Video Poker Strategy

Video poker is a popular casino pursuit, known for its low house edge and its fast and exciting pace. Various types of video poker exist. The four most common are Deuces Wild, Jokers Wild, Jacks or Better and All American. Each variation of video poker offers different incentives to the player and so obviously each requires a different strategy in order to win. The following information lists some useful game strategies to remember when playing these four popular versions of video poker.

Deuces Wild Video Poker

If a player has only a single two in his hand, he should try holding onto these hands in order of preference:

• Royal Flushes over Straights, Straight Flushes and Flushes
• All varieties of Straight Flushes
• All varieties of Royal Flushes
• All Flushes
• All Straights
• All Straight Flushes
• All Inside Straights
• All Jack or Queen High Straight Flushes

If a player is in possession of two two’s, he should try holding onto these hands in order of preference:

• Those cards with potential to make a Royal Flush, Five of a Kind or Straight
• Those cards with potential to make Four of a Kind
• Those cards with potential to make Four of a Royal Flush

If a player is in possession of three two’s, he should try holding onto these hands in order of preference:

• Those cards that will make Five of a Kind or a Royal Flush

Obviously if the player has four two’s he should keep them. The same applies to any Five of a Kinds or Royal Flushes.

Being prepared to throw away unnecessary cards is a useful habit to get into when playing Deuces Wild. Many players tend to retain unwanted cards and in doing so miss the opportunities to make a Deuce.

It is also worthwhile to hold onto Inside Straights when playing a Deuces Wild version of video poker. This increases your chances of obtaining a Deuce and could win you a sizeable jackpot.

All American Video Poker

Your strategy in All American is to get as many Flushes and Straights as you can. Bearing this in mind, you should onto cards of three that could make a Flush. Pairs and High Pairs should give way to Four Card Straights and Four Card Flushes, and Inside Straights should receive precedence over random high cards.

Jokers Wild Video Poker
Only Aces and Kings are the goal in this version of video poker. So it is worthwhile to remember the following:

• Aim for Straight Flushes which are more common in this version
• Discard any Inside Straights
• Always keep a Joker
• Discard pairs if you can already have three cards on your way to a Straight Flush

• Try for Straight Flushes
• Try for High Card Pairs
• Try for three card Royal Flushes
• Try for four card Flushes
• Try for Three of a Kind, which means retaining low card pairs
• Hold four card Straights
• Hold any two cards of the same suit
• Try for four mixed high cards, three of which share the same suit
• Try for three mixed high face cards, e.g., Jack, Queen, King
• Try for two mixed high cards or any one high card