Video poker sits in an unusual spot on the UK casino floor. It is a skill-adjacent game with published paytables, which means the difference between a good variant and a poor one is measurable rather than guesswork. Return-to-player figures for the leading games range from roughly 99.5% down to around 97%, and that two-and-a-half point gap compounds quickly across a session. Choosing the right variant matters more than choosing the right machine. Read more about this at https://winchampion.uk/free-10-no-deposit/.
This guide breaks down the main families of video poker, compares their RTP and variance, and explains how to read a paytable before a single credit is staked. Everything is quoted in pounds, with figures drawn from standard published paytables.
Reading the Paytable Before You Play
Every video poker game is defined by its paytable, and the full-pay versions are the ones worth hunting. The classic benchmark is Jacks or Better, where a 9/6 paytable , nine coins for a full house, six for a flush , returns 99.54% with optimal play. Drop to 8/5 and the RTP falls to 97.30%. That single change costs a player more than £2 for every £100 cycled through the machine.
Paytable literacy is the whole skill. A full house payout of 9 rather than 8, or a flush at 6 rather than 5, is the tell. Casinos rarely advertise the difference, but it is printed plainly on the game screen and it is the first thing to check.
Strategy also drives real returns. Playing Jacks or Better with perfect strategy yields 99.54%, but sloppy holding decisions can shave one to two percentage points off that figure. The gap between theoretical and actual RTP is where most players lose money.
The Main Variants and Their Returns
Jacks or Better remains the safest entry point. Its 99.54% full-pay RTP and low variance suit bankrolls of any size, and the strategy is the simplest to learn. Bonus Poker, which pays more for four-of-a-kind combinations of aces, twos, threes and fours, returns around 99.17% on a full-pay 8/5 table.
Double Bonus Poker pushes four-of-a-kind payouts higher , aces pay 160 coins per five staked , but the trade-off is a weaker flush and full house. Full-pay versions return 100.17%, yet these tables are rare, and the common 10/7/5 variants drop to around 99.1%. Double Double Bonus is more volatile still, with RTP near 98.98% on the best paytables.
Deuces Wild is the wildcard option. Full-pay versions return 100.76%, the highest figure in the standard line-up, but the strategy is intricate and the variance is punishing. Players chasing the top return should expect longer dry spells between paying hands.
- Jacks or Better (9/6): 99.54% RTP, low variance
- Bonus Poker (8/5): 99.17% RTP, low to medium variance
- Double Bonus (10/7/5): 99.10% RTP, high variance
- Double Double Bonus: 98.98% RTP, very high variance
- Deuces Wild (full pay): 100.76% RTP, high variance
Which Variant Comes Out on Top?
On pure RTP, full-pay Deuces Wild and full-pay Double Bonus lead the field, both edging above 100%. The catch is availability. Such tables are scarce, and a player is far more likely to encounter a reduced-pay version returning under 99%. Jacks or Better at 9/6 is the reliable choice because its best paytable is also its most common.
Variance deserves equal weight. A 100.76% game with high variance can drain a £100 bankroll before the edge ever shows itself, while a 99.54% low-variance game stretches the same funds considerably further. For most players, the practical best-paying variant is the one whose paytable they can actually find and whose strategy they can play perfectly.
Compare the paytables side by side, check the full house and flush returns first, and treat the headline RTP figure as a ceiling rather than a promise. That discipline is what separates a considered session from an expensive one.