Video Poker RTP Comparison — Pay Tables and Optimal Strategy Returns

Video poker RTP — return to player — is the theoretical percentage of wagered money that a video poker variant returns under specific play conditions. The conditions matter as much as the percentage itself: 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with optimal strategy and 5-credit play, while the 8/5 paytable returns 97.30% under its own optimal strategy. Full Pay Deuces Wild reaches 100.76%, but only with the full-pay schedule, variant-specific optimal strategy, and 5-credit play.

This guide compares RTP across the paytables currently covered on VideoPokerEdge and explains why theoretical return differs from realised session results.

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What RTP means in video poker

RTP is a statistical mean — the long-run average percentage of total wagered money that returns to the player. The complementary value is the house edge: house edge equals 100% minus RTP. A 99.54% RTP corresponds to a 0.46% house edge; a 100.76% RTP corresponds to a -0.76% house edge (a theoretical player edge).

The figure is theoretical. Four conditions must apply for an RTP value to be valid:

• A specific paytable. RTP figures are paytable-specific. “Jacks or Better RTP” without a paytable specification is meaningless — 9/6 returns 99.54%, 8/5 returns 97.30%, 6/5 returns approximately 95%.
• Optimal strategy. RTP assumes optimal play for that specific paytable. Simple or intermediate strategy tiers for the same paytable return slightly less.
• 5-credit play. Published full-pay RTP figures usually assume the 5-credit royal flush schedule. Playing fewer credits lowers the royal-flush value and therefore lowers total return, but the exact reduction depends on the variant and strategy used.
• Sufficient volume. RTP convergence requires very large numbers of hands. Individual sessions, even of thousands of hands, deviate widely from the theoretical figure due to variance.

An RTP claim that does not state these four conditions is incomplete. VideoPokerEdge cites all four with every RTP figure published.

RTP table for covered paytables

Confidence levels reflect verification depth at publication. High indicates Wizard of Odds direct source. Rows marked High have been cross-checked against Wizard of Odds optimal-strategy analyses or summary tables.

Additional video poker variants — Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Joker Poker, Double Double Bonus, and others — exist with their own paytables and RTP profiles. These are not currently documented on this site. For comprehensive cross-variant comparison, the Wizard of Odds video poker tables remain the authoritative reference.

The strategy assumption

RTP figures shown above assume strategy matched to the exact paytable. Closely related paytables (within the same game family) usually have small strategy differences, but structurally different games do not. Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild require separate strategy charts because wild cards change the value of pairs, two pair, royal draws, and made hands.

Strategy tier comparison for the most analysed paytables:

• 9/6 J/B: Simple 99.46%, Intermediate 99.52%, Optimal 99.54%. Simple-vs-optimal cost: 0.08%, or about one total bet every 1,178 hands.
• Full Pay Deuces Wild: Simple 100.71%, Optimal 100.76%. Simple-vs-optimal cost: 0.05%, or about one total bet every 1,869 hands.

Both tier summaries are sourced directly from Wizard of Odds simple-strategy pages. Strategy mismatches between non-matching paytables (for example, using a different game family’s chart) produce larger RTP losses; we have not independently computed these mismatch costs and do not cite specific figures.

For variant-specific strategy detail, see the Jacks or Better strategy and Deuces Wild strategy pages.

The 5-credit play assumption

Most published video poker RTP figures assume 5-credit play because the natural royal flush payout jumps at that level. At 1-4 credits bet, a natural royal commonly pays 250 credits per credit bet; at 5 credits, it pays 4,000 credits total, equivalent to 800 credits per credit bet. The bonus is substantial.

The exact RTP loss from playing fewer than 5 credits varies by variant and strategy. For 9/6 J/B, the drop is roughly 1.4 percentage points; for Full Pay Deuces Wild, roughly 1.2 percentage points. The differences arise from each variant’s specific paytable structure and from optimal strategy adjustments when the royal flush bonus is reduced.

Practical rule: if 5-credit play at a chosen denomination is too expensive, lower the denomination rather than lowering the number of credits. This page does not assign one universal short-credit penalty across all games.

For the full max-credit explanation on a specific paytable, see the 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table guide.

Variance — why RTP does not mean predictable returns

Variance measures how much per-session results swing around the theoretical RTP mean. A higher-variance game needs more hand volume before observed results resemble the published return.

• 9/6 J/B: variance approximately 19.51, standard deviation approximately 4.42 per hand.
• Full Pay Deuces Wild: variance approximately 25.83, standard deviation approximately 5.08 per hand.

Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus variants run higher still — approximately 20-30 variance depending on paytable structure — because of the larger four-of-a-kind multipliers.

Convergence: reliable convergence toward the theoretical 100.76% figure on Full Pay Deuces Wild requires very large hand volumes. The Wizard of Odds estimates that achieving a 90% probability of realising at least 100.66% RTP requires approximately 42,383,720 hands of play. Coming out merely ahead with 90% probability requires approximately 733,790 hands.

Bankroll requirements depend on credit size, session length, stop-loss limits, and tolerance for downswings. A dedicated risk-of-ruin analysis is more appropriate than a fixed universal bankroll rule.

Variant-specific RTP context

Jacks or Better

The 9/6 paytable is the full-pay reference, returning 99.54% under optimal strategy and 5-credit play. Short-pay variants reduce specific paytable cells (full house, flush) and drop RTP measurably. The 8/5 paytable, for example, returns 97.30% — a 2.24 percentage point reduction from full pay, despite looking similar at a glance.

For 9/6 paytable identification and the role of optimal strategy in reaching that 99.54% RTP, see the full-pay reference page and the optimal Jacks or Better strategy page.

Deuces Wild

The Full Pay paytable (25-15-9-5-3-2) reaches 100.76% theoretical RTP under the conditions described in the Full Pay Deuces Wild strategy guide. The fastest identification marker is the Four of a Kind row: 5 indicates Full Pay; 4 indicates NSUD, Illinois Deuces, or another short-pay schedule.

For broader Deuces Wild context including all variants, see the Deuces Wild guide or the pay table comparison with side-by-side variant detail.

Common questions

Is 100% RTP video poker actually beatable?

Theoretically yes, but only over very high volume with optimal strategy and 5-credit play. Full Pay Deuces Wild at 100.76% gives a theoretical 0.76% player edge. Over 10,000 hands at 5 credits per hand, total wagered volume is 50,000 credits and expected gain is about 380 credits before variance. Realised results can differ sharply because Full Pay Deuces Wild has high variance. Most players who claim long-term profit on positive-EV video poker combine the theoretical edge with casino comps, promotional cashback, and other rewards, all of which add small percentages to the base return.

Why is RTP different on the same game at different operators?

Because the paytable differs. The same game name (“Jacks or Better” or “Deuces Wild”) can ship with multiple paytable variants, each with substantially different RTP. The 9/6 J/B paytable returns 99.54%; the 6/5 paytable returns approximately 95%. Always verify the actual paytable in the game interface before playing — the game name alone provides no RTP guarantee.

Does max-credit play matter?

Yes. Most video poker variants pay a substantial bonus on the natural royal flush at 5 credits (typically 800× per credit instead of 250× per credit). Playing fewer credits lowers the royal-flush contribution and therefore lowers total return. The exact reduction depends on the variant. If 5-credit play at a chosen denomination is too expensive, lower the denomination rather than the credit count.