Reference
The words you will see on strategy pages and pay tables, in plain English.
The single replacement of the cards you did not hold. Video poker is a one-draw game.
To keep a dealt card through the draw. Your hold choice is the entire skill of the game.
The best publicly available pay table for a game, such as 9/6 Jacks or Better. See the pay tables guide to spot one.
A reduced pay table that returns less than full pay for the same game and strategy. Compare versions on the pay tables page.
The long-run percentage of money bet that a game pays back with perfect play. 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54 percent; see the best games ranked by return.
The share the casino keeps, equal to 100 percent minus the return. Lower is better for you; the best games get it under half a percent.
The average payout of a play per coin over all possible draws. Strategy means always choosing the highest-EV hold. Try the hand analyzer to see the EV of all 32 holds for any hand.
How much results swing around the average. Video poker is high variance because much of the return sits in rare big hands. Our bankroll calculator shows what that means for your session.
The fifth card alongside four of a kind. In Double Double Bonus it changes the four-aces payout.
Four of a kind. Bonus games like 8/5 Bonus Poker and 10/7 Double Bonus pay extra for quads, especially four aces.
A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit, the top hand, paying 800 per coin on a max bet. See all hand rankings.
Betting five coins, which unlocks the full royal flush bonus. Always bet max; the beginner guide explains why.
A game where all four 2s are wild, substituting for any card. It uses a very different strategy; see the full-pay Deuces Wild strategy chart.
A 53-card game with a single wild joker, dealt roughly once every 11 hands. Rule one: never discard it. See the full-pay Joker Poker strategy chart.
A Joker Poker pay table where only a pair of Kings or Aces (or better) wins anything; Jacks and Queens pay nothing as a lone pair. See the Joker Poker strategy chart.
Jacks or Better variants that pay extra for four of a kind: Bonus Poker, Bonus Poker Deluxe, Double Bonus, Super Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, and Triple Double Bonus each use a different rank tier or kicker rule. See each on the strategy hub.
The first five cards, before the draw.
A four-card straight missing a middle card, filled by only four cards in the deck. Usually not worth holding; see when to draw to an inside straight.
An open-ended four-card straight, filled from either end by eight cards. Stronger than an inside straight; compare it to holding a low pair instead.