Video poker RTP by paytable
Full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better maths, short-pay traps, and sourced in-house edges.
Written and reviewed by RTP Ledger EditorialMethodologyLast reviewed
Published Last materially updated
Video poker RTP comes from the paytable plus optimal hold decisions. The same game name can hide full-pay or short-pay schedules. A one-line change on full house or flush can move house edge by more than a full percentage point. Read the numbers on the machine before you compare titles.
Full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better
Textbook analysis of full-pay Jacks or Better (full house 9×, flush 6×) with optimal strategy yields about 0.46% house edge, or about 99.54% RTP. The 99.54% RTP assumes perfect holds on every dealt hand. Sub-optimal holds raise the player's long-run cost above the published table edge.
Convert edge and RTP with RTP versus house edge. Strategy charts are outside RTP Ledger's publication scope; this page records the paytable-linked edge only.
Ledger table-game reference
| Variant | House edge | Equivalent RTP | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better 9/6, optimal | 0.46% | 99.54% | Full-pay 9/6 with perfect play. Short-pay 8/5 machines jump to ~2.7%. |
Short-pay warning
An 8/5 Jacks or Better table (full house 8×, flush 5×) is a common short-pay schedule. Textbook optimal RTP falls near 97.3% (about 2.7% house edge). Always compare the full-house and flush lines before you assume a cabinet is full-pay. Other variants (Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and others) need their own published schedules.
Published in-house video poker edges
Some crypto casinos publish an in-house video poker edge on an operator page. The video poker originals table lists only those sourced figures from the originals research record.
| Casino | House edge | RTP | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duel | 0.10% | 99.90% | Operator page — Duel Video poker; opens in a new tab |
| Stake | 1.00% | 99.00% | Operator page — Stake Video poker; opens in a new tab |
Figures from originals-edges.json (research snapshot 2026-07-13). Rebates, risk modes and jurisdiction limits can change the effective cost.
Related reading
For other fixed-edge tables see baccarat and roulette. For slot information screens see slot paytables.
Video poker RTP FAQ
What is video poker RTP?
Video poker RTP is the theoretical return with optimal hold strategy on a stated paytable. Full-pay Jacks or Better 9/6 is about 99.54% RTP (≈0.46% house edge). Short-pay tables such as 8/5 are much worse. Always read the paytable in the machine or client.
What does 9/6 Jacks or Better mean?
9/6 means a full house pays 9× and a flush pays 6× for a one-coin unit on that paytable column. Those two lines mark the common “full-pay” Jacks or Better schedule used in textbook edge tables.
Do crypto in-house video poker games match casino paytables?
Only if the operator publishes the same schedule and edge. RTP Ledger lists operator-published video poker edges where traced to operator pages. If the client omits the paytable, treat RTP as unknown.
Video poker still has a house edge. Optimal strategy reduces expected cost relative to poor holds; it does not remove the edge on short-pay tables.
