The exact hold priority for the games that matter. Scan each chart from the top and play the first pattern your dealt hand matches — that is your optimal hold.
A video poker strategy chart turns perfect play into a single ordered list. Every possible hold is ranked by expected value, so you never have to calculate at the machine — you just find the highest pattern your five cards contain and hold those cards. The charts below are ordered by our engine's exact per-hand EV. For the precise best play on any specific hand, including rare edge cases the simplified chart rounds over, use the live analyzer.
Hold the first pattern that applies, reading top to bottom:
Deuces Wild strategy is organised by how many deuces you're dealt — always keep every deuce, then apply the rule for that count:
This is the simplified NSU chart. Deuces Wild has a few close edge cases; the analyzer below always gives the exact optimal hold.
Set a hand, pick a pay table, and the analyzer returns the exact optimal hold and the EV of every option:
The order is everything. When two patterns overlap — say a low pair that's also part of a four-card straight — the chart tells you which one wins by listing it higher. Memorise the top ten lines first (they cover the vast majority of hands), drill them in the trainer, and only then worry about the tail. And always confirm the pay table first: these charts assume 9/6 Jacks or Better and full/NSU Deuces — a poorer schedule shifts a few lines. See how much the pay table matters on our house edge page.
A video poker strategy chart works the same way for every game: it ranks every possible hold by expected value, so playing video poker perfectly is just finding the highest line your five cards match and holding those cards. Read the chart top to bottom and stop at the first pattern that fits. When two patterns overlap — a low pair that is also four cards to a straight, say — the chart resolves it by listing the winner higher. Memorise the top ten lines first; they cover the vast majority of video poker hands. The rest of the chart handles the rare edge cases, and the analyzer above settles any hand the chart rounds over.
Two things make a strategy chart exact rather than a rule of thumb. First, it is built from the true probability of every draw, not intuition. Second, it is tied to a specific pay table — these charts assume full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better and NSU Deuces. A weaker pay table shifts a few lines, so always confirm the game before trusting a chart, and check the video poker pay tables if you're unsure what you're looking at.
Jacks or Better is the foundation, and most video poker games borrow its strategy chart with small changes. Bonus Poker and Double Bonus Poker use nearly the same chart as Jacks or Better, adjusted for their bigger four-of-a-kind payouts. The wild-card games are the real departure: in Deuces Wild the two wild cards make big hands common, so pairs pay nothing and the whole strategy chart is organised by how many wild cards you hold. Whichever game you play, the principle is identical — a good strategy chart plus a full-pay pay table is the entire edge. Compare the returns of every game on our house edge page.
No video poker strategy chart works without the max bet. Betting five coins is part of correct play because the royal flush only pays its full 800-for-1 jackpot at max bet — bet fewer coins and the biggest hand in the game pays a fraction of what it should. Whatever the game or the strategy chart, always bet five coins; drop the coin denomination if you need to manage your bankroll. Perfect strategy on a short bet still leaves money on the table.
Learning to use video poker strategy well is the difference between a casual player and a strong one. A better video poker player leans on the chart for the routine hands and the analyzer for the close ones — that's how you play video poker at close to its theoretical return. The same discipline applies whether you're on a machine in a casino or playing video poker at an online casino: read the pay table, use the strategy chart, and check the tricky hands. Among all casino games, video poker rewards this preparation more than most, because a Double Bonus Poker or Bonus Poker player who knows the chart and the poker pay schedule genuinely shifts the odds. Master the chart, and every video poker game gets easier. The analyzer will show you the optimal strategy for any hand and any bet size, so you never have to guess at the machine.
Chart order verified against our engine's exact per-hand EV over all 2,598,960 deals. Educational content, not gambling advice.