You’re reading the ultimate online video poker guide for 2025. Video poker is a game based on a five-card draw that has a very low house edge, so it’s commonly played by players who prefer this to blackjack, as the house edge is almost the same. We’ll explain what makes video poker so popular and how and where to play it, so keep reading.
Some of the key things you’ll find on this page are:
It goes without saying, all the online casinos you see on this page will let you play video poker online for real money. You’ll make a deposit and you can then play any game you like. When you’re done, you’ll be able to withdraw your winnings.
We review each casino we feature here at PlaySlots4RealMoney.com. We put the casino through our stringent review process, our reviewers actually play for real money, contact customer support, claim the bonuses, and finally request a withdrawal. That allows us to be confident in our review of a casino. If there are any red flags raised, a casino won’t appear on PlaySlots4RealMoney.com.
Of the casinos that pass our tests, we carefully selected those that are particularly useful for video poker, and we present them to you on this page. Click any of the links to sign up, claim your bonus, and start playing video poker.
Video poker is generally a very favorable game with a low house edge, where a correct strategy can be applied to win money. The different rules of individual video poker games make for all the fun, and these rules also make the game better or worse than the others. There are those variations of video poker that are firm player favorites.
Jacks or Better – The most basic of all online video poker games, Jacks or Better pays when you hold a pair of Jacks at least, otherwise the house wins. This is the preferred game for learning how to play video poker online and for learning how to apply the correct strategy. It’s important to choose 9/6 Jacks or Better, if available, as it means it pays 6 coins for a flush and 9 for a full house.
Bonus Poker – This variant is essentially Jacks or Better, but with payouts for four-of-a-kind that depend on which cards you have, so four Aces will pay 80 coins while Jacks will pay 25. This is a more volatile game that inherently forces you to aim for four-of-a-kind wins.
Deuces Wild – Probably the most famous video poker version, in which all 2s are Wild. The Wild cards open up some new pays like five-of-a-kind, wild royal flush, and four deuces.
Joker Poker – Also known as Joker’s Wild, this variant introduces an additional card in the deck, a Joker, that can substitute for all other cards. This also opens up some new pays like five-of-a-kind. There are different versions of this game, Kings or Better, Aces or Better and Two Pairs or Better.
Double Bonus – In this version you’ll enjoy increased wins for all four-of-a-kind wins as well as four Aces. This is known to be a very volatile video poker variant, so you’re in for a wild ride if you decide to play this one.
Video poker is one of those games that are easy to play, but difficult to master. As soon as you play a few hands you’ll feel like you own the game already and know all there is to it, but in fact there is a strategy that needs to be applied if you want to make a consistent profit.
First of all, the variant of the video poker game that you play – refer to the list of most popular ones below – influences what the correct playing style is a lot. Some games pay better for certain combinations, which means you’ll be biased towards those combinations when it’s time to discard a card. Also, most games pay better when you play them with a 5 coin bet, so keep that in mind.
The correct playing strategy always applies only to a single video poker variant, and there is no general strategy that could be applied to all poker variants, because the rules and the payouts are different.
If you chose your game carefully, examined the paytable, and decided what combinations do you want to strive towards, and have a pretty good understanding of the correct discarding strategy – then all that’s left to do is to simply discard the correct cards.
If you’re doing it properly, in the long run you should be able to make a profit, or at least you will lose very little of your budget.
Video poker is a highly mathematical game, and its outcomes are not based solely on luck. You’re counting more on your mathematically sound decisions to guide your strategy, and then sticking to them. Before you begin playing video poker, make sure you understand the mechanics of the game. Let’s talk about some key strategy points to help you maximise your winnings in video poker.
Learn how to read a pay table. A pay table has the information that will allow you to understand the RTP of the game, and it is the most important piece of information you need before playing. Look at the numbers in front of you, and look for payouts you are getting for a Full house or a Flush.
Full Pay vs. Short Pay machines: You will most likely find both types of video poker machines in a casino. A full pay machine is going to offer the best possible video poker odds for the game you’re playing. Take Jacks or Better as an example, a Full Pay machine will likely have 9/6 odds, meaning that you’ll get 9 coins for a full house and 6 coins for a flush on a single bet. Whereas, Short Pay machines will offer odds with a high house edge. Short pay machines are great for the casino, but not for the player, as you are leaving money on the table for the casino voluntarily.
Bankroll Management: Understanding the importance of proper bankroll management is key. You should know exactly what your budget is before you even sit down and make sure that you stick to it. Figure out the best coin denomination for your bankroll. Say you have a budget of $100, you should be looking at smaller denominations of 25 to 50 cents to make sure that you are giving yourself enough leeway to absorb the natural variance in the game. Playing with a higher coin will most likely end up constricting you, and you won’t be able to apply your strategy effectively.
Finally, always follow these quick tips for a successful video poker session every time. Play maximum coins whenever possible, as the payouts are always larger for a Royal Flush or a Max Coin bet. You just need to hit it once. Maintain a game-specific strategy chart and apply it with commitment. We have seen players applying Jacks or Better strategy while playing Deuces Wild, which is a recipe for disaster.
The most important thing to remember while playing video poker is to leave emotions at the door. Never make decisions based on ‘gut feeling’, and stick to the long-term strategy to come out ahead every single time.
To reinforce what we said in the previous section, we will now present you with the optimal strategy for playing the simplest and most common form of video poker, which would be Jacks or Better.
It is assumed you’re playing the 9/6 Jacks or Better game that pays 6 coins for Flush and 9 coins for Full House. The strategy dictates which card you keep and which ones you discard. Of course, you always keep Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush and Straight.
This is what you do with the other made or almost made big hands.
And this is what to do with the other hands. These would be the most important decisions to make in video poker. Note, for example, that keeping a low pair is much higher on the priority list than keeping a high card such as an Ace – indicating that it’s the low pairs you should keep and not the Ace if you have both.
This is a simpler variant of the optimal strategy, and if you follow it you should reach RTP of 99.50% in the long run.
If you have mastered the Jacks or Better winning strategy, you’ll do well in Bonus Poker if you remember that there are higher payouts for four-of-a-kind hands. This means that you should always be on the hunt for premium quads such as four Aces. Unlike Jacks or Better, you have to be willing to break up low-paying winning hands for the ultimate glory of a quad payout. Let’s say you are holding a Flush in your hand, but three of those cards are Aces, you should discard. In short, the strategy is to prioritize high-paying hands, such as four-of-a-kind, instead of smaller hands.
Key information to remember in Dueces Wild is that the four 2s are wild cards. With that in mind, the winning strategy is to never discard a deuce. No matter what hand you’re dealt, always keep the deuces in your hand. If you are not dealt a deuce, you should proceed similarly to Jacks or Better, but discard more aggressively in search of a deuce. Because the pay table is adjusted for the wild cards, you need bigger hands to get paid, so drawing to a Straight or Flush is often more important than holding a high pair.
Joker Poker, also referred to as Joker’s Wild, includes an extra card in the game as a wild card. This wild card is The Joker. The safest strategy here is to always hold on to the Joker card. Always adjust your strategy based on the specific pay table while holding on to the Joker. Play for the high cards, as you’ll need high cards such as Aces and Kings to combine with the Joker to get a higher payout.
To get started with video poker, you should follow the steps outlined below. You’ll be playing in no time.
Whether you play real money or Free Games depends on your ultimate goal. Most players use free games to learn and practice strategies for different variants of the game. You should use these free games to learn the pay tables and get the feel of the game without risking your own money. Once you have built the confidence of being able to apply strategies, it’s time to switch to real money. That’s where you test your skills and make real money. Here is a comparison of real money vs free games.
| Play for Real Money | Play Free |
| Win actual cash payouts. | Risk-free practice. |
| Access to casino bonuses and promotions. | Learn rules and strategy without pressure. |
| The full thrill and excitement of gambling. | Test different video poker variants. |
| Required for entry into tournaments. | No financial commitment needed. |
You win at video poker by learning the general rules of the game, by choosing the correct game to play and learning its specific rules and payouts, and by applying the correct strategy for holding and discarding your initial cards. That’s when the game starts paying out nicely, and if these things aren’t applied, then you’re playing a losing game.
Every hand of video poker is independent of all that came before it, so it is impossible to know when will video poker hit a certain combination.
Jacks or Better video poker rules are simple – you win the hand if you hold at least a pair of Jacks, otherwise the house wins. The game is deceptively simple to play but in fact it involves a great deal of strategy, such as learning to hold the low pair instead of a high card, because that produces a better ROI in the long run.
Video poker is an automated game of chance where you’re supposed to make a decision on which cards to keep. Your decisions matter, so they will directly influence the profitability of your game. But in the end, you’ll depend heavily on the cards you’ve been dealt.
Video poker is generally a casino game with the highest RTP of all games, except maybe for live dealer blackjack. Of all the video poker versions, it seems Deuces Wild and Joker Wild games have the highest payout – though almost every single video poker game has RTP over 99%.
Video poker online games generally have RTP over 99%, with some getting close to 100% – in theory. This makes video poker among the games with highest payouts.
