Paytable analyzer — what your machine really pays

Same game, different paytable, wildly different cost: 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.5439%, the common 8/5 version just 97.2984% — a $16.90/hour difference at quarter stakes. Below: exact optimal-play returns for 18 paytables, every one computed by full enumeration. Find yours ↓

How to use this at a machine (or online lobby)

Find the single-coin column. For Jacks or Better read full house / flush; for Double Bonus add the straight; for Deuces Wild read five-of-a-kind / straight flush / quads. Match the row above — the return column is what discipline earns you, and the $/hr column is what the casino charges for the downgrade.

FAQ

What is a full-pay video poker machine?

The best widely-available paytable for a given game — 9/6 for Jacks or Better, 10/7 for Double Bonus, 25/15/9/5/3 for Deuces Wild. Casinos quietly swap in "short-pay" tables (8/5, 9/6 DB) that play identically but return 1–5% less.

How do I identify a Jacks or Better paytable?

Read the full house and flush payouts on the single-coin column: 9 and 6 is full pay (99.5439%). Anything lower is a pay cut: 8/5 costs you 2.25%, 6/5 costs 4.55% — about $34 per hour at quarter stakes.

Are the returns on this page theoretical?

They assume optimal play, which our trainer teaches. Every figure was computed by exact enumeration of all 2,598,960 deals with the best of 32 holds for each — nine of them verified against independently published values to four decimal places.

Can a video poker machine return over 100%?

Yes: full-pay Deuces Wild (100.76%) and 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%) favor the player with perfect strategy. That's why full-pay machines are rare and worth hunting — online paytables are usually a notch below.