The single most important skill in video poker is picking the right game. Two machines can look identical and deal the same cards, yet pay back wildly different amounts — the difference is the pay table. The best video poker games pair a high-return pay table with a strategy you can actually learn, so your money lasts and, on the top games, the math even tips in your favour. This page ranks the best video poker games by their full-pay payback, explains which suits which kind of player, and shows you how to spot the best machine on any casino floor.
Best video poker games by payback
Here are the best video poker games at their full-pay pay tables, ranked by return to a perfect player:
| Game (full-pay) | Payback | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Deuces Wild (full-pay) | 100.76% ✓ | Highest return, wild-card fans |
| Double Bonus Poker (10/7) | 100.17% | Big quads, positive edge |
| Joker Poker (Kings, full-pay) | 100.6% | Joker/wild-card variety |
| NSU Deuces Wild | 99.73% ✓ | Common full-ish Deuces |
| 9/6 Jacks or Better | 99.54% ✓ | Beginners, low variance |
| Bonus Poker (8/5) | 99.17% | Easy strategy, quad bonus |
| Double Double Bonus (9/6) | 98.98% | High variance, big jackpots |
✓ = payback computed by our engine over all 2,598,960 deals. Others are the standard published full-pay figures. Every payback assumes perfect strategy and a five-coin max bet.
Best for beginners: Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker
If you are new to video poker, the best games are 9/6 Jacks or Better and 8/5 Bonus Poker. Both are low variance, forgiving, and return over 99% with a strategy that is quick to learn — Bonus Poker even shares its chart with Jacks or Better. These are the video poker games to cut your teeth on: your bankroll swings gently, mistakes cost little, and you build the habits every other game rewards. Master one of these two poker games first and the rest of the floor opens up.
Best return: Deuces Wild and Double Bonus
For pure payback, the best video poker games are full-pay Deuces Wild at 100.76% and 10/7 Double Bonus Poker at 100.17% — both return over 100% to a perfect player. That is a real, mathematical player edge, which is why these full-pay machines are increasingly rare and worth walking the floor to find. The catch is strategy: Deuces Wild plays nothing like Jacks or Better because the four wild deuces change every decision, and Double Bonus Poker demands precise quad-focused play. The return is the best in the casino, but only if your strategy is sharp.
Joker Poker and Double Double Bonus Poker
Two more games round out the best video poker lineup. Joker Poker adds a 53rd card — a wild joker — and its full-pay "Kings or Better" version returns about 100.6%, making it one of the best video poker games for players who like wild-card variety. Double Double Bonus Poker is the high-variance favourite: it pays a jackpot for four aces with the right kicker, so sessions swing hard, but the full-pay version sits near break-even. If you chase big video poker games with lottery-style excitement, double double bonus poker is the one — just bring a bigger bankroll, and learn our Double Double Bonus strategy before you play.
How to find the best video poker machine
The best game in the world is worthless at a short-pay table, so always read the pay table before you sit. On Jacks or Better and its bonus poker cousins, check the full house and flush lines — 9/6 and 8/5 are the full-pay targets, and every step down is money out of your pocket. On Deuces Wild, check the five-of-a-kind and straight-flush payouts. The same game can appear in full-pay and short-pay versions side by side, so the machines that look identical rarely are. Our pay tables guide shows exactly how to grade any video poker game in seconds.
Why the best video poker beats other casino games
Walk any casino floor and video poker quietly offers some of the best odds in the building. A full-pay video poker game returns far more than casino slots, casino keno or most casino table games, and unlike those casino games your skill directly changes the result. That is what separates video poker from the rest of the casino: the casino sets the pay table, but you set the strategy. Whether you prefer the low-variance casino grind of Jacks or Better or the wild swings of double double bonus poker, no other casino game hands a thinking player this much control for so little house edge — which is exactly why the best video poker machines are the smartest seats in the casino.
Play the best video poker well
Picking the best video poker game is only half the job — you capture that payback only with correct play. Whatever game you choose, check any hand against exact math with our analyzer, drill correct holds in the free trainer, and study the ordered strategy chart. See exactly how much every game returns, side by side, on our house edge page. Find a full-pay machine, bet five coins, and play the chart — that is the entire recipe for beating the best video poker games in the casino.
Paybacks marked ✓ are computed by our engine; others are standard published full-pay figures. Educational content about probability and game theory, not gambling advice.