Optimal video poker strategy is a ranked list of every possible hold. Simplified strategy — a dozen rules — plays within about 0.1% of optimal on Jacks or Better. This page gives the simple version, quantifies what it sacrifices, and is honest about where the remaining edge actually lives: the paytable, not the holds.
The simplified hold rules (Jacks or Better)
Work down the list; hold the first match:
1. Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind — hold everything. 2. Four to a royal flush — hold the four, even breaking a made flush or high pair. 3. Full house, flush, straight, three of a kind — hold. 4. Two pair — hold both. 5. High pair (jacks or better) — hold the pair. 6. Three to a royal flush — hold the three. 7. Four to a flush — hold. 8. Low pair (tens or worse) — hold the pair. 9. Four to an outside straight — hold. 10. Two suited high cards — hold. 11. Three to a straight flush — hold. 12. One or two unsuited high cards (lowest count) — hold those. 13. Nothing above — discard all five.
The counterintuitive entries are 5 vs 7 (a high pair beats keeping four to a flush) and 8 vs 9 (a low pair beats chasing the straight). Those two rules alone fix the most expensive common mistakes.
If you want the math: each rule ranks hands by expected value over all draw outcomes. A low pair returns ~0.82 coins per coin; four to an outside straight ~0.68 — the pair wins even though it feels passive. Full optimal play resolves ties this list ignores, worth roughly 0.08% in total on 9/6 JoB.
What the simplification costs
| Play level | Return on 9/6 JoB |
|---|---|
| Optimal (computer-perfect) | 99.54% |
| Simplified rules above | ~99.46% |
| Intuitive play (typical) | 97–98.5% |
The gap between simplified and perfect is a rounding error; the gap between simplified and guessing is 1–2 points. Learn the list, ignore the perfectionism — then spend the attention saved on the paytable check, where a bad table costs 1.1 points per step in seconds.
Practice honestly
Online RNG video poker at minimum stakes is its own trainer: real paytables, real draws, near-zero cost at $0.05–0.25 per hand while the rules become automatic. Free-play modes work too where offered. What does not work is grinding a bonus through video poker — wagering contribution for it is the lowest in most casinos' terms, often 0–10%, exactly because the game returns so much.
The honest ceiling
Video poker with a good paytable and the rules above is the cheapest sustained gambling in the casino — a 0.5% edge game where the price is printed on the screen. It is still a negative-expectation game everywhere common paytables are spread. The historical 100%+ full-pay machines are museum pieces; treat anyone selling video poker as income accordingly.