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Atlassino Academy · Video poker · Lesson 1 of 8

Deal, hold, draw

A video poker hand is one bet, one deal of five cards, one choice of which cards to keep and one draw. Here is how a hand goes, which hands pay, and what your choice of hold changes.

  • About 17 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
  • Last checked 5 October 2026

The screen deals you J♠ J♦ 3♣ 7♥ 9♠. Which of the five cards do you keep?

The short answer

Keep the two jacks and let the other three cards go. A hand of video poker is one bet, one deal of five cards, one choice of which cards to hold, and one draw that replaces every card you did not hold; the final five cards are then paid by the machine’s pay table, or not at all. The hold is the only choice in the hand. The two jacks alone are worth more than any other way of holding these five cards, and holding the cards worth the most makes each hand cost less without making the machine pay for itself.

FIVE CARDS DEALT

JJJ
JJJ
33
77
99

DEAL

1 · DealYou set the bet and press Deal: five cards come up on the screen.

TOUCH A CARD TO HOLD IT

JJJHELD
JJJHELD
33
77
99

DRAW

2 · HoldYou touch J♠ and J♦, and each jack is marked HELD.

THREE OF A KIND

JJJ
JJJ
JJJ
55
KKK
3 · DrawYou press Draw: the 3♣, 7♥ and 9♠ are replaced, and the final five cards are paid by the pay table.

The two jacks stay where they were, and three new cards take the other three places. The three cards on the last screen are one set out of 16,215 that the deck could have dealt to that hold, and most of those sets do not make three jacks.

Leo presses the lit button under the second of five card shapes on a video poker screen, each card marked only with its suit, the button under the fourth card lit as well, while Maya leans in from the other side and watches the screen.
Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

People come to video poker from the slot machines, and the first thing that surprises them is the pause after the deal: the machine waits for you to choose which cards to keep. That one choice is the whole game.

Deal, hold, draw: one hand from start to finish

A hand of video poker starts with your bet. You press Deal, five cards come up on the screen, and you choose which of the five to keep; every card you do not keep is replaced once, and if the final five cards make a paying hand, the machine pays the hand by its pay table.

  1. BetBefore the cardsChoose the bet; nothing is dealt until you press Deal.
  2. DealFive cards, face upFrom a deck shuffled for this hand.
  3. HoldYour one decisionTouch the cards you keep; each one is marked HELD.
  4. DrawReplaced onceEvery card you did not hold is replaced by a new card.
  5. PaidBy the pay tableThe final five cards are paid if they make a paying hand.

A fresh deck for every hand

The five cards come from a deck that is shuffled again for every hand, so a deal is as unpredictable as cards from a dealer. In Jacks or Better that deck holds 52 cards and no jokers.

  1. In the deck52cards, shuffled before the deal
  2. On the screen5cards dealt to you
  3. Left for the draw47cards the replacements come from
  4. The next handA full deckshuffled again, with nothing carried over

The software is built so that the chance of any one card turning up is the same as at a live table dealt from the same deck.

Which hands pay: from a pair of jacks up

In Jacks or Better, the game this track begins with, the lowest hand that pays is a pair of jacks: a pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces. Everything below that line, a pair of tens or lower included, pays nothing at all.

  1. Royal flush: A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥Ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all of one suit.
  2. Straight flush: 8♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣Five cards in a row, all of one suit.
  3. Four of a kind: K♦ K♣ K♠ K♥ 3♦Four cards of one rank.
  4. Full house: 9♠ 9♥ 9♣ 5♦ 5♠Three of one rank and two of another.
  5. Flush: Q♦ 10♦ 7♦ 4♦ 3♦Five cards of one suit, not in a row.
  6. Straight: 10♥ 9♣ 8♦ 7♠ 6♥Five cards in a row, suits mixed.
  7. Three of a kind: 4♣ 4♥ 4♠ K♦ 8♣Three cards of one rank.
  8. Two pair: J♥ J♣ 5♠ 5♦ 2♥Two pairs of different ranks.
  9. A pair of jacks or better: A♣ A♦ 9♥ 6♠ 3♣A pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces.
  10. The line: everything below pays nothing
  11. A pair of tens or lower: 10♠ 10♣ 8♥ 4♦ 2♠Pays nothing: tens are below jacks.
  12. No pair, no straight, no flush: K♣ J♦ 9♠ 6♥ 2♣Pays nothing.

What each paying hand pays is printed on the machine, and lesson 8.2 reads it line by line.

The four hands highest on the ladder go by these plain-word names.

Where you meet a video poker machine

Video poker is not played at a table, and poker machines in casinos are described as dealing more than one size of virtual deck.

  • On the slot floorVideo poker machines stand among the slot machines, and casinos count the two kinds together.
  • Inside a multi-game machineOne machine can hold video poker, keno and other games behind a single screen.
  • On a video lottery terminal in a barIn Quebec, poker games also run on video lottery terminals in bars that hold a licence: a different machine, outside the casino, under rules of its own.

Your holds change the price, not the direction

Unlike a slot machine, a video poker hand has a decision on every deal. Five cards can be held in 32 different ways, from all five to none, and every one of those holds has its own value: the average the pay table pays over every draw the cards left in the deck can bring.

  1. Hold J♠ J♦A high pair1.53716,215 possible draws
  2. Hold J♠ J♦ 9♠A high pair and a kicker1.4161,081 possible draws
  3. Keep all five cardsA high pair and kickers1.0001 possible draw
  4. Hold J♠One high card0.369178,365 possible draws
  5. Draw five new cards0.3331,533,939 possible draws

The same deal, five of its holds. Each number is what the hold is worth in bets on the 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table at five coins; the longest bar is the hold worth the most, and every other bar is shorter by exactly what that hold gives up.

The return a video poker game is held to is worked out for optimal play: the hold worth the most, on every hand.

The hold worth the most, on every hand99.54%of the money bet comes back, on average, over a very long run
Any other hold, on any handLessevery hold worth less than the most lowers what comes back; lesson 8.7 counts what that costs over 100 hands

No hold turns the house’s edge round; researchers give two rough figures for skilled and less skilled players rather than a property of any machine.

A skilled player, by a rough estimate1%of each bet might still be lost
A less skilled player, perhaps10%of each bet lost
Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

A game with decisions still has a price; skill makes the price smaller, and nothing makes the price go away. Video poker is quick, one hand after another, and a hand that was held well still costs money on average.

Decide at home how much money and how much time the evening gets, take a break when either one is half gone, and stop when either one runs out. Putting more in to get a loss back only buys more hands at the same price.

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

The lesson on one card

That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it, or keep it on your phone.

Video poker handsJacks or Better, from the highest
HandWhat it isExample
Royal flushAce, king, queen, jack and ten, all of one suit.A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥
Straight flushFive cards in a row, all of one suit.8♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣
Four of a kindFour cards of one rank.K♦ K♣ K♠ K♥ 3♦
Full houseThree of one rank and two of another.9♠ 9♥ 9♣ 5♦ 5♠
FlushFive cards of one suit, not in a row.Q♦ 10♦ 7♦ 4♦ 3♦
StraightFive cards in a row, suits mixed.10♥ 9♣ 8♦ 7♠ 6♥
Three of a kindThree cards of one rank.4♣ 4♥ 4♠ K♦ 8♣
Two pairTwo pairs of different ranks.J♥ J♣ 5♠ 5♦ 2♥
A pair of jacks or betterA pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces.A♣ A♦ 9♥ 6♠ 3♣
A pair of tens or lowerPays nothing: tens are below jacks.10♠ 10♣ 8♥ 4♦ 2♠

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

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

Practice: hold and draw

Level 1 puts five cards on the screen and asks what the five cards already make. Level 2 asks which cards you hold, on deals where the answer is a made hand or a pair. Every answer comes from the same count of every possible draw that worked out the bars above.

Nothing is bet here. The practice run stops at the hold, because the hold is the only decision a hand contains. Deals where a made hand is worth breaking are lesson 8.4, deals where nothing pays are lesson 8.5, and Deuces Wild is lesson 8.6.

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

Level 1 · What the deal makes

As the five cards stand, what do they make?

  • A pair of jacks or better A pair of sevens is a pair, and a pair of sevens is not jacks or better: sevens rank below jacks, so this pair pays nothing.
  • Nothing that pays 7♥ 7♣ is a pair, but a pair pays only from jacks up, and sevens are below jacks. The king has no partner, so nothing on this screen pays yet.
  • Two pair One pair of sevens and three single cards make one pair. Two pair needs a second pair of a different rank.

The lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks. A pair below jacks, sevens included, pays nothing unless the draw turns the pair into something more.

Level 2 · Which cards to hold

Which cards do you hold before the draw?

  • Draw five new cards Throwing the queens away throws away a hand that already pays. Five new cards are worth 0.334, 1.20 of a bet less than the queens.
  • Hold Q♥ Q♣ The pair of queens already pays, and three fresh cards can lift the queens to two pair, three of a kind, a full house or four of a kind. Worth 1.537 of the bet on average.
  • Hold Q♥ Q♣ 8♠ The 8♠ is a kicker: the eight pays nothing on its own, and it takes one of the three draws away from the queens. Worth 1.416, which is 0.12 of a bet less than the queens alone.

A pair of jacks or better already pays. Hold the pair on its own and let the other three cards go.

Every deal in the practice run is worked out the same way: the five cards are read by the same counting rules the machine uses, and every hold is counted over every draw the cards left in the deck can bring.

How the practice run works

Where the deals come from. Every deal is five cards chosen to show one thing. On level 1 the answer is the hand the machine’s own counting rules read from the five cards. On level 2 every hold offered is counted over every draw the cards left in the deck can bring, on the 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table at five coins, and the holds worth the most are the ones that count; when two holds are worth exactly the same, both count. The wrong answers are named mistakes: a low pair read as paying, four of a suit read as a flush, a kicker kept beside a pair, a paying hand broken or thrown away.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one hand of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a hand you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress 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 screen deals J♠ J♦ 3♣ 7♥ 9♠. Which cards do you hold?

Show the answer

Answer: Hold J♠ J♦. Count what each hold is worth over every possible draw, and the two jacks alone are worth more than any other way of holding these five cards. A kicker beside a pair only takes a draw away from the pair.

  • Draw five new cards Five new cards are worth 0.333, less than either hold above, because throwing the jacks away throws away a hand that already pays.
  • Hold J♠ J♦ The pair of jacks already pays, and three fresh cards can lift the jacks to two pair, three of a kind, a full house or four of a kind: worth 1.537 of the bet on average.
  • Hold J♠ J♦ 9♠ The nine is a kicker: it pays nothing on its own and takes one of the draws away from the jacks. Worth 1.416, 0.12 of a bet less than the two jacks alone.
2Does it make a difference to what video poker costs whether a player holds well or badly?

Show the answer

Answer: Yes: by one rough estimate, a skilled player might lose about 1% of each bet, a less skilled player perhaps 10%. Holding well makes video poker cheaper than holding badly. Holding well does not turn the house’s edge round.

  • Yes: by one rough estimate, a skilled player might lose about 1% of each bet, a less skilled player perhaps 10% Both figures are losses, and both are rough: the researchers who give them say exact figures depend on the player and on the machine.
  • Yes: a skilled player comes out ahead over time Skill in video poker does not usually let a player overcome the house edge. A skilled player still loses money on average, only more slowly.
  • No: the machine takes the same from everyone The pay table is the same for everyone at the machine, but the holds are yours, and a hold worth less lowers what comes back on every hand where you choose it.
3The deck is shuffled for every deal. Do the hands that came before change the next one? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: No: every deal comes from a freshly shuffled deck, with the odds of a live deal. A deck shuffled for each hand carries nothing over from one hand to the next.

  • No: every deal comes from a freshly shuffled deck, with the odds of a live deal Each hand starts again from a full deck shuffled for that hand, and the chance of any card turning up is the same as at a live table.
  • Yes, while the machine is running hot There is no hot or cold deck to run on: each deal is shuffled fresh, whatever the machine dealt before.
  • Yes: a royal flush that has not come for a long time is getting closer The next hand is dealt from a freshly shuffled deck, and a shuffled deck has no record of what the last hundred hands were. Lesson 8.8 takes that story apart.
4The final five cards hold a pair of sevens and nothing else. Is that a paying hand in Jacks or Better?

Show the answer

Answer: No: the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks. In Jacks or Better the line is drawn at a pair of jacks, and the name of the game says so.

  • Yes, but only at a bet of five coins How many coins you bet changes how much a paying hand returns, not which hands pay: that is lesson 8.3. A pair of sevens pays nothing at any bet.
  • No: the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks A pair of sevens is below the line, so the hand pays nothing.
  • Yes: any pair is a paying hand Only a pair of jacks, queens, kings or aces pays on its own. Sevens are below jacks.
5The return worked out for a video poker game assumes which way of holding?

Show the answer

Answer: The hold worth the most, on every hand. A printed return is the return of perfect holds. Every mistake lowers it, and no hold raises it any further.

  • Whatever the machine decides to deal to each player The deal is a freshly shuffled deck for every hand; the machine does not shape its deals around the player. The return is worked out for the holds, at their most.
  • The hold worth the most, on every hand The return is worked out for optimal play, and optimal play means the hold that gives back the most on every deal.
  • The way an average player holds The return is not an average over players. It assumes the hold worth the most every time, and any player who holds otherwise gets less back.

Back to the question we opened with. Hold J♠ J♦ and let the 3♣, the 7♥ and the 9♠ go: the two jacks alone are worth more than any other hold of that deal, and keeping the nine beside them gives part of that away.

Pay tables, the next lesson, and further reading

Reading the pay table Two rows of the pay table, and what they change about every hand you play. Video poker pay table Copy the pays from the machine’s glass and see what that table returns with optimal play. Casinos in Canada The rooms we list, and what each of them 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

  • Video Poker: how to play · OLG PlaySmartHow a hand goes, the hands that pay, and why only the pay table decides what a hand is worth.
  • Video Poker: odds · OLG PlaySmartWhy the software has to deal like a live deck, and why no round is luckier than the last.
  • Video Poker: strategies · OLG PlaySmartReading the game menu first, and why no machine is ever due.
  • Slot machines (brochure) · Loto-QuébecThe machine categories in Québec’s casinos, including poker machines, and where the payout table sits on each machine.
  • Jacks or Better: game rules (online version) · Loto-QuébecA full pay table by number of chips and a printed holding strategy, from Loto-Québec’s online casino.

How it’s worked out

Rules, numbers, sources and hosts

Where this happens. Every machine on this page is a video poker machine on a casino floor, playing one hand at a time. Machines that deal several hands at once, video lottery terminals in bars and games played on a screen at home follow the same three steps under rules of their own, and none of them is worked out here.

Rules. The order of a hand, the fresh deck and the odds of a live deal come from the standards and guides written for casino machines. How many cards a Jacks or Better deck holds, and which hand is the lowest that pays, are printed only in the rules of an online version of the game: no land-based document we could read prints them for a machine on a casino floor, so read the help screen of the machine in front of you.

Numbers. Every hold value on this page is the average pay over every possible draw from the cards left in the deck, worked out exactly when the page is built, on one example pay table: 9/6 Jacks or Better at five coins, the table lesson 8.2 reads line by line. The return is the same count run over every five-card deal the deck can produce, with the hold worth the most on each. The rule about kickers in this lesson is checked the same way, over every deal: on this pay table no deal has a pair with a kicker as the hold worth the most. The two figures for skilled and less skilled players are the researchers’ rough estimates, quoted, and the paper itself says that exact figures depend on the player and the machine.

What is deliberately absent. No pay table is printed on this page, and no amount of money. Reading the pay table and its price is lesson 8.2; coins, denomination and the royal flush are lesson 8.3; holds on a deal that already pays are lesson 8.4; holds on a deal that pays nothing are lesson 8.5; Deuces Wild is lesson 8.6; what mistakes cost per 100 hands is lesson 8.7; and the stories about a royal flush being due are lesson 8.8. There is no price per hour either: no document we could read says how many hands an hour people play video poker, so this track counts in hands.

Sources. Every rule and 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. Holding the cards worth the most makes each hand cost less than it otherwise would; nothing on this page makes a hand cost nothing, and nothing here says how an evening at a machine would end.

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