Read the pay table first
| Full house / flush pays | Return with perfect play |
|---|---|
| 9 / 6 | About 99.5% |
| 8 / 6 | About 98.4% |
| 8 / 5 | About 97.3% |
| 7 / 5 | About 96.2% |
| 6 / 5 | About 95.0% |
The royal flush pays 250 per coin with one to four coins and 800 per coin with five. Playing fewer than five coins costs over 1% of return, so choose a smaller coin size rather than fewer coins.
Which cards to hold
The order below covers most hands. Hold the first option in the list that your hand contains.
- Four to a royal flush, or any paying hand of a straight or better.
- Three of a kind, two pair, a high pair (jacks or better).
- Four to a straight flush.
- Three to a royal flush.
- Four to a flush.
- Low pair (twos to tens).
- Four to an open-ended straight.
- Two suited high cards.
- Three to a straight flush.
- Two unsuited high cards (the lowest two if you have three).
- One high card. Otherwise discard all five.
Bankroll
Video poker swings more than its low edge suggests, because a big share of the return sits in the rare royal flush, about once in 40,000 hands. On a $1.25 bet (five coins of $0.25), a budget of 200 to 300 bets, $250 to $375, gives a realistic session.
Video poker often counts at a reduced rate toward bonus wagering, or not at all. Check the contribution table before you claim.