Free Video Poker / Video poker odds
Video poker odds
With correct play, 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% of everything bet over the long run, and a royal flush comes about once in 40,000 hands. Those two numbers are the heart of video poker odds: a very small house edge, carried by a very rare top hand.
How often each hand hits
Final hands in 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect strategy. "One in" is the average number of hands between hits.
| Hand | Share of hands | One in | Share of return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 0.0025% | 40,390 | 1.98% |
| Straight flush | 0.011% | 9,148 | 0.55% |
| Four of a kind | 0.236% | 423 | 5.91% |
| Full house | 1.151% | 87 | 10.36% |
| Flush | 1.101% | 91 | 6.61% |
| Straight | 1.123% | 89 | 4.49% |
| Three of a kind | 7.445% | 13.4 | 22.33% |
| Two pair | 12.928% | 7.7 | 25.86% |
| Jacks or better | 21.459% | 4.7 | 21.46% |
| Nothing | 54.543% | 1.8 | 0 |
Read the last column with the first. The royal is 2% of the return but almost never comes; two pair and three of a kind are half the return and come every few hands. Over a short session you are living on the small hands.
What each game returns
| Game, full-pay table | Return with perfect play | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Deuces Wild 25/15/9/5 | 100.76% | -0.76% |
| Jacks or Better 9/6 | 99.54% | 0.46% |
| Double Double Bonus 9/6 | 98.98% | 1.02% |
| Jacks or Better 8/5 | 97.30% | 2.70% |
Those are perfect-play numbers. Real players give some back with wrong holds, usually one to three percent. The strategy charts close that gap. Video poker strategy.
Against slots and blackjack
A typical slot machine holds 6% to 12%. Blackjack with basic strategy holds about 0.5%. Full-pay video poker with correct play sits with blackjack, at the best odds on the floor, and it needs no dealer and no table minimum.
Why it still feels hard to win
More than half of all hands lose and another fifth push. The return comes in lumps: quads every 400 hands, a royal every 40,000. Between those lumps a session drifts down. That is not a tight machine, that is the shape of the game.
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Questions
What are the odds of a royal flush in video poker?
About 1 in 40,000 hands with correct play in Jacks or Better. Dealt a royal straight off the deal is 1 in 649,740.
What percentage of video poker hands win?
In Jacks or Better about 45% of hands pay something, but 21% are a pair of jacks or better that only returns the bet. Roughly one hand in four is a real win.
Is video poker better odds than slots?
Yes, by a wide margin. Full-pay video poker returns 99% or better with correct play. Most slots return 88% to 94%, and you cannot change that by playing well.
Can you beat video poker?
Only on a handful of tables that return over 100% with perfect play, such as full-pay Deuces Wild, and only over very long play with no mistakes. For everyone else it is the lowest house edge in the casino, not a winning game.
More: How to play video poker · Video poker strategy · Jacks or Better · Deuces Wild · Double Double Bonus · Video poker pay tables · Video poker hands, ranked · Video poker trainer · How to win at video poker