Video Poker Strategy Chart

Any player who wishes to win more payouts in video poker can easily do so by just mastering the strategies created for specific video poker games. However, starters may find this task quite challenging and intimidating, especially learning the various poker hands and how to catch them. Fortunately, some video experts have already devised effective mechanisms in the form of a video poker strategy chart to guide players in aiming to get higher-ranked hands.

A video poker strategy chart shows a long list of 40 to 80 possible hands that you can have once you’re dealt with five cards. The list ranks the hands from highest to lowest based on their expected return. Since you won’t always receive a made hand, expect that you must find ways to form better hands.

How does a video poker strategy chart work?

When you’re playing video poker, you can always refer to a strategy chart. You can even bring this inside a casino as having a guide is allowed. So, after receiving five cards, it’s important that you analyze all your cards first before doing anything else. Then look at the chart, starting from the top and work your way down until you find the hand that your cards match up with. Keep in mind that you may find a few matching hands, but only get the one that gives the highest expected return, which, therefore, ranks higher in the chart.
Say you’re playing Deuces Wild, and you’re dealt 10 of hearts, 10 of spades, 10 of diamonds, 8 of hearts, and 5 of clubs. Based on these cards, you already have a three of a kind which yields a 2.0176 expected return as shown on the example chart.

But you can also have a pat full house, which ranks higher than three of a kind, by discarding either the 8 of hearts or 5 of clubs and receive a card of either value. However, the much higher ranked four of a kind is also possible when you get the 10 of clubs from the draw.

It’s now a toss-up between four of a kind and pat full house. In this scenario, you can choose to discard either of the unmatched cards or have those two replaced in order to increase your chances of hitting a four of a kind with the 10 of clubs.