Non-wild games include games such as Jacks or Better, Double Bonus Poker, and Bonus Poker. Wild games comprise Joker Wild, Deuces Wild, and more. As mentioned above, video poker is the only casino game that lets you see the real payback for the entire ways to win upfront. Most video poker machines display a pay table at the top of the screen. At a first glance, the payouts in Deuces Wild might look a bit lower than in Jacks or Better or other video poker machines, but that is only because it's not as hard to get with the wild deuces in play. If you study the pay-table you can see that the expected value of the two games is pretty much the same. Deuces Wild Video Poker Strategy. Deuces Wild is a type of video poker game. It is the second most popular video poker game in the world, after Jacks or Better. Many people enjoy playing Deuces Wild online because it has a nice payout table that allows players to get an edge over the house.

1. Deuces Wild Video Poker
2. How To Play Deuces Wild Poker Machine

Playing Deuces Wild video poker online is a little more complicated than playing Jacks or Better video poker. For one thing, you have to account for more variation from pay table to pay table. For another, the values of the hands—drawing hands and final hands—differ greatly because of the large number of wild cards involved.

If you’re just getting started with online Deuces Wild video poker, you should already know how to play Jacks or Better video poker. If you don’t know how to play Jacks or Better, go learn it first.

Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can get started learning how to play Deuces Wild video poker online with this post.

Side note: If you’re up for a challenge, there’s a fairly new game of online poker called Pai Gow Poker that’s worth checking out when you have a chance.

Are Video Poker Machines Random?

The first question some new online Deuces Wild video poker players might ask is this:

Are online video poker machines random? The answer is simple—of course they are. But let’s elaborate on that answer a little bit.

Online video poker machines, like all gambling machines, are powered by computer programs called “random number generators.” (You’ll often see that abbreviated as “RNG.”)

The way a random number generator works is this:

It’s a computer program that constantly generates numbers at a rate of thousands of numbers per second. When you press the “play” or “deal” button on an online video poker machine, the RNG stops on the number it’s generating that split second.

In games like online Deuces Wild video poker, each random number corresponds to a combination of 5 playing cards.

And since the probabilities behind a deck of cards are always based on a 52-card deck with 13 cards in each of 4 suits, is relatively simple for the programmers of the RNG to duplicate the probabilities you’d see from an actual deck of cards.

So not only are video poker machines random, they’re also predictably random in the sense that they have the same probabilities as a real deck of cards.

Choosing an Online Deuces Wild Video Poker Machine Based on the Pay Table

The most important thing that differentiates one video poker machine from another, besides the presence of wild cards, are the payouts for the various hands you might wind up with. The most basic kind of video poker, Jacks or Better, has no wild cards.

In all Deuces Wild video poker online games, the 2s are wild. But the variations in payouts for the various final hands can differ wildly.

Here’s one of the most common Deuces Wild video poker pay tables:

3 of a kind pays off at even money.

A straight pays off at 2 for 1.

A flush pays off at 3 for 1.

A full house pays off at 4 for 1.

4 of a kind pays off at 4 for 1, too.

A straight flush pays off at 9 for 1. (10)

5 of a kind pays off at 15 for 1. (16)

A wild royal flush pays off at 25 for 1.

4 deuces pays off at 200 for 1.

A natural royal flush pays off at 800 for 1.

This pay table provides a skilled online Deuces Wild video poker player with a payback percentage of 98.91%.

This means that the house edge is about 1.09%, but it also assumes that you’re making the mathematically optimal play on each hand.

If you’re just playing by the seat of your pants, you might be giving up between 1% and 4% more in terms of strategy mistakes. That still makes online Deuces Wild video poker one of the best games available at online casinos, odds-wise.

With any gambling game, the payback percentage is less than 100%. That’s how the casino makes its profit in the long run.

But that’s not the only pay table for Deuces Wild that you’ll find. It’s not the best, and it’s also not the worst.

Changes in the payouts for those hands can have a dramatic effect on your potential payback percentage. And the higher the payback percentage, the better off you are as a player.

One pay table for Deuces Wild is called “full pay Deuces Wild,” and it’s going to make a liar out of me. Why? Because the payback percentage for full pay Deuces Wild is 100.76%, meaning you have an edge over the casino.

Of course, these pay tables are almost impossible to find, so my earlier generalization—that all gambling machines have a payback percentage of less than 100%–still holds for all practical purposes.

Here are the differences between the common pay table above and a full pay game:

A flush only pays out 2 for 1 instead of 3 for 1.

A full house only pays out 3 for 1 instead of 4 for 1.

4 of a kind pays out at 5 for 1 instead of 4 for 1.

This is counter-intuitive, because you have dramatically lower payouts for 2 of the more common hands, and you only have an increased payout for 1 hand—a hand which is theoretically harder to get than the 2 hands with the reduced payouts.

But once you’ve done all the multiplication and division, the payback percentage is better for this version of the game.

Another version of Deuces Wild is often called “Not So Ugly.” It has only 2 differences from the original pay table I posted:

A straight flush pays off at 10 for 1 instead of at 9 for 1.

5 of a kind pays off at 16 for 1 instead of 15 for 1.

The payback percentage for “Not So Ugly Deuces Wild” is 99.73%.

This pay table is hard to find, too, but it’s easier to find than full pay Deuces Wild. If you can find it, it’s worth playing.

But unlike Jacks or Better, which only adjust the payout on 2 hands—the flush and the full house—the payouts on Deuces Wild are often adjusted on multiple hands at one time, making it harder to differentiate between one game and the other.

These apps will often provide you with an appropriate playing strategy, too.

How to Play Deuces Wild Video Poker Online Like a Smart Player with a Strategy

If you’re just a recreational player like me, the smartest and easiest strategy to remember when playing Deuces Wild video poker online is to remember to never discard a deuce. If you remember that, you’ll be ahead of a lot of the fish in the casino already.

If you’re interested in taking your game up a notch, though, you’ll need to find a Deuces Wild strategy card for the pay table you’re playing. The correct strategy does depend on which version of the game you’re playing, too.

These strategy cards consist of a ranked list of hands. You start at the top and work your way down until you find the highest-ranked hand that matches the hand you have.

Those are the cards you’ll hold. You’ll discard the other cards.

These strategy cards always sacrifice at least some tenths of a percentage to make them playable. A full, completely accurate pay table would be too complicated to actually use.

Just keep in mind that if you’re using a video poker online strategy card for a game with a different pay table, you’re sacrificing some percentage points back to the casino.

If you’re a recreational player, that’s okay, maybe—but if you have hopes of being an advantage player, you’ll want to get as close to the optimal strategy as possible.

Conclusion

Online Deuces Wild video poker is a lot of fun and offers some of the best odds in the casino, usually—but that varies based on the pay table.

And yes, the game is completely random.

The difference in pay tables is what changes the expectation for both the player and the casino. The casino doesn’t have the ability to adjust the randomness or lack thereof for the game.

Once you can differentiate between pay tables, you just need to find an optimal strategy and start playing.

The Game

Deuces Wild Video Poker

”Deuces Wild” refers to a number of very popular video poker games, with each one of them utilizing a deck of 52 cards. All four Deuces (Twos) represent wild cards, which means that a player may use any Deuce as a replacement for any card, so that he/she gets a complete winning hand. As there are four wild cards to facilitate the completion of a winning hand, in these games the lowest rank for a winning combination is Three of a Kind. Profitable play in Deuces Wild requires the selection of a good game and, of course, accuracy.

How To Play Deuces Wild Poker Machine

Deuces Wild has an array of variations and the majority of them offer low returns. The games with the best payouts sometimes may rank as the top play, which a casino would offer. There are two appropriate gaming options one may choose between – Full-Pay Deuces Wild and Not-So-Ugly Deuces Wild. It is worth noting that such labels were given to the games by players, not by casinos or manufacturers of video poker machines. These names will not be found on machines in any casino.

”Full-Pay Deuces Wild” (FPDW) is also a reference to the game's pay table. This game variation will pay 5 coins per 1-coin bet for a combination such as Four of a Kind and 15 coins per 1-coin bet for a combination such as Five of a Kind. It enjoys the greatest popularity among casino players, as it provides the largest expected return (100.76%). This game may be found on machines with quarter-denominations at a few casinos in Las Vegas.

Another game variation, which requires a similar playing strategy, is the ”pseudo Full-Pay Deuces Wild” (pFPDW), with ”pseudo” meaning ”false”. This game will pay 5 coins per 1-coin bet for a combination such as Four of a Kind and only 12 coins per 1-coin bet for a combination such as Five of a Kind.

Now, let us take a look at the pay tables for both game variations.

Deuces Wild Pay Table
FPDW	pFPDW
Royal Flush	800	800
Four Deuces	200	200
Royal Flush w/2	25	20
Five of a Kind	15	12
Straight Flush	9	9
Four of a Kind	5	5
Full House	3	3
Flush	2	2
Straight	2	2
Three of a Kind	1	1
Expected Return	100.76%	98.94%

As we said, there are plenty of Deuces Wild games, which offer low returns. It is why our guide ignores them, so that we can focus on those, which pay generously, including the games paying more for four Deuces.

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Double Deuces

Unlike the traditional Full-Pay Deuces Wild game, which pays 200 coins per 1-coin bet for a Four Deuces combination, the Double Deuces game pays out 400 coins per 1-coin bet for that same hand. The playing strategy for this game appears close to that for Full-Pay Deuces Wild. Below we are able to examine the pay table for two of its variations, which are obviously casino advantage games (ER<100.00%):

Double Deuces Pay Table
16 / 11	15 / 10
Royal Flush	800	800
Four Deuces	400	400
Royal Flush w/2	25	25
Five of a Kind	16	15
Straight Flush	11	10
Four of a Kind	4	4
Full House	3	3
Flush	2	2
Straight	2	2
Three of a Kind	1	1
Expected Return	99.62%	98.86%

Loose Deuces

This game offers 500 coins per 1-coin bet for a Four Deuces combination, or 2.5 times more compared to the traditional Full-Pay Deuces Wild. The best pay table for the game is now part of the history. In the past one could be able to encounter a 17/10 variation of the game with an expected return of 101.6%. However, casinos and other establishments came to realize that providing players with such a huge advantage would undermine their profitability. But still, the game variation paying the least is 12/8, which offers an expected return of 99.20%, or well above the average return. Below we are able to examine the pay table for three variations of Loose Deuces:

Loose Deuces Pay Table
15 / 10	15 / 8	12 / 8
Royal Flush	800	800	800
Four Deuces	500	500	500
Royal Flush w/2	25	25	25
Five of a Kind	15	15	12
Straight Flush	10	8	8
Four of a Kind	4	4	4
Full House	3	3	3
Flush	2	2	2
Straight	2	2	2
Three of a Kind	1	1	1
Expected Return	100.97%	100.15%	99.20%

Triple Deuces

Only one pay table is to be found for this game. It is a game of contradiction. In case a player draws a hand such as Four Deuces or a Royal Flush, there will be a generous payout. In all other cases, the player is likely to remain disappointed. Below we can observe the one and only pay table:

Triple Deuces Pay Table
Royal Flush	800
Four Deuces	600
Royal Flush w/2	20
Five of a Kind	10
Straight Flush	8
Four of a Kind	4
Full House	3
Flush	2
Straight	2
Three of a Kind	1
Expected Return	99.92%

The Strategy

We are going to present the play strategy for Full-Pay Deuces Wild in a table form, where the possible combinations are shown in order, with the highest-ranking hand being on top. The table should be examined from top to bottom, so that one is able to locate the particular hand he/she was dealt. The first column of the table shows the different hands dealt, while the second one points out which cards, if any, one needs to hold. After a player has found the specific combination, he/she needs to conform with the instructions in the second column, unless, of course, his/her situation matches one of the exceptions in the third column. If the latter is true, the player needs to conform with the instructions in the third column, where exceptions are presented in order of relevance. If number one exception matches one's situation, he/she needs to follow it. If not, he/she will need to move further to the number two exception and etc. The fourth column features actions one should never take when dealt that particular hand. It includes useful information, which could prevent costly mistakes.

Dealt Hand (What is available)	What needs to be done	Exceptions	Actions one should avoid
Natural Royal Flush	Hold a Natural Royal Flush (no Deuces)	None	1. One should abstain from selecting the Double Down option, which may be available.
Wild Royal Flush	Hold Wild Royal Flush (one, two, or three Deuces)	1. In progressive Full-Pay Deuces Wild paying over 5 400 coins, in case one has one Deuce, he/she needs to discard the Deuce and keep four to a Natural Royal Flush.	1. One should never keep three Deuces instead of the Wild Royal Flush. He/she should hold the Wild Royal Flush. 2. Unless playing a progressive Full-Pay Deuces Wild paying over 5 400 coins, one should never keep four to a Natural Royal Flush instead of the Wild Royal Flush. He/she should hold the Wild Royal Flush.
Four Deuces	Hold Four Deuces	None	None
Five of a Kind	Hold Five of a Kind	1. One should keep three Deuces instead of five Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes, Sevens, Eights, or Nines.	1. One should never keep five Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes, Sevens, Eights, or Nines when dealt three Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only.
Straight Flush	Hold Straight Flush	1. One should keep three Deuces.	1. One should never keep a Straight Flush when dealt three Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only.
Four of a Kind	Hold Four of a Kind	1. One should keep three Deuces.	1. One should never keep Four of a Kind when dealt three Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only.
Full House	Hold Full House	None	None
Flush	Hold Flush	1. One should keep four to a Natural Royal Flush or four to a Wild Royal Flush. 2. One should keep four to a Straight Flush, in case they include two Deuces and two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 3. One should keep two Deuces.	1. One should never keep a Flush over four to a Natural or Wild Royal Flush. He/she should hold the four to a Royal. 2. One should never keep a Flush over four to a Straight Flush with two Deuces, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. He/she should hold the four cards only. 3. One should never keep a Flush when dealt two Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only.
Straight	Hold Straight	1. One should keep four to a Royal Flush or four to a Wild Royal Flush. 2. One should keep four to a Straight Flush, in case they include two Deuces and two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 3. One should keep two Deuces.	1. One should never keep a Straight over four to a Natural or Wild Royal Flush. He/she should hold the four to Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep a Straight over four to a Straight Flush with two Deuces, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. He/she should hold the four cards only. 3. One should never keep a Straight when dealt two Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only.
Three of a Kind	Hold Three of a Kind	1. One should keep four to a Wild Royal Flush. 2. One should keep four to a Straight Flush, in case they include two Deuces and two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 3. One should keep two Deuces. 4. One should keep four to a Straight Flush, in case they include one Deuce and three cards Five and higher, with 0 gaps.	1. One should never keep Three of a Kind over four to a Wild Royal Flush. He/she should hold the four to a Wild Royal. 2. One should never keep Three of a Kind over four to a Straight Flush with two Deuces, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. He/she should hold the four to the Straight Flush. 3. One should never keep Three of a Kind when dealt two Deuces. He/she should hold the Deuces only. 4. One should never keep Three of a Kind over four to a Straight Flush with one Deuce, three cards Five and higher, with 0 gaps. He/she should hold the four to a Straight Flush.
Two Pair	Hold one Pair!	1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush.	1. One should never keep one Pair over three to a Royal Flush. He/she should keep the three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep both pairs when dealt Two Pair. He/she should hold one pair only.
One Pair (0 Deuces)	Hold the Pair	1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush.	1. One should never keep a Pair over three to a Royal Flush. He/she should hold three to a Royal.
Four to a Flush	Hold Four to a Flush	1. One should keep three to a Natural Royal Flush. 2. One should keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, unless one is an Ace. Then, he/she should hold the Deuce only. 3. One should keep three to a Straight Flush, in case they include one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 4. One should keep one Deuce.	1. One should never keep four to a Flush over three to a Natural Royal Flush. He/she should keep the three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, if one of the cards is an Ace. He/she should hold the Deuce only. 3. One should never keep a Four Flush over three to a Straight Flush with one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 4. One should never keep a four to a Flush with one Deuce. He/she should keep the Deuce only.
Four to a Straight (Open-Ended or Inside)	Hold Four to a Straight	1. One should keep three to a Natural Royal Flush. 2. One should keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, unless one is an Ace. Then, he/she should hold the Deuce only. 3. One should keep three to a Straight Flush, in case they include one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 4. One should keep one Deuce. 5. In case an Inside Four-Straight includes an unsuited Ace, Three, Four and Five, one should keep nothing.	1. One should never keep four to a Straight over three to a Natural Royal Flush. He/she should keep the three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, if one of the cards is an Ace. He/she should hold the Deuce only. 3. One should never keep four to a Straight over three to a Straight Flush with one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. 4. One should never keep a four to a Straight with one Deuce. He/she should keep the Deuce only. 5. One should never keep an unsuited Ace, Three, Four and Five to a Straight. He/she should keep nothing.
Three to a Straight Flush (0 Deuces)	Hold Three to a Straight Flush	1. One should not keep three to a Straight Flush, in case the Ace is a low card.	1. One should never keep three to a Straight Flush, in case the Ace is a low card. If that is indeed the case, he/she should hold nothing.
Three to a Straight Flush (one Deuce)	Hold one Deuce	1. One should keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, unless one card is an Ace and there is either a Straight or a Flush Penalty. He/she should hold the Deuce only. 2. One should keep three to a Straight Flush, in case it includes one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps.	1. One should never keep three to a Wild Royal Flush, in case one of the cards is an Ace and there is a Straight or a Flush Penalty. He/she should hold the Deuce only. 2. One should never keep only a Deuce over three to a Straight Flush with one Deuce, two cards Six and higher, with 0 gaps. He/she should hold the three to a Straight Flush.
High Cards	Hold nothing	1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should keep two to a Royal Flush, unless one of the cards is an Ace. If that is indeed the case, he/she should hold nothing. 3. One should keep two to a Royal Flush, unless either card has a Straight or a Flush Penalty. Penalty cards are not applicable to Jack and Ten, Queen and Jack, Queen and Ten combinations. If there is a penalty, one should hold nothing. 4. One should hold one Deuce.	1. One should never discard three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep two to a Royal, in case one of the cards is an Ace. If that is indeed the case, he/she should hold nothing. 3. One should never discard a Deuce.