What a Pay Table Actually Tells You
A video poker pay table is the full list of prizes attached to each winning hand, and it is the single most important piece of information on the screen. Unlike slots, where the return is hidden inside the machine’s programming, video poker publishes its odds openly. The pay table you see is the pay table you get, which is why informed players treat it as a price list rather than decoration. Check out additional details at best visa casino uk 2026.
The critical figure is the return to player percentage, or RTP. A Jacks or Better game paying 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush returns 99.54% with optimal play. Drop that to 8/5 and the return falls to 97.30%. The same game, same graphics, same casino , a difference of more than two percentage points, simply because two numbers changed.
In the United Kingdom, video poker sits within the licensed remote gambling market, so operators publish game rules and theoretical returns alongside the reels. Under UK Gambling Commission rules, promotional terms must be clear, and that transparency extends to how a game’s pay table is presented. Read it first. Everything else follows.
Bear in mind that the advertised RTP assumes perfect strategy. Playing hunches costs money: a player using basic intuition on a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine might return closer to 97-98% rather than 99.54%.
Reading the Two Sides of the Table
Most pay tables split into two halves. The lower section covers hands returned from a bet of one credit , usually a pair of jacks, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a flush, a full house, a straight flush and a royal flush. The upper section, the bonus row, only activates when you bet the maximum five credits.
That bonus row is where the maths gets interesting. A royal flush typically pays 250 credits per coin at one to four credits, then jumps to 800 per coin at five credits. Skipping the maximum bet on a 9/6 Jacks or Better machine cuts the return from 99.54% to 98.37% , a full 1.17 percentage points surrendered for a smaller stake.
Use the table below as a quick reference for the most common Jacks or Better variants found at UK-licensed operators:
| Pay Table | Full House | Flush | Return (5 credits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/6 | 9 | 6 | 99.54% |
| 9/5 | 9 | 5 | 98.45% |
| 8/6 | 8 | 6 | 98.39% |
| 8/5 | 8 | 5 | 97.30% |
| 7/5 | 7 | 5 | 96.15% |
The pattern is consistent: the two numbers in a table’s name tell you almost everything. Learn to spot them before you insert a single penny.
Strategy Changes the Table Demands
Each pay table requires its own strategy, and copying one game’s approach onto another is where many players leak value. On a 9/6 Jacks or Better table, a low pair beats a single high card. On a Deuces Wild table with a reduced four-of-a-kind payout, the correct hold for the same deal can flip entirely.
Watch the mid-range hands closely. Full house and flush payouts drive most of the variance between variants; three of a kind and two pair rarely move. A game paying 6 for a flush rewards chasing four-card flush draws far more aggressively than an identical-looking machine paying 5.
Take your time on the first ten hands of any session. Confirm the pay table matches the game name, check that the bonus row is live at five credits, and only then settle into rhythm. A minute of checking protects hours of play , and in a market where every fraction of a percent counts, that discipline is the whole game.
