On this page
Deuces Wild video poker strategy
Introduction
The strategy I propose is based on the ‘full pay’ Deuces Wild paytable outlined below.
"Full Pay\" Deuces Wild — 100.76%
Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Natural royal flush | 800 | 440202756 | 0.000022 | 0.017667 |
Four deuces | 200 | 4060462824 | 0.000204 | 0.040741 |
Wild royal flush | 25 | 35796957696 | 0.001796 | 0.044896 |
Five of a kind | 15 | 63818309856 | 0.003202 | 0.048024 |
Straight flush | 9 | 83087969280 | 0.004168 | 0.037515 |
Four of a kind | 5 | 1294427430576 | 0.064938 | 0.324691 |
Full house | 3 | 423165297240 | 0.021229 | 0.063687 |
Flush | 2 | 334561280724 | 0.016784 | 0.033568 |
Straight | 2 | 1117664265756 | 0.056070 | 0.112141 |
Three of a kind | 1 | 5674784779512 | 0.284690 | 0.284690 |
Nothing | 0 | 10901423560980 | 0.546897 | 0.000000 |
Total | 0 | 19933230517200 | 1.000000 | 1.007620 |
Optimal Strategy
I believe the recommended strategy for the given paytable is optimal. To find the best course of action, examine the list based on how many deuces you hold (deuces are never discarded). From there, select the highest-ranking playable hand. For instance, if you have both a pair and four cards towards a flush, keep the pair since it ranks higher on the list. The numbers on the right signify the expected returns, which may fluctuate based on the discards made.
Players should carefully assess draws for straight flushes. Typically, the number of card ranks involved will affect the spread. However, if the straight flush requires low-ranking cards, it can diminish the chances of completing it. For example, a suited sequence like 3-4-5.
0 Deuces
- Natural royal flush (800.0000)
- 4 to a royal flush (19.574469)
- Straight flush (9.0000)
- Four of a kind (5.8510637)
- Full house (3.0000)
- Three of a kind (2.0175762)
- Straight/Flush (2.0000)
- 4 to an outside straight flush (1.65958)
- Suited 10-J-Q (1.3987)8
- 4 to an inside straight flush (1.3829787)
- 3 to a royal flush, except 10-J-Q (1.2719704)
- Pair (0.560222)
- Two pair (0.5106383)
- 4 to a flush (0.5106383)
- 4 to an outside straight (0.5106383)
- 3 to a straight flush, spread 3-4, suited 345(0.5051-0.3959)
- 2 to a royal flush, jack highest1(0.38815913)
- 3 to a straight flush, spread 5 and suited 346,3562,3,4 (0.35522664)
- Four cards toward an inside straight, missing just a deuce (0.34042552).
- 2 to a royal flush, queen highest5(0.33851373)
- Two cards towards a royal flush, with the king being the highest, with no penalty cards in play.6 (0.3278446)
- Garbage , everything discarded(0.32552597)
- Two cards towards a royal flush, with the king as highest, plus one penalty card present.7 (0.3185939)
- 2 to a royal flush, ace highest (0.29768732)
- 3 to a straight flush, A low (0.2729)
- A suited sequence of 7-10-J is better than a suited 10-J if either (1) the player discards a king and ace, or (2) discards a queen without discarding an 8.
- Three cards toward a straight flush, with a spread of 5, and one straight penalty card is precisely equivalent in expected value to an inside straight. For example, consider having three cards towards a straight flush with two gaps and a straight penalty card. More details on this hand are discussed below.5♥,6♠,8♥, 9♥,K♣Prioritize playing four cards towards an inside straight over three cards to a straight flush with a spread of 5 when a straight penalty card is involved in the straight flush.
- Opt for keeping two cards towards a royal flush (queen high) over three cards towards a straight flush with a spread of 5, provided the high cards are 6 or 7.
- Keep two cards towards a royal flush (queen high) over four cards to an inside straight if there are no penalty cards affecting flushes and a fully open straight is possible. A fully open straight situation means the existence of some straight without any discarded penalty cards. For instance, when holding suited 10-Q along with unsuited 5-K-A, the player can aim for a straight of Q-J-10-9-8. However, if holding suited 10-Q with unsuited K-9-5, the player should pursue the inside straight since K and 9 block any fully open straight possibilities. Additionally, keep suited Q/10 with 6/7/8 and any suited 6 or 7.
- There are some unusual situations where it makes sense to discard all cards rather than retain two cards for a royal flush (king high) when no penalty cards are present. Please refer to my details on this.
- There are rare scenarios where it's advisable to keep the two cards toward a royal flush (king high), even with the presence of a straight penalty card like 9 or ace. For additional context, see my notes. deuces wild appendix 1 for a list of these exceptions.
- If you have a suited 8 along with an off-suited king, prioritize playing the four cards towards the inside straight flush. deuces wild appendix 3 for a list of these exceptions.
- Three consecutive suited cards from 5-6-7 or higher (2.21277).
1 Deuce
- Wild royal flush (25.0000)
- 5 of a kind (15.0000)
- Straight flush (9.0000)
- Four of a kind (5.8510637)
- 4 to a royal flush (3.4042554)
- Full house (3.0000)
- Three cards toward a royal flush, with the highest card being king or lower (1.1424607).
- 3 of a kind (2.01758)
- Straight (2.0000)
- Flush (2.0000)
- All other 4 to a straight flush (1.70213 to1.97872)
- Two consecutive suited cards, either 6-7 or higher, plus a deuce (1.0952822).
- Three cards toward a royal flush, with the ace as the highest card and no penalty cards (1.0462534).
- Three cards toward a royal flush, where the ace is the highest card, but with one or more penalty cards present.
- Deuce only (1.0328652)
- Two consecutive suited cards, either 5-6 or lower, plus a deuce (1.0166513).8 (1.0286771)
- There are unique exceptions to this guideline that can lead to varied outcomes. Sometimes, with two cards towards a royal flush (no penalty cards), it's better to keep just the deuce, while in other cases, it might be wise to chase the royal with a penalty card. I have noted these scenarios in my analysis.
- 4 to an outside straight (1.0000)
Note:
Two consecutive suited cards, either 6-7 or higher, with additional deuces (3.3404255). deuces wild appendix 2 for a list of these exceptions.
2 Deuces
- Wild royal flush (25.0000)
- 5 of a kind (15.0000)
- Straight flush (9.0000)
- Four of a kind (5.8510637)
- 4 to a royal flush (4.617021)
- Two consecutive suited cards, 5-6 or lower, including deuces (3.1276596).
- 2 deuces only (3.2730188)
- Holding only three deuces while discarding a pair of tens or higher (14.938946) This combination should be avoided entirely.
- Full house or less
3 Deuces
- Wild royal flush (25.0000)
- 3 deuces only, non-pair discarded (15.059204)
- 3 deuces only, pair 9 or less discarded (15.057354)
- 5 of a kind (15.0000)
- Outside straight: An open-ended straight that can be completed from either end, such as (7, 8, 9, 10). A wild card cannot be used to finish an outside straight. For instance, having 2, 5, 7, and 8 means you lack the 6 to form a proper outside straight. However, having 2, 5, 6, and 7 does provide four cards towards a valid outside straight.
- 4 to a royal flush (11.829787)
- Straight flush or less
4 Deuces
- 4 deuces (200.0000)
Inside straight: A straight that is missing an interior card, like (6, 7, 9, 10).
Penalty card: A discarded card that could have been useful in a particular scenario. For example, if holding three cards toward a royal flush alongside four cards toward a flush, the optimal decision would be to retain the three royal flush cards and let go of the fourth suited card. This discarded card becomes a flush penalty card as it could have completed a flush. By discarding it, the player's chance to achieve a flush is reduced, hence the term 'penalized.' At times, penalty cards can affect borderline decisions. For example, with a suited 10 and king, and no cards of that suit or a 9, jack, queen, or ace, keeping both may marginally improve odds for a royal flush. But this is only slightly better than discarding everything. If just one suited card or a straight-completing card exists, the potential to form a flush or a straight is harmed, reducing the overall expected return below that of discarding altogether. In this scenario, players must remain cautious about the implications of penalty cards.
It is not uncommon in video poker, particularly in Deuces Wild, for two different plays to yield identical expected values. For example, in scenarios involving two pair, players should opt to retain just one of these pairs, as it makes no difference which one. However, it is quite rare for two plays to share the same expected value while possessing distinct distributions of potential hands post-draw. Full pay Deuces Wild is one of the few scenarios where this occurs. For instance, three to a straight flush, with two gaps, along with one straight penalty card has an expected value of 0.340425532, regardless of pursuing the straight flush or the straight. The subsequent table outlines the possible outcomes for both strategies.



Combinations leading to three cards towards the straight flush.
A comprehensive guide for winning at Full Pay Deuces Wild. return tables To devise the strategy mentioned above, I designed a program capable of calculating the expected return for the optimal play of any given hand. This program considers all 32 potential ways to play out a hand. For each variation, it meticulously scores held cards against all possible discarded combinations and averages the results. The play yielding the highest average score is identified as the optimal choice, and the specific statistics for that play are then presented. The program can also display statistics for less optimal plays. This process has allowed me to carefully analyze numerous borderline hands and rank them based on expected returns. I leveraged Bob Dancer's insights to confirm my strategies.
For more information please see the In his report, I found several lesser-known exceptions that I had previously missed, which helped refine my approach. My gratitude goes out to Bob Dancer for his valuable input. You can by Bob Dancer.
Methodology
purchase his software and strategy cards through this link. Deuces Wild Video Poker The standard deviation analyses pertaining to n-hand video poker. Determine returns for nearly any video poker paytable. .