Video Poker • Beginner paytable
Video Poker Payouts: Profit, Return and the Five-Credit Royal
Understand a 9/6 Jacks or Better paytable, returned credits versus profit, and the five-credit royal flush bonus before trying the five-hand demo.
Updated October 16, 2026
Try five video poker hands
What does 9/6 mean?
In Jacks or Better, 9/6 describes the full house and flush returns per credit wagered: nine credits for a full house and six for a flush. It does not mean you win nine hands out of six or that every game with the same name has the same paytable.
A typical one-credit column returns 250 for a royal flush, 50 for a straight flush, 25 for four of a kind, 9 for a full house, 6 for a flush, 4 for a straight, 3 for three of a kind, 2 for two pair and 1 for a qualifying high pair. Read the actual table because other variants pay differently.
Payout is not always profit
If you wager one credit and finish with a pair of jacks, the one-credit return replaces the credit you spent: net change is zero. It is a paying hand, but not a profit.
If you wager five credits and make a full house, a 9-per-credit payout returns 45 credits. After subtracting the five-credit wager, your profit is 40 credits. Track wager, total return and net change separately.
| Five-credit wager | Total return | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| No paying hand | 0 | −5 |
| Pair of jacks or better | 5 | 0 |
| Two pair | 10 | +5 |
| Full house | 45 | +40 |
Why the royal’s fifth credit matters
At one credit, a royal typically returns 250. At four credits it returns 1,000. At five credits, the enhanced royal returns 4,000 rather than the 1,250 you would get from simple multiplication.
That bonus changes optimal strategy and long-run return. It does not mean you should increase your spending. In a real-money setting, a smaller denomination may fit a fixed budget better, and the bonus never guarantees that a royal will occur during your session.
Try a paytable check before learning holds
Open the demo and choose a credit value and number of credits. Identify the total wager before dealing. After the draw, compare the highlighted paying category with the paytable, then subtract the wager from the return.
Do this for several hands before trying to memorize hold strategy. The five-hand preview is short and uses fictional credits; a five-hand result cannot estimate the game’s long-run return. Good hold decisions improve expected return under the selected rules, but individual results remain uncertain.
Try it at the table
The five-hand demo uses separate practice credits and needs no account. Full table access and training are Premium. No real-money wagering or cash prizes.
Try five video poker hands