Atlassino Academy · Video poker · Lesson 6 of 8
Deuces Wild: a different game
Deuces Wild looks like Jacks or Better with four wild cards, but its pay table starts at three of a kind and the holds change with it. Here is how to read the table, and why every deuce stays.
At a Deuces Wild machine you are dealt J♠ J♦ 3♣ 7♥ 9♠. In Jacks or Better that pair of jacks already pays. What does the pair pay here?
The short answer
Nothing. In Deuces Wild the four twos are wild, and the pay table starts at three of a kind, so a pair of jacks pays nothing until it improves. The deuces change the holds as well as the table: every deuce dealt is kept, a pair is a draw rather than a paying hand, and a flush is worth less than in Jacks or Better. A Deuces Wild table that returns more than 100% does so only with the hold worth the most on every hand, over a very long run.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
I used to watch people sit down at a Deuces Wild machine and play it exactly like Jacks or Better: holding a lone king, keeping two pair, letting a deuce go. The screen looks the same and the buttons are the same, but the game is a different game.
Four cards that can be any card
In Deuces Wild every two in the deck is wild: the two of spades, the two of hearts, the two of diamonds and the two of clubs. A two is called a deuce, and a deuce on the screen counts as whichever card turns the hand into the hand that pays the most.
The rules of the online version, in plain words:
- Five of a kind needs a deuce.The deck holds only four cards of each rank, so the fifth card of a kind is always a deuce.
- A royal flush with a deuce in it has a row of its own.On every example table here, the wild royal flush pays far less than the natural royal flush with no deuce.
- A dealt deuce is not held for you.In the online version you press hold on each deuce yourself. How a machine on a casino floor treats a dealt deuce, no document we could read says.
Under the technical standard for machines in B.C. casinos, wild card rules have to be explained in the help screens. Read the help screen of a Deuces Wild machine before the first bet.
A different pay table
No document we could read prints a pay table for Deuces Wild, for a machine on a casino floor or online. The four tables below are therefore example pay tables of this lesson, each named by its rows from the wild royal flush down to the flush. Under each table is its return: what the table pays back on average, out of everything bet, when every hand is played with the hold worth the most, which is how the return of a game with decisions in it is worked out.
| Hand | 25/15/9/5/3/2 | 25/16/10/4/4/3 | 25/15/10/4/4/3 | 25/15/9/4/4/3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural royal flush | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Four deuces | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Wild royal flush | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Five of a kind | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Straight flush | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Four of a kind | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Full house | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Flush | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Straight | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Three of a kind | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Anything else, a pair and two pair included | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Return with the hold worth the most on every hand | 100.76% | 99.73% | 99.42% | 98.91% |
The marked cells are the rows where a table differs from the first column, and those rows move the return in the last row.
On a casino floor the game turns up by name: one operator lists Deuces Wild Poker among its electronic table games, with no pay table printed. Read the rows on the machine’s screen against the tables above.
Four deuces have a row of their own, and holding the four deuces to draw one new card is worth exactly as much as keeping all five.
Four deuces: 200 a coinwhatever the fifth card is
Different holds
Because three of a kind is the lowest hand that pays and a deuce can be any card, the holds of Jacks or Better do not carry over. The first rule is short: every deuce dealt is kept. In every deal at all four example tables, the hold worth the most keeps every deuce.
The same five cards can call for a different hold in each game.
| Hold | Jacks or Better 9/6 | Deuces Wild 25/15/9/5/3/2 |
|---|---|---|
| The pair of eights, 8♣ 8♦ | 0.82 | 0.56 |
| Four clubs, 8♣ 4♣ J♣ K♣ | 1.28 | 0.51 |
The same five cards and the same two holds. In Jacks or Better the four clubs are worth more; in Deuces Wild the pair of eights is worth more, because a flush pays 2 a coin at the example table 25/15/9/5/3/2 against 6 a coin in Jacks or Better 9/6.
Two more holds change with the deuces: a deuce is never traded for a pair, and two pair, which pays nothing here, is cut down to one pair.
Keep 2♣ 9♥ 9♦three of a kind, which already pays: worth 2.02 bets
Keep 9♥ 9♦the pair alone, with the deuce thrown away: worth 0.45 bets, 1.57 less
Keep A♥ A♦the pair of aces alone: worth 0.56 bets
Keep A♥ A♦ 6♣ 6♠both pairs: worth 0.51 bets, 0.051 less
A table that pays back more than it takes
Of the four example tables, one returns more than everything bet: 100.76% at the table 25/15/9/5/3/2. It assumes the hold worth the most on every hand. The Video poker pay table tool says the same under every table above 100%.
The upright line marks a table that pays back exactly what is bet.
A large part of that return comes back in hands that are rare. The natural royal flush pays the most of any row and comes up least often of the paying hands, and the tiles below show how much of the return rests on it.
Take away what the natural royal flushes bring back, and every other hand together brings back less than everything bet. Every stretch of hands without a natural royal flush is played at about that lower return.
- A natural royal flush comesonce in 45,282 handson average, with the hold worth the most on every hand
- Four deuces comeonce in 4,909 handson average, with the same play
- Natural royal flushes bring back1.77%of everything bet
- Every other hand brings back99.00%of everything bet
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
A table above 100% is a maths curiosity, not a plan for tonight. The number assumes no mistakes on any hand and an average over a very long run of hands, and an evening is neither of those.
Decide at home how much money and how much time the evening gets, and stop when either one runs out. Playing on to get a loss back only buys more hands at the same table, and every one of them is dealt 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.
The lesson on one card
That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it, or keep it on your phone.
| Natural royal flush | 800 |
|---|---|
| Four deuces | 200 |
| Wild royal flush | 25 |
| 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 |
An example pay table, not a casino’s table: read the rows on the machine’s own screen before the first bet.
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
Practice: Deuces holds
Each hand is a deal on a Deuces Wild screen at the example table 25/15/9/5/3/2, and the question is always which cards to hold before the draw. Level 1 has at least one deuce in every deal: count the deuces, see what the deuces already make, and keep every deuce. Level 2 has no deuce at all: pairs, flush draws, two pair and hands with nothing.
The draw is never dealt here. Each hold is judged by its value over every possible draw, not by what one draw happens to bring, so a hold worth more can still come out with nothing on a real screen.
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Level 1 · Count the deuces
DEUCES WILD
DEAL · HOLD · DRAW
Which cards do you hold before the draw?
- Keep 2♠ 2♥ 2♦ K♣: the three deuces and the king The king keeps the four of a kind but leaves one card to draw instead of two. This hold is worth 11.57 bets on average, 3.43 less than the hold worth the most here.
- Keep 2♠ 2♥: two of the three deuces That throws a deuce away. This hold is worth 2.43 bets on average, 12.57 less than the hold worth the most here.
- Keep 2♠ 2♥ 2♦: the three deuces Two new cards come to three deuces, and the draw can reach five of a kind, a wild royal flush or four deuces, each of which pays more than four of a kind. This hold is worth 15.00 bets on average, and no other hold of this deal is worth more.
- Keep 2♠ 2♥ 2♦ 7♣ K♣: the four of a kind on the screen Keeping all five takes the four of a kind as it stands and gives up the draw. This hold is worth 5.00 bets on average, 10.00 less than the hold worth the most here.
Three deuces with a king already make four of a kind, and four of a kind pays. The three deuces held on their own are still worth more here than the four of a kind on the screen.
Level 2 · No deuce dealt
DEUCES WILD
DEAL · HOLD · DRAW
Which cards do you hold before the draw?
- Keep 6♥ 3♥ 9♥ K♥: four hearts Four cards to a flush can finish at most as a flush, and a flush pays little in Deuces Wild. This hold is worth 0.51 bets on average, 0.050 less than the hold worth the most here.
- Draw five new cards That throws away the pair of sixes. This hold is worth 0.33 bets on average, 0.23 less than the hold worth the most here.
- Keep 6♥ 6♣: the pair of sixes Three new cards come to the pair, and any six or deuce among the three new cards makes three of a kind. This hold is worth 0.56 bets on average, and no other hold of this deal is worth more.
A flush pays 2 a coin at this table, and the pair of sixes is worth more here than four cards to a flush.
Every hand in the practice run is worked out the same way: each hold on offer is valued over every possible draw from the cards left in the deck, at the example pay table of this lesson, and the hold worth the most is the answer.
How the practice run works
Where the answers come from. Every deal is valued when the page is built by the same video poker engine that works out the returns above: for each hold on offer, every possible draw from the 47 cards left is paid by the example table, and the hold with the highest average is the answer. The wrong answers are named mistakes: a deuce thrown away, a kicker kept beside a hand, high cards kept out of a Jacks or Better habit, a paying hand kept when a draw is worth more, or a draw taken when the hand on the screen is worth more. A hold written into this lesson as the answer that the engine does not agree with stops the build.
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
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Back to the question we opened with. The pair of jacks pays nothing at a Deuces Wild machine: the lowest hand that pays there is three of a kind, so the pair is a draw to three of a kind, and a deuce or a third jack is what turns the pair into a hand that pays.
Where to go next, and further reading
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.
- Game King Video Poker: game rules (online version) · Loto-QuébecDeuces Wild and the other wild-card rules, from Loto-Québec’s online casino.
How it’s worked out
Tables, numbers, sources and hosts
Where this happens. Deuces Wild on a casino floor is played on a video poker machine, or on a machine an operator lists among its electronic table games. The details of the wild card rules come from the online version of one operator’s rules, because no document we could read prints those details for a machine on a casino floor, and the online version is named as such wherever its rules are used.
Tables. No document we could read prints a Deuces Wild pay table. The four tables on this page are example pay tables of this lesson, taken from our video poker pay table tool and named by their rows from the wild royal flush down to the flush. None of the four is offered as the table of any casino, and the Jacks or Better 9/6 table appears only to set the two games side by side.
Numbers. Every return, frequency and share on this page comes from a count over all 2,598,960 five-card deals, with every one of the 32 holds of each deal valued over every possible draw from the 47 cards left, at a five-coin bet. The value of a hold is the exact average of what every draw pays, printed rounded; the hold worth the most is the one with the highest average. Every figure carries a machine-readable key, is recomputed from that key on every build, and every claim on this page about which hold is worth more is checked against the same count, so a sentence that disagreed with the count would stop the build.
What is deliberately absent. There is no money on this page: what 100 hands of a pay table cost is lesson 8.2, and what mistakes cost over 100 hands is lesson 8.7. There is no figure for hands an hour, because no document we could read prints how many hands an hour people play video poker. There is no full Deuces Wild strategy chart, because none is printed, and the practice run checks holds against the count instead. How a deal runs and the deck it comes from are lesson 8.1; coins, denomination and the royal flush at five coins are lesson 8.3; the holds of Jacks or Better are lessons 8.4 and 8.5; the idea that a royal flush is due is lesson 8.8. Other wild card games are not here, because no document we could read prints their pay tables.
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. Knowing the pay table and keeping every deuce makes the price of each hand smaller; nothing on this page makes the game pay back more than it takes for any real player over any real evening, and nothing here says how an evening at a machine would end.
Jacks or Better: the lowest paying hand
The lowest winning hand is a pair of Jacks.
Pair of Jacks or better: pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces.
Loto-Québec (online version) · Jacks or Better — game rules · read
Deuces Wild: twos are wild
From game to game however, there may be scoring or hand ranking variations, e.g. Deuces Wild, in which twos are wild.
Deuces Wild: the rules of the online version
5 of a Kind requires at least 1 Wild card in the hand.
Different paytables can have different minimum rankings for which prizes are paid (e.g. the lowest winning outcome in Deuces Wild is 3 of a Kind).
In Deuces Wild and Deuces Wild Bonus, each of the four cards with the rank of '2' is wild.
A given wild card can substitute for any other card to form the highest paying outcome.
Certain paytables pay a different award amount for a Royal Flush based on whether or not the hand contains any wild cards – see paytable for details.
Dealt wild cards are not automatically held.
Loto-Québec (online version) · Game King Video Poker — game rules · read
Wild card rules on the help screens
Wild card rules shall be clearly explained in the help screens; and
Section 4.7.3 Poker Game Requirements, b) and c)
Return with optimal play
The theoretical payout percentage of Skill-Based Games that are traditional card Games (e.g. video poker) or disclose a Strategy is to be calculated using the optimal or disclosed Strategy respectively.
Section 11.9 Game Payout, 11.9.1 to 11.9.4
AGCO · Casino Electronic Gaming Devices and Gaming Systems Minimum Technical Standards · read
Optimal Play or Strategy: The choice from among more than one option presented to a player by a Game which, if selected by the player, offers the greatest theoretical payout percentage to the player.
Section Glossary
AGCO · Casino Electronic Gaming Devices and Gaming Systems Minimum Technical Standards · read
Gambling devices that may be affected by player skill shall meet the requirements of this section when using an optimal method of play that provides the greatest return to the player over a period of continuous play.
Section 4.9.1 Software Requirements for Percentage Payout
Deuces Wild Poker among electronic table games
ELECTRONIC TABLE GAMES
4 of a Kind Poker Deuces Wild Poker Jacks or Better Poker
Great Canadian Entertainment · Shorelines Casinos (electronic table games) · read
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