strategy comes second, not first.
Five steps to a full-pay video poker game
Follow these steps in order each time you open a video poker game, including a familiar title at a new casino.
- Step 1
Identify the exact variant on screen
Read the game name carefully. Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker and Double Double Bonus look alike but pay differently, so a published return figure only applies once you know which variant you are actually looking at. - Step 2
Read the full house and flush
For Jacks or Better, note what a full house and a flush pay per coin. Nine and six indicate the full-pay table; eight and five mean roughly 2.24 points less return on every euro wagered. - Step 3
Check the royal flush at maximum
Look for the jump in the royal flush payout at five coins. On the common full-pay example it moves from 250 to 800 per coin, and published returns assume that bonus is in play. - Step 4
Confirm the RTP in the help file
Open the game's information screen and find the stated return. If it differs from the published figure for that paytable, trust the game's own number, because the casino may host a lower version. - Step 5
Play each hand by correct strategy
Use a strategy chart built for that exact paytable. A chart for 9/6 Jacks or Better played on Double Double Bonus gives up around half a percent, according to published strategy comparisons.
9/6 against 8/5 Jacks or Better
The two most common Jacks or Better tables are worth setting side by side, because on screen they are almost impossible to tell apart. Only two lines differ by a single coin each.
Take a worked example of 1,000 hands at €1 each, so €1,000 wagered. On the 9/6 table the long-run average cost is about €4.60, while on 8/5 it is about €27. Both are averages rather than predictions, and any one session can land far from either figure.
The difference is close to six times the cost for the same game, the same cards and the same decisions.
Full pay and short pay, line by line
The rows below compare the two tables on the points that affect a player, using published figures for perfect play at maximum coins.
9/6 Jacks or Better | 8/5 Jacks or Better |
|---|---|
| Returns 99.54% with perfect strategy | Returns 97.30% with perfect strategy |
| House edge of 0.46% | House edge of 2.70% |
| Average cost about €4.60 per €1,000 wagered | Average cost about €27 per €1,000 wagered |
| Royal flush pays 800 per coin at five coins | Royal flush pays 800 per coin at five coins |
| Pair of jacks pays even money | Pair of jacks pays even money |
Myths that cost video poker players money
A few beliefs survive in video poker because they sound like common sense, and each one leads players away from the paytable that matters.
The first is that a machine is “due” a royal flush after a long dry spell. Each deal is independent, drawn by the random number generator from a fresh deck, so a thousand hands without a royal leave the odds on the next hand exactly where they were.
The second is that a strong session proves a machine is generous. One evening of a few hundred hands tells you almost nothing about a game whose return depends heavily on a hand seen perhaps once in forty thousand deals. Only the paytable and the stated RTP describe the long run, and both are readable before you start.
A third myth holds that strategy can rescue a poor table. It cannot. Perfect play on 8/5 Jacks or Better still returns 97.30%, and no decision at the draw wins back the coin taken from the full house and flush.
Finally, a return above 100% does not turn video poker into income. The figure assumes flawless strategy over a very long run, and the variance along the way can drain a bankroll well before the average appears, so set a budget and keep to it whatever the paytable says.
Related Terms
Video poker paytable questions answered
What does 9/6 mean in video poker?
In Jacks or Better, 9/6 means a full house pays 9 for 1 and a flush pays 6 for 1. It identifies the full-pay table, which returns 99.54% with perfect strategy.
How much worse is 8/5 Jacks or Better?
Published analyses put 8/5 at 97.30% against 99.54% for 9/6. The house edge rises from 0.46% to 2.70%, close to six times the average cost.
Do I need to bet maximum coins?
Published returns assume maximum coins, because the royal flush usually jumps from 250 to 800 per coin at five coins. Playing fewer coins lowers the return below the quoted figure.
Can a video poker machine be due a royal flush?
No. Each deal comes from a fresh shuffle by the random number generator, so past hands have no effect on the next one, however long the dry spell.
Where can I find the RTP of an online game?
Open the game’s help or information screen, where the studio states the return. Casinos can host different RTP versions of one title, so that screen shows the figure that applies.
More about online casinos
What we check first is the Jacks or Better pair of lines, because the gap between 9/6 and 8/5 is larger than most players expect. These figures come from published strategy analyses and assume perfect play at maximum coins. A full-pay Deuces Wild table above 100% is rare online, so treat it as a reference point rather than a promise.