Since the objective of video poker is to get the highest possible hand it is essential for the player to know the hierarchy of hand rankings. These are given below in descending order.
Royal flush: Ten, Jack, Queen, King Ace of the same suit
Straight flush: Five cards of the same suit in sequence
Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank
Full House: Three cards of the same rank and the remaining two cards of the same rank
Flush: All cards of the same suit
Straight: Five cards in sequence of mixed suits
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank
Two pairs: Two sets of two cards of the same rank
Jacks or better: The highest card is a Jack, Queen. King or Ace
Payout Schedule
Though the hierarchy of hand rankings remains the same from machine to machine, the payouts differ and therefore the player has to be careful where he plays. The best odds are given by "9-6" machines. This implies a payout of 9 to 1 for a full house and 6 to 1 for a flush. The "9-6" machines pay 250 to 1 for a royal flush and 1 to 1 for jacks or better. The other payouts fall in between. However most machines are "8-5" machines - that is they pay 8 to 1 for a full house and 5 to 1 for a flush.
Machines that offer lower payouts attract players by offering a variety of bonuses. One such bonus usually offered is extra payout for hitting four of a kind for certain specified ranks, like four twos. Wild cards are another variation that benefits players. In Deuces Wild any of the twos can be substituted for any other card. The flip side is that the minimum payout is on three of a kind. Jokers Wild is played with a pack that has, in addition to the 52 normal cards, a joker. The joker can be substituted for any other card. Here the minimum payout is on kings or better.
