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Atlassino Academy · Video poker · Lesson 3 of 8

Coins, denomination and the royal

On the one video poker pay table we could read by its coin columns, the royal flush pays more for a five-coin bet. Here is what that does to the return, and how to fit five coins inside your limit.

  • About 15 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
  • Last checked 5 October 2026

A video poker machine takes one to five coins a hand. Does the number of coins change anything except the size of the bet?

The short answer

On the one pay table we could read by its coin columns, yes. That table, from the online version of a game’s rules, pays a royal flush 250 a coin at one to four coins and 800 a coin at five, and that one row moves the return of the whole table from 98.37% to 99.54% with optimal play. What one coin is worth is a separate number: it multiplies the money each hand takes, and it changes nothing in the return. So when five coins do not fit the limit you set for one hand, take a machine with a smaller coin, not fewer coins.

What one coin is worth, times the coins on the bet, makes what one hand takes. The coins on the bet also decide which column of the pay table pays the hand.

What one coin is worth$0.25set by the machine you choose
Coins on the bet5you set this; it picks the column
What one hand takes$1.25an example bet, not a suggested one
Leo touches the tall bar in the last of five cells along the upper row of a video poker pay panel, where the four bars before it are short, while Maya, arms folded and one eyebrow raised, looks at the panel beside him.
Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

The question I heard most at the video poker machines was never about the cards. People asked how many coins to put in. The answer sits on the glass before the first bet, in one row of the pay table: the royal flush row.

The royal flush row: where the fifth coin pays more

The online version of one game’s rules prints its pay table in five columns, one for each number of coins from one to five, and pressing Max sets the bet at all five coins at once. The column you are paid from is the column of the coins you bet.

The 9/6 table, online version: what a row pays for each number of coins bet
Hand1 coin2 coins3 coins4 coins5 coins
Straight flush5050 a coin10050 a coin15050 a coin20050 a coin25050 a coin
Royal flush250250 a coin500250 a coin750250 a coin1,000250 a coin4,000800 a coin

The straight flush row grows in step with the coins, as every row of the table but one does. The royal flush row is the one that jumps: 1,000 at four coins, 4,000 at five.

No casino-floor document we could read prints the royal flush row of a video poker machine on a floor in Canada: the rows above are from the online version. Before the first bet, read the royal flush row on the machine you sit at, across all five columns, and see whether the last column jumps.

Below five coins, the same table returns less

Paid from a different column, the same table returns a different share of the money bet, with optimal play (the hold that returns the most on every hand). The online rules print each table’s return as a range; our count over every possible deal puts the lower end at one to four coins and the upper end at five.

What the same table returns with optimal play, by the coins on the bet
Pay table, online versionOne to four coinsFive coins
9/6 Jacks or BetterFull House 9, Flush 698.37%99.54%
8/5 Jacks or BetterFull House 8, Flush 596.06%97.30%

The gap between the two columns is the royal flush row: 1.17 percentage points on 9/6 and 1.23 on 8/5.

A provincial standard for casino machines adds a rule between bets: the minimum return has to hold at every bet configuration a game offers, and on the same pay table a higher bet may not return a lower percentage than a lower bet.

  • What the rule does not say. The rule does not say that every bigger bet returns more. The extra pay at five coins comes from the royal flush row the table prints, not from the rule.
  • Where the rule stops. The rule compares bets on one pay table. A machine with a different table is a different comparison, and reading one table against another is lesson 8.2.

The denomination multiplies the money, not the return

What one coin is worth is the machine’s denomination. The casinos that print their denominations give one range for their slot machines and video poker machines together, starting at a cent, and some machines take more than one denomination. A pay table pays per coin, so the same table returns the same share at every denomination; what changes with the denomination is the money each hand takes.

What one hand takes, and what 100 hands cost on average, on the 9/6 table
Coins bet$0.25 machineone hand takes$0.25 machine100 hands cost$1.00 machineone hand takes$1.00 machine100 hands cost
1$0.25$0.41$1.00$1.63
2$0.50$0.81$2.00$3.25
3$0.75$1.22$3.00$4.88
4$1.00$1.63$4.00$6.51
5$1.25$0.57$5.00$2.28

The price of 100 hands grows from one coin to four and falls back at five, because at five coins the table pays from its five-coin column. That price is an average over a very long run. Amounts are in Canadian dollars.

MOST ONE HAND MAY TAKE$2.00

The $1.00 machine, five coins

One hand takes $5.00

Past the limit

The $1.00 machine, two coins

One hand takes $2.00

Inside the limit, paid from the one-to-four-coin column

The $0.25 machine, five coins

One hand takes $1.25

Inside the limit, with all five coins

When five coins do not fit, the denomination is what moves, not the coins.

The royal flush is rare

With optimal play on the 9/6 table, a royal flush comes about once in 40,391 hands at five coins, and about once in 51,481 hands at one to four coins. The hold that returns the most changes with what a royal flush pays, and at 250 a coin that hold goes after a royal flush less often.

A long evening of play

2,000 hands

One royal flush on average, at five coins

about 40,391 hands

One royal flush on average, at one to four coins

about 51,481 hands

Over 2,000 hands at five coins, the chance of at least one royal flush is about 4.8%, so most runs of that length end with no royal flush at all. An even chance of at least one royal flush takes about 28,000 hands. The five-coin return is the figure for a very long run, and over one evening the five-coin column usually pays nothing extra.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

A five-coin column is a reason to read the pay table, not a reason to raise your bet. Decide at home how much one hand may take and how much the whole evening gets, and let those two amounts choose the machine. Never move up a denomination to qualify for the five-coin royal flush.

Most evenings never see a royal flush, so do not plan around the one hand that might pay. When the money for the evening is gone, take the break rather than putting more in to get it back: more money only buys more hands, and every hand is priced the same way.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.

1-866-531-2600Ontario · ConnexOntario · 24 hours
1-800-461-0140Quebec · Jeu: aide et référence · 24 hours
1-888-795-6111British Columbia · Gambling Support BC · 24 hours
1-866-332-2322Alberta · Addiction Helpline (Recovery Alberta) · 24 hours
1-800-463-1554Manitoba · Problem Gambling Helpline · 24 hours
1-800-306-6789Saskatchewan · Problem Gambling Help Line · 24 hours
1-888-429-8167Nova Scotia · Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line · 24 hours
1-800-461-1234New Brunswick · Gambling Information Line
1-855-255-4255Prince Edward Island · PEI Gambling Support Line · 24 hours
811Newfoundland and Labrador · Gambling Help Line · 24 hours
1-844-533-3030Yukon · Reach Out Support Line (CMHA Yukon)

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

Practice: how many coins?

A limit for one hand stands beside a row of machines with the same 9/6 table and different coins. Pick the setting you would sit down to, and each answer comes back with what that setting takes from a hand, which column of the table pays it, and what 100 hands cost on average at that bet.

Nothing is scored here, and no cards are dealt. Every step is read once, in order, as a worked reference. Which cards to keep after the deal is lessons 8.4 and 8.5, and nothing in this practice asks about holds.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one hand from it, with the answer.

Two machines, one limit

You decided at home that one hand may take no more than $1.25. Every machine in this row carries the same 9/6 table. Which setting do you play?

  • The $1.00 machine, five coins: $5.00 a hand Five coins on the $1.00 machine take $5.00 a hand, more than the $1.25 you set for one hand. The limit comes first, and the five-coin column of the pay table is not a reason to move the limit.
  • The $1.00 machine, one coin: $1.00 a hand One coin on the $1.00 machine takes $1.00 a hand and stays inside the limit, but below five coins the royal flush pays 250 a coin instead of 800. Paid from the one-to-four-coin column, the table returns 98.37% instead of 99.54%. A hundred hands at this bet cost $1.63 on average.
  • The $0.25 machine, five coins: $1.25 a hand Five coins on the $0.25 machine take $1.25 a hand, inside the limit you set. At five coins the table pays from its five-coin column and returns 99.54% with optimal play. A hundred hands at this bet cost $0.57 on average.
  • The $0.25 machine, four coins: $1.00 a hand Four coins on the $0.25 machine take $1.00 a hand and stay inside the limit, but below five coins the royal flush pays 250 a coin instead of 800. Paid from the one-to-four-coin column, the table returns 98.37% instead of 99.54%. A hundred hands at this bet cost $1.63 on average.

The limit you set for one hand chooses the setting. Five coins on a denomination where five coins fit keep the five-coin column of the table; when five coins do not fit on a machine, a machine with a smaller coin keeps all five, and fewer coins on the larger coin pay from the one-to-four-coin column.

Five coins do not fit on the middle machine

You decided at home that one hand may take no more than $1.00. Every machine in this row carries the same 9/6 table. Which setting do you play?

  • The $0.25 machine, five coins: $1.25 a hand Five coins on the $0.25 machine take $1.25 a hand, more than the $1.00 you set for one hand. The limit comes first, and the five-coin column of the pay table is not a reason to move the limit.
  • The $0.25 machine, four coins: $1.00 a hand Four coins on the $0.25 machine take $1.00 a hand and stay inside the limit, but below five coins the royal flush pays 250 a coin instead of 800. Paid from the one-to-four-coin column, the table returns 98.37% instead of 99.54%. A hundred hands at this bet cost $1.63 on average.
  • The $0.05 machine, five coins: $0.25 a hand Five coins on the $0.05 machine take $0.25 a hand, inside the limit you set. At five coins the table pays from its five-coin column and returns 99.54% with optimal play. A hundred hands at this bet cost $0.11 on average.
  • The $1.00 machine, one coin: $1.00 a hand One coin on the $1.00 machine takes $1.00 a hand and stays inside the limit, but below five coins the royal flush pays 250 a coin instead of 800. Paid from the one-to-four-coin column, the table returns 98.37% instead of 99.54%. A hundred hands at this bet cost $1.63 on average.

The limit you set for one hand chooses the setting. Five coins on a denomination where five coins fit keep the five-coin column of the table; when five coins do not fit on a machine, a machine with a smaller coin keeps all five, and fewer coins on the larger coin pay from the one-to-four-coin column.

Every setting in the practice run is worked out the same way: what one coin is worth times the coins on the bet is what a hand takes, and the return and the price of 100 hands come from the column of the 9/6 table that the coins are paid from.

How the practice run works

Where the settings come from. Every setting is a denomination and a number of coins on the 9/6 table. What a hand takes, the return of the column the coins are paid from and the average price of 100 hands are worked out when the page is built, by the same video poker engine that counts every possible deal. The answer is five coins on a denomination where five coins fit inside the limit; where two such settings fit, both count, and the one that takes less from every hand is named, because a limit is the most a hand may take, not an amount to reach. The wrong answers are named mistakes: five coins past the limit, and fewer coins on a larger coin.

Your place in the practice stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

1The same 9/6 table, played at one coin instead of five. What does the table return with optimal play?

Show the answer

Answer: 98.37%, which is 1.17 percentage points lower. Every row of the table except the royal flush grows in step with the coins, so the coins on the bet change the return only through the royal flush row.

  • 98.37%, which is 1.17 percentage points lower Below five coins the royal flush pays 250 a coin instead of 800, and that one row moves the return of the whole table.
  • More than at five coins Every row pays the same per coin at one coin as at five, except the royal flush row, and the royal flush row pays less per coin at one coin. The return can only go down.
  • 99.54%, the same as at five coins That is the five-coin figure. At one coin the royal flush row pays from the one-to-four-coin column, and the rest of the table cannot make up that row.
2Five coins on a $1.00 machine would take more than the limit you set for one hand. What do you do?

Show the answer

Answer: Play five coins on a machine with a smaller coin. The limit chooses the money a hand may take, and the coins choose the column of the table. When the two collide, the denomination is what moves.

  • Play five coins on a machine with a smaller coin Five coins on a $0.25 machine take $1.25 a hand and keep the five-coin column of the table; if that is still past the limit, a smaller coin again keeps all five.
  • Play one coin on the $1.00 machine One coin keeps the bet inside the limit, but the table then pays from its one-to-four-coin column and returns 98.37% instead of 99.54%. A hundred hands at $1.00 a hand cost $1.63 on average, against $0.57 for five coins on a $0.25 machine.
  • Play five coins on the $1.00 machine anyway That bet takes $5.00 a hand, past the limit you set. The limit comes before the pay table, and a royal flush row is not a reason to move the limit.
3At five coins on the 9/6 table a royal flush comes about once in 40,391 hands. You play 2,000 hands. How likely is at least one royal flush? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: About 4.8%. Each hand is a fresh deal, so the chance of a royal flush is the same on every hand, and over a few thousand hands that small chance adds up to very little.

  • About 4.8% Most runs of that length end with no royal flush at all. The five-coin return is a figure for a very long run, not for an evening.
  • Nearly certain 2,000 hands is a small part of 40,391; nearly every run that long never sees a royal flush.
  • About an even chance An even chance of at least one royal flush takes about 28,000 hands, far more than an evening of play.
4Where does the extra pay for a royal flush at five coins come from?

Show the answer

Answer: The pay table printed for the game. A pay table decides what each row pays for each number of coins, and the royal flush row is where the fifth coin shows.

  • Every video poker machine pays a royal flush that way No casino-floor document we could read prints the royal flush row of a machine on a floor; the row on this page is from the online version. The row to read is the one on the machine in front of you.
  • A rule that a bigger bet always returns more The rule says a higher bet must not return a lower percentage than a lower bet on the same pay table. That is a floor between bets, not a promise that every bigger bet returns more.
  • The pay table printed for the game The royal flush row prints 1,000 at four coins and 4,000 at five, while every other row grows in step with the coins.
5A machine takes more than one denomination. You switch from $0.25 a coin to $1.00 a coin and keep five coins. What changes?

Show the answer

Answer: The money: every hand takes four times as much. What one coin is worth multiplies the money each hand takes; the coins on the bet pick the column. Two numbers, set separately.

  • Nothing that matters Every hand takes $5.00 instead of $1.25, so the money each hand takes changes with the denomination even though the table stays the same.
  • The money: every hand takes four times as much Five coins take $1.25 a hand at $0.25 and $5.00 at $1.00, and 100 hands cost $0.57 and $2.28 on average. The return stays at 99.54% on either denomination, because the table pays per coin.
  • The return goes up with the denomination The table pays per coin, so the return depends on the table and on the coins on the bet, not on what one coin is worth.

Back to the question we opened with. On the table we could read, the coins on the bet decide the column you are paid from, and the royal flush row pays more per coin in the five-coin column. What one coin is worth only multiplies the money, so when five coins do not fit your limit, the coin gets smaller and the five coins stay.

Where the machines are, and further reading

Video poker pay table Copy the pays from the machine’s glass and see what that table returns with optimal play, and what 100 hands cost. Casinos in Canada Every room we list, and what each says about its machines in its own words.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

Further reading

How it’s worked out

Tables, numbers, sources and hosts

Where this happens. The machines on this page are video poker machines standing on a casino floor. The only pay tables with coin columns we could read are from the online version of a game’s rules; no casino-floor document we could read prints the pay table of a video poker machine on a floor, so the rows here are the online version, and the row to trust is the one on the machine in front of you.

Tables and words. This page calls the two tables 9/6 and 8/5 after their Full House and Flush rows; the online rules we read do not use those names. Those rules call one unit of the bet a chip and head the columns X1 to X5; this page says coin, as the name of the lesson does. The rule between bets is part of one province’s standard for casino machines, a set of rules for that province’s casinos rather than a report of any one machine; the source button beside the rule names the publisher and the section.

Numbers. Every return and every royal flush frequency on this page is our count over every possible five-card deal, with the hold that returns the most on every hand, at the pays of the printed table divided by the coins in each column. The price of 100 hands is 100 hands at the bet shown times the share of the money bet that the table keeps; it is an average over a very long run, not a forecast of an evening. The chance of at least one royal flush treats every hand as a fresh deal with the same chance.

What is deliberately absent. There is no price per hour on this page: no document we could read gives how many hands an hour people play video poker, so prices are per 100 hands. How a hand is dealt and drawn and which hands pay is lesson 8.1; how the Full House and Flush rows set the price of a table, and the floor every game has to clear, is lesson 8.2; which cards to keep is lessons 8.4 and 8.5; Deuces Wild is lesson 8.6; what mistakes add to the price is lesson 8.7; and whether a royal flush is ever due is lesson 8.8. What a royal flush pays below five coins on a casino-floor machine is absent too, because no document we could read prints it.

Sources. Every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Video poker is played against the house. Reading the royal flush row and fitting five coins inside your limit tells you the price of the bet before you pay it; nothing on this page makes that price zero, and nothing here says how an evening at a machine would end.

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