The games

The one game whose return is printed on the front of it

Video poker is the only casino game whose return can be calculated exactly from what is written on the screen, because the deck is known, the draws are known and the paytable is published. The arithmetic is unforgiving in both directions.

The only game with its price on the front

Video poker is the one casino game whose exact return can be calculated from what is printed on the screen, because the deck is known, the «drawing rules» are known and the «paytable» is published; nothing has to be taken on trust, which makes it the most transparent product in a British «lobby» and the least played; the calculation is not trivial and it has been done. Every common «paytable» has a published return for perfect play, and the figures are high: the best variants return over ninety-nine per cent, which is better than any table game.

The paytable is the game

Two machines with the same name and different paytables are different games with different returns, and the difference is routinely over two per cent. The convention is to name a variant by what it pays for a full house and a flush: a "9/6" Jacks or Better pays nine for a full house and six for a flush and returns ninety-nine point five four per cent with perfect play, while an 8/5 version of the same game returns ninety-seven point three.

Nothing else on the screen changes. The art (the sounds), the name at the top and the rules of the draw are identical, and the player is paying two and a quarter per cent more for the second one.

Perfect play, and what it costs to not know it

Video poker has a correct decision for every hand, derived from the «paytable», and the published returns assume it. A competent but intuitive player gives away between half a per cent and two per cent against the optimal strategy, which can be more than «the house edge» itself, and the strategies are published, they differ by variant, and they are long: a full Jacks or Better strategy runs to about thirty ordered rules. A player unwilling to learn one is playing a game whose advertised return does not apply to him, which is a reasonable choice as long as it is a known one.

Why there is so little of it in a British «lobby»

Because it is slow, it pays out a great deal of what it takes, and it attracts players who have read the «paytable». Operators carry a handful of titles rather than hundreds (often in multi-hand form), and the variants offered are rarely the best-paying ones. For you who wants the lowest cost of play available online, it remains the answer, and the smallness of the category is the clearest evidence that the answer is correct.

Questions readers ask

What does «9/6 Jacks or Better» mean?

That the paytable pays nine for a full house and six for a flush, which identifies the variant. That pair returns ninety-nine point five four per cent with perfect play, where an 8/5 version of the identical game returns ninety-seven point three.

Is video poker really better value than slots?

On the better paytables, substantially, and only with correct play. A 9/6 machine played perfectly returns over ninety-nine per cent against ninety-six for a typical slot, and the same machine played intuitively gives much of that back.

Do I need to memorise a strategy?

To get the published return, yes: it assumes perfect play, and the strategy for a common variant runs to about thirty ordered rules. Without it the game is still reasonable value and the advertised figure does not apply to you.

Why do British casinos carry so few of these games?

Because they are slow, they return a large share of what they take, and the players who choose them tend to be the ones who read paytables. Operators carry a handful rather than hundreds, and rarely the best-paying variants.

By the UK Pound Casino editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · Online since 2026