Full-Pay Video Poker: The AP Player’s Complete Guide
Full-pay video poker is one of the few casino games where published pay tables, fixed odds, and perfect strategy combine to produce RTPs at or above 99.5% — and in some cases, above 100%. For advantage players, identifying and playing full-pay machines is a foundational skill.
What Does “Full Pay” Mean?
Every video poker machine displays a pay table on screen showing exactly how much each hand pays per coin wagered. The term full pay refers to the pay table schedule that returns the maximum possible RTP for that game variant. Casinos frequently install reduced pay tables — called short-pay machines — that look nearly identical but quietly cut payouts on the full house and flush, shaving 1-3% off the player return.
Unlike slot machines, where the RTP is hidden in the firmware and unknowable without a PAR sheet, video poker pay tables are displayed openly on the machine. Every player can read the exact return before inserting a single dollar. This transparency is what makes video poker a fundamentally different game for the informed player.
The core principle: Always read the pay table before you play. A machine labeled “Jacks or Better” could return 99.54% on a full-pay 9/6 schedule or as low as 94.9% on a heavily reduced 6/5 schedule. The difference is enormous over any meaningful volume of play.
Key Full-Pay Pay Tables
9/6 Jacks or Better — 99.54% RTP
The standard benchmark for full-pay video poker. The “9/6” shorthand refers to the payout per coin for two hands:
- Full house: 9 coins per coin wagered
- Flush: 6 coins per coin wagered
All other pays on a standard 9/6 Jacks or Better machine are fixed: royal flush 800 (at max coins), straight flush 50, four of a kind 25, straight 4, three of a kind 3, two pair 2, jacks or better 1. With perfect strategy, this schedule returns 99.54% — a house edge of just 0.46%.
Common short-pay variants to avoid:
- 8/5 Jacks or Better: 97.30% — the most common casino reduction
- 7/5 Jacks or Better: 96.15%
- 6/5 Jacks or Better: 95.00%
10/6 and 9/7 Jacks or Better Variants
Some casinos, particularly during promotions or in high-limit rooms, offer enhanced Jacks or Better schedules that exceed the standard 9/6 return:
- 10/6 Jacks or Better: Full house pays 10 — returns approximately 100.18% with perfect strategy
- 9/7 Jacks or Better: Flush pays 7 — returns approximately 100.08% with perfect strategy
These machines are uncommon but represent genuine positive-expectation opportunities before comps and promotions are factored in.
NSU Deuces Wild — 100.76% RTP
Deuces Wild is a video poker variant where all four 2s are wild cards. The full-pay version — known as NSU Deuces Wild (Not So Ugly Deuces Wild) — returns 100.76% with perfect strategy. This is a positive-expectation game with no promotions required.
The critical Deuces Wild pay table numbers to verify at the machine (per coin wagered):
- Five of a kind: 15
- Straight flush: 9
- Four of a kind: 5
- Full house: 3
- Flush: 2
- Straight: 2
- Three of a kind: 1
The four-of-a-kind pay is the most commonly reduced. A machine showing 4 for four of a kind instead of 5 drops to approximately 98.91% — still good, but no longer a player advantage.
How to Read a Video Poker Pay Table
Every video poker machine displays its pay table in a grid. The left column lists hands in descending order of rank. The subsequent columns show the payout for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 coins wagered. Here is what to look for:
- Find the full house row. Read the payout at 5 coins — divide by 5. On a 9/6 machine this is 45 coins / 5 = 9 per coin.
- Find the flush row. Same calculation. On 9/6 this is 30 coins / 5 = 6 per coin.
- Check the royal flush at 5 coins. It should read 4,000 (800 per coin). If it reads 1,250 (250 per coin), this is a non-standard machine — you are losing the max-coin royal bonus.
- Verify against the known full-pay schedule for the variant you are playing. Any deviation from full pay is a reduction in your expected return.
This process takes under 30 seconds and should be performed every time you sit at an unfamiliar machine. Do not rely on the game title alone — “Jacks or Better” on the glass tells you nothing about the pay table.
Where to Find Full-Pay Machines
Full-pay video poker is geographically concentrated. Nevada remains the primary location:
- Downtown Las Vegas (Fremont Street): The highest concentration of full-pay machines in the world. The Four Queens, El Cortez, Fremont Hotel, and Golden Gate all historically offer 9/6 Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild in multiple denominations.
- Off-Strip locals casinos: Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming properties (Palace Station, Boulder Station, Gold Coast, Suncoast) regularly offer full-pay schedules, particularly at the quarter and dollar denominations.
- Reno and northern Nevada: Several downtown Reno properties and smaller Nevada towns maintain full-pay machines as a competitive differentiator for locals and frequent visitors.
- Tribal casinos: Select tribal properties in California, Washington, and other states offer full-pay or near-full-pay schedules. Availability varies significantly by property and is subject to change.
On the Las Vegas Strip, full-pay video poker is rare. Strip casinos predominantly offer 8/5 or worse schedules. High-limit rooms occasionally feature better pay tables, but even these are typically 9/6 at best — not the over-100% variants.
Video Poker vs. Slots for AP Players
Video poker offers several structural advantages over slot machines that make it attractive for advantage players:
- Published, verifiable pay tables. The RTP is not hidden. You can calculate your exact expected return before playing. No slot machine offers this transparency.
- Skill element. The player makes hold decisions after each deal, and correct decisions are mathematically defined. Perfect strategy is learnable and produces the full published RTP. Strategy charts and apps are legal at the machine.
- Comp optimization. Coin-in at a 99.54% game generates the same tier credits as coin-in at a 92% slot. When casinos offer cash back, promotional free play, or loss rebates based on coin-in rather than losses, video poker at full pay becomes deeply favorable relative to slot play.
- Promotions stack powerfully. A casino offering 10x points on video poker, combined with a 0.33% base cash-back rate and 99.54% RTP, can produce net player advantages exceeding 3-5%.
AP Strategy: Always Play Max Coins
The single most important rule for video poker: always bet 5 coins. The royal flush pays 250 coins per coin wagered at 1-4 coins, but 800 coins per coin wagered at 5 coins. This disproportionate bonus is worth approximately 1.97% of total RTP on 9/6 Jacks or Better.
Playing 4 coins on a 9/6 machine effectively reduces your return to approximately 97.57% — a full 2% penalty for one coin of reluctance. If the 5-coin bet is too large for your bankroll at the current denomination, move to a lower denomination machine and play 5 coins there.
Secondary strategy principles for full-pay video poker:
- Use a strategy card or app for every hold decision — human intuition is frequently wrong on video poker
- Never deviate from strategy based on “feelings” about what the machine will deal next — the RNG has no memory
- Track your play with the casino players club card inserted at all times to earn comps on every hand
- Know the strategy differences between Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild — they require completely different hold decisions
Access all 150+ machine guides with advantage play data, EV calculators, and regional casino strategy breakdowns — including how to stack video poker with promotions for maximum return.
View Membership OptionsFrequently Asked Questions
What does full pay mean in video poker?
Full pay refers to a video poker pay table that returns the highest possible RTP for that game variant when played with perfect strategy. For Jacks or Better, the full-pay schedule pays 9 coins for a full house and 6 coins for a flush per coin wagered — hence the shorthand 9/6. This 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table returns 99.54% with optimal strategy. Any pay table that reduces the full house or flush payouts is considered short-pay and returns less to the player.
What is the RTP of 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect strategy?
9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% with perfect strategy. This means the house edge is only 0.46% — far lower than any slot machine and comparable to blackjack with basic strategy. The key phrase is perfect strategy: deviating from optimal hold decisions increases the house edge significantly. Strategy cards and apps are legal to use at the machine in virtually all jurisdictions, so there is no excuse for suboptimal play.
What is NSU Deuces Wild and what is its RTP?
NSU Deuces Wild stands for Not So Ugly Deuces Wild — a specific Deuces Wild pay table that returns 100.76% with perfect strategy, making it a positive-expectation game for the player before accounting for comps or promotions. The full-pay version of Deuces Wild (sometimes called Full-Pay Deuces Wild) returns 100.76%. NSU Deuces Wild is a slight reduction from Full-Pay Deuces but still returns over 100% — any machine returning over 100% with perfect strategy is a primary target for advantage players. These machines are rare but do exist at select casinos, primarily in Nevada.
Why should AP players always bet max coins on video poker?
Video poker machines pay a disproportionately large bonus for the royal flush when you bet the maximum 5 coins. On most machines, a royal flush pays 250 coins per coin wagered at 1-4 coins, but jumps to 800 coins per coin wagered at 5 coins. This royal flush bonus is worth approximately 2% of the total RTP on 9/6 Jacks or Better — meaning you are giving up roughly 2% of expected value by playing fewer than 5 coins. Never play video poker with fewer than 5 coins per hand. If the 5-coin denomination is too large for your bankroll, drop to a lower denomination machine and still play max coins.
Where can you find full-pay video poker machines?
Full-pay video poker machines are concentrated in Nevada, particularly downtown Las Vegas (Fremont Street), off-Strip locals casinos (Station Casinos properties, Boyd Gaming properties), and Reno. Boulder Strip casinos and some smaller Nevada towns also host full-pay games. Outside Nevada, full-pay machines are rare but can be found at select tribal casinos in California, Washington, and other states. Pay table databases maintained by video poker communities track machine locations. When visiting any casino, always check the pay table before sitting down — never assume a machine is full pay based on appearance alone.
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