A reference guide to the terms you'll encounter when reading about video poker strategy, pay tables, and casino promotions.
Game Mechanics
Action — The total amount wagered over a period. If you play 500 hands at $1.25/hand, your action is $625. Casinos calculate comps based on your action, not your results.
Base Game — The underlying poker variant being played. In multi-hand formats like Triple Play, the base game might be Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, or Bonus Poker. The base game determines the pay table, strategy, and return.
Coin-In — Same as action. The total money fed into the machine. A player with $10,000 coin-in has wagered $10,000 total, regardless of wins and losses in between.
Credits — The unit of value on the machine. At quarter denomination, 1 credit = $0.25. All pay tables are expressed in credits, and max bet is usually 5 credits.
Deal — The initial five cards you're shown. You choose which to hold before the draw replaces the rest.
Denomination — The cash value of one credit. Common denominations: $0.05 (nickel), $0.25 (quarter), $0.50 (half dollar), $1.00 (dollar), $5.00 (five dollar).
Draw — The replacement cards you receive after discarding. In standard video poker, you draw from the remaining 47 cards in the deck (or 48 in Joker Poker).
Hold — The cards you keep before the draw. Choosing which cards to hold is the only strategic decision in video poker.
Max Bet — The maximum number of coins you can wager per hand (usually 5). Playing max bet activates the enhanced Royal Flush payout — essential for reaching the advertised return percentage.
Multi-Hand / Multi-Play — Formats where one deal is replicated across multiple hands (3, 5, 10, 50, or 100). You make one hold decision; each hand draws independently.
Pat Hand — A hand that's already a winner before the draw. Being dealt a Straight, Flush, Full House, or better means you hold all five cards.
Pay Table — The chart on the machine listing what each hand pays. The pay table is the single most important factor in choosing which machine to play.
Wild Card — A card that substitutes for any other card to complete a hand. In Deuces Wild, all four 2s are wild. In Joker Poker, the Joker is wild.
Strategy Terms
Expected Value (EV) — The average return of a specific hold decision, calculated across all possible draws. Strategy charts rank every possible hold by EV — you always choose the hold with the highest EV.
Full Pay — The best available pay table for a game variant. 9/6 Jacks or Better (9-for-1 Full House, 6-for-1 Flush) is full pay at 99.54%. Full Pay Deuces Wild (25-15-9-5-3) returns 100.76%.
Short Pay — Any pay table with reduced payouts compared to full pay. 8/5 Jacks or Better returns 97.30% — over 2% worse than full pay. Short pay machines look identical to full pay; only the pay table numbers differ.
House Edge — The mathematical advantage the casino holds, expressed as a percentage. On 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect strategy, the house edge is 0.46%. On 8/5 Jacks or Better, it's 2.70%.
Penalty Card — A card you discard that would have helped complete a different hand. For example, discarding the Js from Js-10h-9h-8h means you've removed a card that could have helped a Straight. Penalty cards affect EV calculations in close decisions.
Return to Player (RTP) — The percentage of money wagered that the machine pays back over time. 99.54% RTP means the machine returns $99.54 for every $100 wagered, on average, with perfect play.
Variance — How much your results swing above and below expected return in the short term. Jacks or Better is low variance (steady results). Triple Double Bonus is high variance (long losing streaks punctuated by big wins).
Cycle — The theoretical average number of hands between occurrences of a specific result. The Royal Flush cycle is approximately 40,000 hands. This is a statistical average — you might hit two Royals in 5,000 hands or go 100,000 without one.
Hand Rankings (Standard Games)
Listed from highest to lowest, with approximate frequency in Jacks or Better:
| Hand | Example | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 10-J-Q-K-A suited | 1 in 40,000 |
| Straight Flush | 5-6-7-8-9 suited | 1 in 9,000 |
| Four of a Kind | 7-7-7-7-x | 1 in 420 |
| Full House | K-K-K-9-9 | 1 in 87 |
| Flush | Five cards same suit | 1 in 91 |
| Straight | Five cards in sequence | 1 in 89 |
| Three of a Kind | 5-5-5-x-x | 1 in 14 |
| Two Pair | J-J-8-8-x | 1 in 8 |
| Jacks or Better | J-J, Q-Q, K-K, or A-A | 1 in 5 |
Casino and Comp Terms
ADT (Average Daily Theoretical) — The average theoretical loss per day that the casino expects from your play. ADT drives your comp value, room offers, and mailer quality.
Bankroll — Money set aside specifically for gambling, separate from living expenses. Proper bankroll sizing depends on the game's variance and your denomination.
Comp — Short for "complimentary." Free stuff the casino gives you based on your play: rooms, meals, free play, show tickets, gifts.
Free Play — Casino credit loaded to your loyalty card that can be used to play machines. Usually earned through point redemptions or mailer offers.
Host — A casino employee assigned to higher-volume players. Hosts can arrange rooms, meals, event tickets, and sometimes adjust offers.
Mailer — Physical or digital offers sent to players based on their play history. Mailers typically include room offers, free play, and event invitations. Quality depends on your ADT.
Players Card / Loyalty Card — The card you insert into the machine to track your play. Always use your card — it costs nothing and earns comps, tier credits, and cashback.
Theoretical Loss (Theo) — What the casino expects to win from your play, based on the game's house edge and your total action. Theo = Action x House Edge. If you put $10,000 through 9/6 Jacks or Better, your theo is $10,000 x 0.46% = $46.
Tier Credits — Points that determine your loyalty program level (Gold, Platinum, Diamond, etc.). Higher tiers unlock better benefits: resort fee waivers, lounge access, priority service.
Win/Loss Statement — An annual summary from the casino showing your total coin-in, coin-out, and net result. Used for tax documentation but has known accuracy limitations.