Video poker sits in a curious space within the Australian poker machine market. Unlike the pokies that dominate clubs and pubs, video poker games are skill-based draw variants where player decisions directly influence returns. The typical local video poker title carries an RTP between 97% and 99.5% when played with optimal strategy, a figure well above the 85-90% range common on standard Australian pokies. That gap of roughly 8 to 14 percentage points is why serious players gravitate toward these games. Read more about this at True Fortune.
What separates a strong video poker title from a weak one comes down to paytable transparency, game speed and variance profile. The games below represent the most popular options among Australian players, ranked by their combination of return, accessibility and strategic depth.
Jacks or Better and Its Strategic Relatives
Jacks or Better remains the benchmark. The standard 9/6 paytable , nine coins for a full house, six for a flush , returns 99.54% with perfect play. Many Australian platforms offer this variant with wagering from as little as $0.05 per hand, making it accessible for players who prefer to grind out small edges over long sessions.
Bonus Poker takes the same base structure but shifts payouts toward four-of-a-kind hands. The 8/5 version returns around 99.17%, while the rarer 10/7 configuration pushes past 100%. Players should always check the full house and flush payouts before committing to a session, since a single coin difference in those rows changes the optimal strategy significantly.
Double Bonus Poker raises the stakes further. Four aces pay 160 coins on a five-coin bet in the strongest configurations, but the trade-off is a steeper house edge on lower hands. The 10/7/5 version returns 100.17%, though finding it requires patience and careful paytable inspection.
Deuces Wild and Joker Variants
Deuces Wild introduces four wild cards, which dramatically reshapes hand probabilities. The optimal return on a full-pay 15/9/4/4/3 machine reaches 100.76% , among the highest figures available on any casino game in Australia. The catch is that strategy is far more complex than Jacks or Better, with dozens of marginal decisions that separate profitable play from costly mistakes.
Joker Poker variants add a single wild joker and generally return between 98% and 99.5% depending on the paytable. These games appeal to players who want wild-card excitement without the steep learning curve of Deuces Wild.
| Game | Best Paytable | Optimal RTP | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | 9/6 | 99.54% | Low |
| Bonus Poker | 10/7 | 100.17% | Medium |
| Double Bonus | 10/7/5 | 100.17% | High |
| Deuces Wild | 15/9/4 | 100.76% | High |
| Joker Poker | Kings or Better | 99.54% | Medium |
Choosing the Right Game and Paytable
Position on a paytable matters more than brand loyalty. A 9/6 Jacks or Better machine at $1 per hand outearns a poorly configured Deuces Wild game at $5 per hand over any meaningful sample size. Before inserting credit, players should verify the full house and flush returns , these two rows tell you almost everything about a machine’s underlying value.
Variance also deserves attention. Double Bonus and Deuces Wild carry standard deviations roughly double that of Jacks or Better, meaning bankrolls of at least 300 to 500 betting units are advisable for sustained play. For casual sessions, low-variance Jacks or Better remains the sensible entry point.
Finally, always confirm the maximum coin bet. Most Australian video poker titles reserve their top royal flush payout , often 4,000 coins , for five-coin wagers. Playing fewer coins can reduce the return by more than 1.2%, erasing any strategic advantage. Treat the five-coin maximum as standard practice rather than an option.
