Learn which cards to hold, find the best paying machines, and understand your odds — whether you play 1 hand or 100.
Pick your path — no experience required.
What is video poker? How does a hand work? Which game should I play first? Get a simple, jargon-free intro.
Start the beginner guide →Enter your dealt hand and see the best hold instantly — ranked by expected value. The right play is always #1.
Open the analyzer →Not all machines pay the same. Compare 30+ game variants and find the ones with the best return rates.
Browse the game finder →Free tools to help you make smarter decisions at every machine.
Type in any 5-card deal and see every possible hold ranked by expected value. Uses the full optimal video poker strategy table.
Best Tool for BeginnersHow risky is your game? See variance, expected loss per hour, and bankroll requirements for any game and hand count.
Multi-HandFull paytables for every major video poker variant. See the RTP, variance rating, and how multi-hand changes your odds.
30+ VariantsUltimate X multipliers, Spin Poker, Super Times Pay, Triple Play — not all multi-hand poker is the same. Learn the formats and find the one that fits your style.
Ultimate X & MoreEach game has its own strategy. Pick yours and learn the right plays.
The classic. Best game for beginners — simple strategy, low variance, great odds. Start here.
View strategy chart →All 2s are wild. One of the only games where the odds favor you — if you find a full-pay machine.
View strategy chart →Big four-of-a-kind payouts. Positive odds on the best paytable — for experienced players.
View strategy chart →The highest-variance common game. Huge quads payouts, big swings. Exciting multi-hand play.
View strategy chart →Like Jacks or Better with bonus payouts for four Aces. An easy step up from the basics.
View strategy chart →53-card deck with a wild Joker. Kings or Better to open. High variance, explosive multi-hand potential.
View strategy chart →Video poker strategy is a set of rules for which cards to hold in any dealt hand. Unlike slots, your decisions directly affect the expected return. With the right strategy, Jacks or Better pays back 99.54% — one of the best odds in any casino.
Video poker odds vary by game and paytable. The best full-pay games return 99.54% (Jacks or Better 9/6) to 100.76% (Full Pay Deuces Wild). That means for every $100 you bet long-term, you keep $99.54 to $100.76 — far better than most slot machines. Always check the paytable before sitting down.
Start with Jacks or Better 9/6. It's the most widely available, has the simplest strategy, and offers the best combination of low variance and good odds for beginners. Once you're comfortable, explore higher-variance games with bigger payouts.
In slots, every spin is purely random — your choices don't matter. In video poker, you choose which cards to keep, and that directly affects your odds. With the right strategy, video poker has some of the best published return rates in the casino. The math is transparent and verifiable from the paytable.
Multi-hand lets you play 3, 5, 10, 50, or 100 simultaneous hands from a single deal. You pick your holds once, and each hand draws independently. The expected return per dollar is the same as single-hand play — but variance and bankroll requirements scale with hand count.
Start with the beginner guide or jump straight to the strategy analyzer.