Video poker sits in a unique space in the casino world. It looks like a slot machine. It plays like poker. But unlike either of them, your decisions directly and mathematically affect the outcome.
With optimal strategy, Jacks or Better video poker returns 99.29% to the player, making it one of the highest-RTP games available anywhere in the casino. Higher than European roulette (97.3%). Higher than baccarat's Banker bet (98.94%). Comparable only to blackjack with basic strategy.
The catch: you need to know which cards to hold. This guide teaches you exactly that, from hand rankings and paytable reading to the optimal hold decisions for every starting hand situation, along with how to play Duel Poker at Duelbits Casino.
Video poker is a casino card game based on five-card draw poker. You receive five cards, choose which to keep (hold), discard the rest, and receive replacement cards. Your final five-card hand is evaluated against a paytable, if it's good enough, you win.
That's the complete game. No other players, no dealer to beat, no community cards. Just you, five cards, one decision, and a paytable.
What makes video poker different from slots is the strategic element: your hold decision genuinely changes your expected return. A player who holds perfectly extracts the full 99.29% RTP. A player who holds randomly extracts far less. The difference between optimal and poor strategy in video poker is larger than in any other casino game.
Video poker uses standard poker hand rankings. From lowest to highest:
| Rank | Hand | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (lowest paying) | Jacks or Better | J♠ J♥ 4♦ 9♣ K♠ |
| 2 | Two Pair | 8♠ 8♣ Q♥ Q♦ 3♠ |
| 3 | Three of a Kind | 7♠ 7♦ 7♣ J♥ 2♠ |
| 4 | Straight | 5♠ 6♥ 7♦ 8♣ 9♠ |
| 5 | Flush | A♣ 8♣ 5♣ J♣ 2♣ |
| 6 | Full House | K♠ K♦ K♥ 9♣ 9♦ |
| 7 | Four of a Kind | Q♠ Q♦ Q♣ Q♥ 5♠ |
| 8 | Straight Flush | 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ |
| 9 (highest paying) | Royal Flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
Key rule in Jacks or Better: Pairs of 2s through 10s do not pay. You need at least a pair of Jacks (J, Q, K, or A) to receive any payout. This is the defining characteristic of the variant.
Before playing any video poker game, read the paytable. It tells you exactly how much each hand pays and, most critically, whether the game is worth playing at all.
Standard Jacks or Better Paytable (9/6 - Full Pay):
| Hand | Payout (per coin bet) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800x (max coins) / 250x (less than max) |
| Straight Flush | 50x |
| Four of a Kind | 25x |
| Full House | 9x |
| Flush | 6x |
| Straight | 4x |
| Three of a Kind | 3x |
| Two Pair | 2x |
| Jacks or Better | 1x (even money) |
The "9/6" label refers to the Full House (9x) and Flush (6x) payouts, the two values that most directly determine the game's RTP. A 9/6 Jacks or Better paytable returns 99.29% with optimal strategy.
Why the paytable matters: A "short pay" version might offer 8/5 (Full House 8x, Flush 5x) instead of 9/6. This seemingly small change drops the RTP to approximately 97.3%, nearly two full percentage points lower. Always check you're playing full-pay 9/6 before committing real stakes.
On Duelbits, Duel Poker is available with a confirmed 99.29% RTP, the full-pay Jacks or Better standard.
Choose your stake using the coin size and coin count controls. Video poker is typically played with 1-5 coins per hand.
The maximum coins rule: On virtually all video poker games, the Royal Flush payout is disproportionately larger when you bet the maximum 5 coins. A Royal Flush pays 250 coins per coin bet at 1-4 coins, but 800 coins per coin bet at 5 coins (maximum). Playing fewer than max coins reduces the effective RTP on the game's rarest and highest-paying hand. For this reason, most experienced video poker players always bet maximum coins, or reduce their coin denomination so they can still afford max coins within their bankroll.
Click Deal. You receive five randomly drawn cards from a standard 52-card deck (no Jokers in standard Jacks or Better). All five cards are face-up, you see your complete starting hand before making any decision.
This is the strategic heart of video poker. Click on the cards you want to Keep. Held cards stay in your hand; all other cards are discarded and replaced.
You can hold anywhere from 0 to all 5 cards. Holding all 5 means you're satisfied with your current hand and don't want any replacements.
Click Draw. Your discarded positions are filled with new cards from the remaining deck. Your final five cards are evaluated against the paytable, paying hands are automatically paid out and credited to your balance.
This is the most important section in this guide. Optimal video poker strategy is a mathematically calculated decision for every possible starting hand. Learn these rules and you're playing close to the full 99.29% RTP.
Always hold (don't break these):
These require a decision:
| Priority | Starting Hand | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four to a Royal Flush | Hold 4 royal cards, even over a made Full House? No. Over a made Flush, yes. |
| 2 | Three of a Kind | Hold the three matching cards, discard 2 |
| 3 | Two Pair | Hold both pairs, discard 1 |
| 4 | High Pair (Jacks-Aces) | Hold the pair, draw 3 |
| 5 | Four to a Straight Flush | Hold 4, draw 1 |
| 6 | Four to a Flush | Hold 4 same-suit cards, draw 1 |
| 7 | Low Pair (2s-10s) | Hold the pair, draw 3 |
| 8 | Four to an Outside Straight | Hold 4 consecutive cards open at both ends |
| 9 | Three to a Royal Flush | Hold 3 royal cards, draw 2 |
| 10 | High cards (J, Q, K, A) | Hold 1-3 high cards, draw the rest |
Worst case: No pair, no flush draw, no straight draw, no high cards, discard all 5 and draw a completely new hand. This is statistically preferable to holding junk cards.
| Starting Hand | Correct Hold |
|---|---|
| Pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces | Hold the pair |
| Pair of 2s through 10s | Hold the pair |
| Two Pair | Hold both pairs |
| Three of a Kind | Hold three matching cards |
| Four to a Royal Flush | Hold 4 royal cards (even over a Straight or Flush) |
| Four to a Straight Flush | Hold 4 - draw 1 |
| Four to a Flush | Hold 4 - draw 1 |
| Four to an Outside Straight | Hold 4 — draw 1 |
| Three to a Royal Flush | Hold 3 - draw 2 |
| Two High Cards (same suit) | Hold 2 - draw 3 |
| Two High Cards (different suits) | Hold both unless one improves a flush draw |
| One High Card | Hold 1 - draw 4 |
| Complete garbage | Discard all 5 - draw 5 |
| Game | Optimal Strategy RTP | Skill Required |
|---|---|---|
| Duel Poker (Jacks or Better) | 99.29% | Optimal hold decisions |
| Blackjack (basic strategy) | ~99.50% | Basic strategy chart |
| Baccarat (Banker bet) | 98.94% | None |
| European Roulette | 97.30% | None |
| Slots (typical) | 92–96% | None |
Video poker sits alongside blackjack at the top of the casino RTP table, but with an important difference. Blackjack requires learning when to hit, stand, split, and double across dozens of hand combinations. Video poker strategy, while similarly systematic, can be reduced to a single priority hierarchy that covers every starting hand.
For players willing to invest time in learning the optimal hold strategy, video poker is one of the most player-friendly games in any casino.
The foundation, and what Duelbits' Duel Poker is based on. Standard 52-card deck, no wild cards, Jacks or better required to pay. 9/6 paytable with optimal strategy: 99.29% RTP. The best starting point for any new video poker player.
All four 2s (deuces) are wild cards, substituting for any other card to complete a hand. Higher hands are required to qualify for payouts (typically Three of a Kind or better). The wild card mechanics dramatically alter strategy. With optimal play on a full-pay paytable: approximately 100.76% RTP, one of the rare casino games with a theoretical player edge.
A Jacks or Better variant with enhanced payouts for specific Four of a Kind hands (Four Aces, Four 2-4s, Four 5-Ks each have different payouts). The bonus payouts come at the cost of reduced Two Pair payouts (1:1 instead of 2:1). Optimal RTP on full-pay: approximately 99.11%.
Further enhancement of Four of a Kind payouts with a kicker bonus (Four Aces with a 2, 3, or 4 kicker pays maximum). More complex strategy than standard Jacks or Better. Full-pay optimal RTP: approximately 98.98%.
Play 3, 5, 10, 25, or more hands simultaneously from a single deal. Your initial cards are identical across all hands; each hand draws independently from its own shuffled deck. The same strategy applies, your hold decision affects all active hands simultaneously.
Duel Poker is Duelbits' exclusive video poker Original game. RTP: 99.29%. No download required — plays directly in browser or mobile.
Step 1: Log in to Duelbits Casino
Step 2: Navigate to the Originals section or search for "Duel Poker" in the casino search
Step 3: Open the game, demo mode is available to practice without real stakes
Step 4: Set your stake using the coin controls
Step 5: Click Deal to receive your five starting cards
Step 6: Click the cards you want to Hold, use the strategy guide above for every decision
Step 7: Click Draw, replacement cards fill your discarded positions and your final hand is evaluated
Step 8: Paying hands are automatically credited to your balance
The 99.29% RTP on Duel Poker is available to all players, crypto deposits with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana, and nine other supported coins. See our deposit and withdrawal guide for a complete walkthrough of funding your Duelbits account.
Video poker has lower house edge than most casino games, but it still has variance. On a single hand basis, most hands are losers (returned as 0 or the even-money Jacks or Better payout). The significant returns come from infrequent Full Houses, Four of a Kinds, and the rare Straight Flush and Royal Flush.
Practical bankroll guidance:
A 100-hand session at 1 unit per hand requires approximately 30-50 units of bankroll to comfortably handle normal variance. A 500-hand session requires 100 units. For Royal Flush hunting, the game's maximum payout, statistical expectation has one Royal Flush appearing approximately once every 40,000 hands.
Set a session budget before you play, and don't exceed it regardless of variance. Our Kelly Criterion guide explains the broader principles of optimal stake sizing across gambling sessions.
What is video poker? A casino card game combining five-card draw poker hands with slot machine mechanics. You hold/discard from five dealt cards, draw replacements, and are paid based on your final hand against a fixed paytable.
What is the RTP of video poker on Duelbits? Duel Poker on Duelbits has a 99.29% RTP, achieved with optimal strategy on the Jacks or Better variant.
What is Jacks or Better video poker? The standard video poker variant using a 52-card deck. Pays out for pairs of Jacks or higher. The most common and player-friendly variant.
What are the video poker hand rankings? Jacks or Better → Two Pair → Three of a Kind → Straight → Flush → Full House → Four of a Kind → Straight Flush → Royal Flush.
What is the best strategy for video poker? Learn the optimal hold hierarchy: keep made paying hands (except to chase Royal Flush with 4 to one), never break Two Pair, hold high pairs over any incomplete draws, hold 4 to a flush over low pairs.
Is video poker better than slots? For players who learn optimal strategy, yes, 99.29% RTP vs typical slot RTPs of 92-96%. Trade-off is video poker requires learning hold decisions; slots require none.
How do I read a video poker paytable? Look for Full House and Flush payouts. 9/6 (Full House 9x, Flush 6x) is the full-pay standard offering 99.29% RTP. Lower values mean reduced RTP.
Where can I play video poker with Bitcoin? Duel Poker is available on Duelbits Casino, a crypto-native platform accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana and other coins. 99.29% RTP with optimal strategy.
