Video poker is unique among casino games: the payout percentage isn’t fixed by the house, it’s determined by which paytable a machine runs and how well you play the hands you’re dealt. Two machines that look identical can have wildly different long-term returns.
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This calculator lets you compare paytables side by side, factor in your actual coin bet and denomination, and see what a given machine is likely to cost or return over an hour or a full session, assuming optimal strategy play.
Whether you’re deciding between two machines on the same casino floor or estimating your expected loss rate for bankroll planning, understanding the paytable is the single most important skill in video poker.
π How to Use the Video Poker Calculator
Start by selecting the paytable that matches the machine you’re playing (or considering). Video poker machines display their paytable directly on screen, usually listing payouts for a Flush and Full House at max coin β this is how experienced players identify “9/6 Jacks or Better” versus “8/5” at a glance.
Always check the paytable displayed on the machine screen before you sit down β the game name alone doesn’t tell you the return.
Next, enter your coins bet per hand, coin denomination, and how many hands per hour you typically play. The calculator adjusts the effective return automatically if you’re not betting the maximum 5 coins, since the royal flush jackpot bonus only applies at max coin.
π’ Calculator Fields Explained
Game Variant / Paytable – The specific paytable and game family (Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker), each with a published theoretical return under optimal strategy.
Coins Bet Per Hand – How many coins you wager per hand, from 1 to 5. Betting 5 (max coin) unlocks the full royal flush jackpot ratio.
Coin Denomination – The dollar value of a single coin/credit (e.g. $0.25, $1, $5).
Hands Per Hour – Your typical playing speed. Average video poker play is roughly 500β700 hands per hour depending on machine speed and betting habits.
Session Length – How many hours you plan to play, used to project total expected result.
π° Understanding the Results
| Result Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| RTP (Effective) | The theoretical return to player percentage, adjusted for your actual coin bet |
| House Edge | 100% minus RTP β the house’s long-term mathematical edge |
| Bet Per Hand | Your total wager per hand (coins bet Γ denomination) |
| EV Per Hand | Expected dollar result of a single average hand (negative unless RTP exceeds 100%) |
| EV Per Hour | Expected dollar result over an hour at your stated hands-per-hour pace |
| Session Result | Expected dollar result projected across your full session length |
These figures represent long-run mathematical averages assuming perfect optimal strategy on every hand. Any single session can and often will deviate significantly due to variance.
A negative expected value doesn’t mean you’ll lose that exact amount β it’s a long-run average, and short sessions carry substantial variance in both directions.
The comparison table below the results shows how every listed paytable performs under your same bet and hands-per-hour settings, letting you see at a glance how much a paytable difference actually costs per hour.
Pay close attention to which decimal point separates a good paytable from a bad one at the same game name.
A single paytable tier difference (like 9/6 vs 8/5 Jacks or Better) can swing your hourly cost by several dollars.
π Calculation Formulas
| Paytable | Optimal-Strategy RTP |
|---|---|
| Jacks or Better 9/6 (Full Pay) | 99.54% |
| Jacks or Better 8/5 | 97.30% |
| Bonus Poker 8/5 | 99.17% |
| Double Double Bonus 9/6 | 98.98% |
| Deuces Wild Full Pay | 100.76% |
The core formula is straightforward: Expected Value per Hand equals your bet size multiplied by (RTP Γ· 100 minus 1). Multiply that by hands played per hour to get expected hourly result, and by hours played for the full session projection.
RTP figures assume mathematically perfect play on every single hand β real-world player deviation typically costs an additional 0.5% to 2% depending on skill level.
Sub-max coin bets get an additional adjustment in this calculator, since the royal flush bonus payout (typically jumping from 250-for-1 to 800-for-1 per coin at max bet) is a meaningful chunk of most paytables’ total return.
π Practical Examples
Example 1: Playing 9/6 Jacks or Better at $1 denomination, 5 coins, 600 hands/hour. Bet per hand is $5, RTP is 99.54%, giving an EV per hand of about -$0.023 and an expected hourly cost of roughly -$13.80.
Example 2: The same session but on an 8/5 paytable instead of 9/6. RTP drops to 97.30%, and the expected hourly cost jumps to roughly -$81.00 β nearly six times worse for what looks like an identical game on the surface.
Comparing paytables before you sit down, not after, is the single highest-value habit in video poker.
Example 3: A player betting only 4 coins (not max) on a Deuces Wild Full Pay machine at $0.25 denomination loses the full royal flush bonus scaling, dropping effective RTP noticeably below the advertised 100.76% figure.
Betting anything less than max coin on a bonus-heavy paytable can turn a positive-expectation game into a negative one.
Example 4: A player with a 4-hour budget on 9/6 Jacks or Better at $1/5-coin, 500 hands/hour, should expect a session result near -$46, though actual results will vary widely due to variance from rare bonus hands.
π‘ Tips & Best Practices
Always bet max coin (5) when the paytable includes a bonus jackpot for the royal flush β betting fewer coins to “manage bankroll” is almost always a worse financial decision than lowering your denomination instead.
Learn optimal strategy for your specific paytable using a strategy chart or trainer app β the RTP figures used in this calculator assume perfect play, and real-world deviation from optimal strategy is one of the biggest silent bankroll drains.
Compare paytables across the casino floor before committing to a machine. The same game name can hide very different return percentages.
Match your denomination to your bankroll rather than your coin count β five coins at a lower denomination almost always beats fewer coins at a higher one.
- Track your hands-per-hour honestly; slower, more deliberate play reduces total exposure per hour
- Set a session loss limit before you sit down, independent of the math
Take advantage of players club comps and cashback, since these effectively raise your realized return above the theoretical paytable RTP.
Small, consistent habits β max coin, optimal strategy, paytable comparison β compound into meaningfully better long-run results.
Avoid progressive-feeling “streaks” influencing your bet sizing; each hand is statistically independent of the last.
β οΈ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Betting Fewer Than 5 Coins on a Bonus Paytable
This is the most costly and most common mistake in video poker. Sub-max coin betting forfeits the boosted royal flush payout ratio entirely.
Betting 4 coins instead of 5 can cost you the equivalent of hundreds of dollars in forfeited royal flush value over a long-term playing career.
This single habit is responsible for more lost expected value than almost any other player error.
Confusing Similar-Sounding Paytables
“Bonus Poker,” “Double Bonus,” and “Double Double Bonus” are entirely different paytables with different optimal strategies and different returns, despite sharing similar names.
Always confirm the exact paytable numbers shown on the machine screen rather than assuming from the game’s title alone.
Ignoring Strategy Deviation Cost
Playing “by feel” instead of following the mathematically correct hold for each hand routinely costs players 1-3% of return compared to the theoretical optimal RTP.
Even experienced players who believe they know a paytable well typically play 0.5-1% below optimal without a strategy reference.
Using a strategy chart or trainer app specific to your exact paytable closes most of this gap quickly.
Chasing Losses by Raising Denomination
Increasing your bet size mid-session to “win back” losses faster only increases variance and potential loss speed, it does not change the underlying house edge.
The math in this calculator remains the same regardless of emotional state β bet size scales both expected loss and expected variance proportionally.
π― When to Use This Calculator
Use this calculator before choosing between two or more machines with different advertised paytables, to quickly see which one actually costs less per hour at your bet size.
The best video poker players treat paytable selection as seriously as strategy itself β the two together determine your real return.
It’s also useful for bankroll planning: entering your typical session length and hands-per-hour gives a realistic expected result range to budget around, separate from any single session’s outcome.
π Related Calculators
Blackjack House Edge Calculator, Roulette Odds Calculator, Slot Machine RTP Estimator, Bankroll Management Calculator, Variance and Standard Deviation Calculator
π Glossary
RTP – Return to Player, the theoretical long-run percentage of wagered money returned to the player.
House Edge – The casino’s mathematical advantage, equal to 100% minus RTP.
Paytable – The list of payouts for each winning hand type on a specific video poker machine.
Max Coin – Betting the maximum number of coins (usually 5) per hand, required to unlock full jackpot payout ratios.
Optimal Strategy – The mathematically correct hold decision for every possible dealt hand under a given paytable.
Jacks or Better – A video poker family paying on hands of a pair of Jacks or higher.
Deuces Wild – A video poker variant where all four 2s act as wild cards.
Full Pay – The highest-returning published paytable for a given game family.
EV (Expected Value) – The average result of a bet over a large number of repetitions.
Variance – The statistical spread of possible outcomes around the expected value.
Session – A single continuous period of play, typically measured in hours.
Coin Denomination – The dollar value assigned to a single credit/coin on the machine.
Royal Flush – The highest-paying standard video poker hand, with a payout ratio that depends on coins bet.
β Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker?
Bonus Poker pays extra for four-of-a-kind hands compared to standard Jacks or Better, in exchange for slightly lower payouts elsewhere on the paytable.
For example, an 8/5 Bonus Poker paytable can actually return more than an 8/5 Jacks or Better paytable due to the boosted quads payouts.
Why does betting less than 5 coins hurt my return?
Most video poker paytables scale the royal flush payout disproportionately at 5 coins (often 800-for-1 versus 250-for-1 at lower bets), meaning that jackpot alone accounts for a meaningful share of total theoretical return.
This is why serious players always adjust denomination rather than coin count when managing bankroll size.
Is there really a paytable with over 100% return?
Yes β certain Deuces Wild and Double Bonus full-pay variants exceed 100% under perfect optimal strategy, though these machines are increasingly rare on casino floors.
A return over 100% only benefits a player who executes flawless optimal strategy on every single hand β casual play erases the edge quickly.
How many hands per hour is realistic?
Most players average 500 to 700 hands per hour depending on machine speed, betting method, and whether they’re using max-bet or bet-one-then-max-bet button sequences.
Slower, more deliberate players might see 400 hands per hour, reducing total dollar exposure for the same session length.
Does this calculator account for progressive jackpots?
No β this tool uses standard, non-progressive paytable RTP figures. Progressive jackpots can temporarily push effective return above the base paytable RTP as the jackpot grows.
If you’re evaluating a progressive machine, compare the base paytable RTP shown here against the current jackpot size separately.
βοΈ Legal Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Return-to-player figures represent theoretical long-run averages under optimal strategy and do not guarantee any individual session outcome. Video poker involves financial risk. Please gamble responsibly and within your means.
