Video poker sits in an unusual spot within the Australian gaming landscape. It borrows the pace of a poker machine but the decision-making of actual poker, and that combination trips up plenty of newcomers. Unlike a standard pokie, where the outcome is fixed the moment you press the button, video poker hands reward players who understand which cards to hold and which to discard. Get that part right and the return-to-player rate can climb well above what most pokies offer. Check out additional details at Ritzo Casino pokies.
The numbers matter here. Many video poker variants return between 97% and 99.5% when played with optimal strategy, compared with a typical Australian pokie RTP that hovers closer to 85-90%. That gap is enormous over hundreds of hands. The catch? You only capture that edge if you learn the correct holds. The tips below are built for beginners who want to play smarter from the first session.
Learn the Pay Table Before You Spend a Cent
Every video poker machine displays a pay table, and that table tells you almost everything you need to know about whether the game is worth your time. The critical figure is the payout for a full house and a flush. On a strong Jacks or Better machine, both should pay 9 and 6 respectively per coin wagered , the classic “9/6” configuration. If you see 8/5 or 7/5, the house edge grows noticeably, sometimes by more than 1.5%.
Beginners often skip this step because the table looks like decoration. It isn’t. A 9/6 Jacks or Better game with perfect play returns roughly 99.54%, while an 8/5 version drops to about 97.3%. Same game, same rules, meaningfully different odds. Take thirty seconds to scan the table before inserting your first credit.
Also check how the machine handles the royal flush bonus. Some variants pay a larger jackpot at maximum coins, which shifts the optimal strategy slightly. Others cap the bonus. Knowing which type you’re sitting at prevents costly mistakes later.
Master the Core Strategy , and Stick to It
Optimal video poker strategy is a ranked list of holds, and for Jacks or Better it’s surprisingly learnable. The hierarchy starts with the obvious: keep any pat hand, hold four cards to a royal flush over almost everything else, and never discard a made straight or flush to chase a long shot. Below that, the rules get nuanced, and that’s where beginners bleed money.
Here’s the short version of the priority order for Jacks or Better:
- Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight , hold all five cards.
- Four cards to a royal flush beats a made pair or three of a kind.
- Three of a kind beats two pair, which beats a high pair (Jacks or better).
- Four cards to a flush beats a low pair; four cards to an open-ended straight beats two suited high cards.
- With nothing connecting, hold the highest-value suited cards and discard the rest.
One statistic worth remembering: holding a low pair over two unsuited high cards costs you roughly 0.03 credits per hand in expected value. That sounds tiny until you play a thousand hands. Strategy charts exist for every variant, and memorising the top ten rules covers the vast majority of situations you’ll face in a session.
Manage Your Bankroll and Play at the Right Stakes
Video poker’s variance is real. Even at 99.5% RTP, a session can swing hard in either direction, and beginners who overbet their bankroll get wiped out before strategy has a chance to pay off. A sensible rule is to bring at least 100-200 bets for the stake you plan to play. If you’re wagging five coins per hand at a 25-cent denomination, that’s a $1.25 bet , so a $125 to $250 bankroll keeps you in the game through normal downturns.
Always play maximum coins where the royal flush bonus rewards it. On many machines, betting five coins instead of one increases the royal payout disproportionately, lifting the overall return. Playing short on those machines is one of the most common beginner errors, and it can shave several tenths of a percent off your expected return.
Finally, set a loss limit and a time limit before you start. Video poker moves fast , around 500 to 800 hands per hour for a focused player , so the money turns over quickly. Treat it as entertainment with a defined budget, use only funds you can afford to lose, and take breaks. Australian players aged 18 and over can access support through Gambling Help Online if play ever stops feeling like fun.
