Hand Rankings

Hand	Example
Royal flush	10h-Jh-Qh-Kh-Ah
Straight flush	4c-5c-6c-7c-8c
Four-of-a-kind	2c-2d-2s-2h-7c
Full house	5c-5s-5h-Jh-Jd
Flush	3s-4s-9s-Qs-As
Straight	8h-9s-10h-Js-Qc
Three-of-a-kind	Ks-Kh-Kd-Js-10h
Two pair	Qd-Qc-5c-5s-2d
Pair	Jc-Jd-As-7c-2h
High card	Kc-10h-7d-3c-2s

Online video poker rules

Jacks or Better is the most famous and popular game. This gives you a payout for every hand you make with a pair of jacks or better.

Here are the rules for Jacks or Better, but every video poker game is similar to the below: 

1. Choose your stake

Enter your stake. Always bet with what you are comfortable losing, but with this game, it’s always best to bet five coins, i.e. the max bet per hand (not necessarily stake). This gives you bigger payouts for big hands and keeps the house edge low. 

2. First deal

After bets are placed, you’ll receive five random playing cards. Luck is key here. You can be dealt a bad hand, a great hand, or an in-between hand. 

3. Hold or discard

Assess your hand. Here you have the choice to get rid of your cards and replace them with new ones. You can choose to change just one card or discard all of them.

There are numerous cheat cards you can find online that tell you the best strategy to use, when to keep cards, and when to discard. 

In simple terms, unless you have a ‘premium’ hand straight away, you always want to try and improve your hand into something better. This means getting rid of low-value cards that aren’t pairs. Remember, you need at least a pair of jacks to get paid. 

4. Second deal

Unless you keep all your cards, the cards you have selected to be discarded are replaced with new ones. This completes your hand – there are no further swaps. 

5. Payout

Next, your hand is compared to the paytable. You receive your winnings based on that. For Jacks or Better and most other video poker games, you need at least a pair of jacks for a payout. 

The exception is 10s or Better, in which you need at least a pair of 10s, but it’s less common to find that.

Strategy

Video Poker is an anomaly among casino games as it’s possible to find games with an edge in your favour. That is, if you play perfect strategy every hand, you can beat the casino.

The aim of video poker is to create the best hand possible, but you aren’t going to hit big hands every time, and there’s more value to be had in taking lower-ranked hands to guarantee small wins.

Here are a few beginner’s tips:

Forget the kicker

In regular poker, a kicker can make the difference between winning and losing. The kicker has zero value in video poker, so never be tempted to hold on to a card as a kicker. 

Play 9/6 games

9/6 refers to the odds of getting a full house (9/1) and a flush (6/1). Full pay machines are hard to find online (and even harder offline), but they are essential in keeping the house edge down. 

Playing at 8/5 or even 7/5 paytable gives the advantage back to the casino. Paytables will always be displayed clearly, so you can check before you start playing.

One high card

If you have nothing but a high card (jack or better), discard all the other four cards.

One pair

Always keep the pair and draw three other cards to give yourself the best chance of making three of a kind or even better. 

A straight or better

If you get lucky and hit a straight or better, keep your cards and never discard them. You want to lock in the win.

The only exception would be playing a video poker game like Deuces Wild, where it’s possible to get five of a kind (the wild card becomes any card that can improve your hand). 

In this case, if you had four of a kind, you should draw one card in the hope of hitting the bonus. 

Playing video poker at crypto casinos

Video Poker is a smart choice for casino players, so naturally its popular with intelligent crypto holders.

Join the action in three steps:

1. Choose a trusted Gambling Crypt casino and sign-up
2. Deposit crypto like BTC or LTC instantly
3. Play a range of top video poker games 

Video Poker Frequently Asked Questions