Online Video Poker Paytables

2008 April 03, Charlie Black

We all know that Video Poker is one of the most enjoyable online casino games to play. The house edge is generally very low, which means its one of the best online casino games you can play. This means more bang for your buck. But which version of Video Poker is the best to play?

Games such as All American, Double Bonus, Deuces Wild and Joker Poker are all nice variations, but for the purposes of this article the focus will be on the more popular Jacks or Better (JOB) version of Video Poker.

If you have ever wondered what people mean when they refer to a Video Poker game as 9/6 or 8/5, then here is a quick explanation. The numbers refer to the ratio between the Full House and Flush payouts respectively – so a 9/6 machine would pay 9 coins for a Full House and 6 coins for a Flush.

Any casino player wants the house edge to be as low as possible, whilst still enjoying their game. 9/6 JOB machines, coupled with sound strategy, reduces house advantage to a near break-even 0.5%.

Simply put, you will not find a lower house advantage in JOB Video Poker than at 9/6. The only way to be absolutely certain the machine you are playing is 9/6 is to check the paytable. For 9/6 machines you should see the following:

• Royal Flush: 250/4000 (4000 is jackpot payoff for max coins - 5)
• Straight Flush: 50
• Four of a kind: 25
• Full house: 9
• Flush: 6
• Straight: 4
• Three of a kind: 3
• Two Pair: 2
• High Pair: 1

As you can see from the table above, it's recommended that you always bet the maximum of 5 coins. In the event you hit a Royal Flush you would receive 800:1 instead of 250:1. A standard ratio applies to all other hands and, although Royal Flushes are rare, if you were to hit one you would feel silly for not betting 5 coins.

There are only a few online casinos which offer 9/6 or 8/5 JOB. Great 8/5 games can be found at Party Casino and Euro Grand Casino, where the house edge is still very low (approximately 1.5%). However, to find 9/6 machines look no further than InterCasino, where you can find the best Video Poker games online.

Jacks or Better Video Poker is definitely one of the best casino games to play. Just remember to always check the pay scales (9/6 is ideal, but 8/5 is still fine) and bet the maximum coins to increase expectation. Enjoy this classic game for what it is – a whole lot of fun with a low house edge.