Editing Video poker (section)

==Full pay games==
When modern video poker games first appeared, the highest-paying common variant of a particular game was called "full-pay". Game variants returning a lower payback percentage were termed "short-pay". Though the term full-pay is still in use, many game variants return more. Payback percentage expresses the long-term [[expected value]] of the player's wager as a percentage if the game is played perfectly. A payback percentage of 99 percent, for example, indicates that for each $100 wagered, in the long run, the player would expect to lose $1 if they played every hand in the optimal way. Full-pay Jacks or Better, for example, offers a payback percentage of 99.54%. Some payback percentages on full-pay games are often close to or over 100 percent.

Casinos do not usually advertise payback percentages, leaving it up to the player to identify which video poker machines offer the best schedules.

The payoff schedules for most video poker machines are configured with a pay schedule that pays proportionally more for certain hands (such as a royal flush) when the maximum number of credits (typically 5 coins) is bet. Therefore, players who do not play with the maximum number of credits at a time are playing with a lower theoretical return.

===Jacks or Better===

"Jacks or Better," sometimes called "Draw Poker," is the most common variation of video poker. Payoffs begin at a pair of jacks. Full pay Jacks or Better is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better since the payoff for a full house is 9 times the bet, and the payoff for a flush is 6 times the bet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wizardofodds.com/games/video-poker/analyzer/|title=Video Poker Analyzer – Wizard of Odds|website=[[Michael Shackleford|wizardofodds.com]]}}</ref> Sometimes, 10/6 and 9/7 versions of Jacks or Better can be found as promotions.<ref>Video Poker Optimum Play, Dan Paymar, Table 9: Attractiveness Quotient of Selected Games, page 175, {{ISBN|1-886070-11-3}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Hand !! Prize !! Combinations !! Probability !!  Return
|-
| Royal Flush || 800 || 41,126,022 || 0.000025 || 1.9807%
|-
| Straight Flush || 50 || 181,573,608 || 0.000109 || 0.5465%
|-
| Four of a kind || 25|| 3,924,430,647 || 0.002363 || 5.9064%
|-
| Full House || 9 || 19,122,956,883 || 0.011512 || 10.3610%
|-
| Flush || 6 || 18,296,232,180 || 0.011015 || 6.6087%
|-
| Straight || 4 || 18,653,130,482 || 0.011229 || 4.4918%
|-
| Three of a kind || 3 || 123,666,922,527 || 0.074449 || 22.3346%
|-
| Two Pair || 2 || 214,745,513,679 || 0.129279 || 25.8558%
|-
| Jacks or Better || 1 || 356,447,740,914 || 0.214585 || 21.4585%
|-
| All Other || 0 || 906,022,916,158 || 0.545435 || 0.0000%
|-
| Totals || – || 1,661,102,543,100 || 1.000000 || 99.5439%
|}

===Bally's All American===
Bally Technologies '''All American''' video poker is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flushes, but reduced payout for full houses and two pairs (8–8–8–3–1 versus 9–6–4–3–2). The full pay version (quads return 50 bets), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few. [[International Game Technology|IGT]]'s version of the game is called USA Poker.

===Tens or Better===<!-- This section is linked from [[Tens or better]] -->
"Tens or Better" is a variation of 6/5 Jacks or Better. The minimum paying hand is a pair of tens, rather than a pair of Jacks. Strategy is similar between the two games, in spite of the very different full house and flush payouts.

===Joker's Wild===
"Joker's Wild", as the name implies, adds a [[joker (playing card)|joker]] to the mix. The joker is fully wild and substitutes to make stronger hands. The inclusion of the wild joker also adds another winning hand in 5-of-a-kind. The game's name inspired a [[The Joker's Wild|game show of the same name]]. The full pay version of Joker Two Pair or better (6–7–8), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few.

===Deuces Wild===
"Deuces Wild" is a variation of video poker in which all twos are wild. (Wild cards substitute for any other card in the deck in order to make a better poker hand). In Deuces Wild, the payout for a four of a kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payback percentage of the game, and a four of a kind occurs on average approximately every fifteen hands. Deuces Wild can be found with pay schedules that offer a theoretical return as high as 100.8 percent, when played with perfect strategy. This full-pay version was found only in Nevada, with the last operating machine at [[Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, Las Vegas|Sam's Town Las Vegas]] until March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mehaffey |first=John |date=2023-03-07 |title=Full Pay Deuces Wild Is Now Extinct {{!}} Vegas Advantage |url=https://vegasadvantage.com/full-pay-deuces-wild-is-now-extinct/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Hand !! 1 credit !! 2 credits !! 3 credits !! 4 credits !! 5 credits
|-
| Natural Royal Flush || 300 || 600 || 900 || 1200 || 4000
|-
| Four Deuces || 200 || 400 || 600 || 800 || 1000
|-
| Wild Royal Flush || 25 || 50 || 75 || 100 || 125
|-
| Five of a Kind || 15 || 30 || 45 || 60 || 75
|-
| Straight Flush || 9 || 18 || 27 || 36 || 45
|-
| Four of a Kind || 5 || 10 || 15 || 20 || 25
|-
| Full House || 3 || 6 || 9 || 12 || 15
|-
| Flush || 2 || 4 || 6 || 8 || 10
|-
| Straight || 2 || 4 || 6 || 8 || 10
|-
| Three of a Kind || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
|-
| Theoretical Return || 99.7% || 99.7% || 99.7% || 99.7% || 100.8%
|}

Variations are available that pay different amounts for the quad "deuces", such as Double Deuces (2000), Loose Deuces (2500), Triple Deuces (3000), and Royal Deuces (4000). Full pay Loose Deuces (25–17–10), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered.

===Sigma Flush Attack===
Sigma Flush Attack is a combination of video poker and a banking slot, in this case what is being banked is flushes.<ref>Robbing the One-Armed Bandits, Charles Lund, 1999, {{ISBN|091057510X}}, page 37ff</ref> After 3,4, or 5 flushes (varies by machine), the machine switches into "flush attack mode" in which the next flush pays 100 or 125 credits instead of the more usual 30 credits of 9–6 Jacks or Better. Some of these machines are linked, which means players can simply wait for someone else to put the bank in flush attack mode, or alternately with non-linked machines a player can play after observing a previous player hit flushes but not enough to trigger the flush attack, a practice called "vulturing". The higher payoff of the flush attack represents one of the higher overlays of video poker. These machines, once common, are now relatively rare.

===Bonus Poker===
"Bonus Poker" is a video poker game based on [[#Jacks or Better|Jacks or Better]], but Bonus Poker offers a higher payout percentage for four of a kind. The full-pay version of this game returns 90.9%. (3)
The game has multiple versions featuring different bonus payouts based on the ranking of the four of a kind.

===Double Bonus===
"Double Bonus" video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better with a bonus payout for four aces. This variation offers up to a theoretical return of 100.2 percent, when played with perfect strategy — however, this % is only on a "10/7" version video poker game (10/7 being the payouts for a full house and a flush). There are many other video poker varieties of 10/6, 9/6, etc. that have slightly lower than the most generous 10/7 version payout. Although the full-pay version has a theoretically-positive return, few play well enough to capitalize on it. Double Bonus is a complex game.(4)

It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Hand !! 1 credit !! 2 credits !! 3 credits !! 4 credits !! 5 credits
|-
| Royal Flush || 250 || 500 || 750 || 1000 || 4000
|-
| Straight Flush || 50 || 100 || 150 || 200 || 250
|-
| Four Aces || 160 || 320 || 480 || 640 || 800
|-
| Four 2, 3, or 4 || 80 || 160 || 240 || 320 || 400
|-
| Four 5-K || 50 || 100 || 150 || 200 || 250
|-
| Full House || 10 || 20 || 30 || 40 || 50
|-
| Flush || 7 || 14 || 21 || 28 || 35
|-
| Straight || 5 || 10 || 15 || 20 || 25
|-
| Three of a Kind || 3 || 6 || 9 || 12 || 15
|-
| Two Pair || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
|-
| Jacks or Better || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
|-
| Theoretical Return || 99.1% || 99.1% || 99.1% || 99.1% || 100.2%
|}

===Double Double Bonus===
"Double Double Bonus" video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better which offers bonus payoffs for different four of a kinds, as seen in the payout table below. Full pay Double Double Bonus can be found with pay schedules that offer up to a theoretical return of 100.1 percent, when played with perfect strategy. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Hand !! 1 credit !! 2 credits !! 3 credits !! 4 credits !! 5 credits
|-
| Royal Flush || 250 || 500 || 750 || 1000 || 4000
|-
| Straight Flush || 50 || 100 || 150 || 200 || 250
|-
| Four Aces w/2, 3, or 4 || 400 || 800 || 1200 || 1600 || 2000
|-
| Four 2, 3, or 4 w/A-4 || 160 || 320 || 480 || 640 || 800
|-
| Four Aces || 160 || 320 || 480 || 640 || 800
|-
| Four 2, 3, or 4 || 80 || 160 || 240 || 320 || 400
|-
| Four 5-K || 50 || 100 || 150 || 200 || 250
|-
| Full House || 10 || 20 || 30 || 40 || 50
|-
| Flush || 6 || 12 || 18 || 24 || 30
|-
| Straight || 4 || 8 || 12 || 16 || 20
|-
| Three of a Kind || 3 || 6 || 9 || 12 || 15
|-
| Two Pair || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
|-
| Jacks or Better || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
|-
| Theoretical Return || 98.9% || 98.9% || 98.9% || 98.9% || 100.1%
|}