The paytable is the most important thing on a video poker machine, and yet it is the part most players ignore. A paytable is simply the chart that lists every winning hand and how much it pays per coin wagered. It is printed right on the screen, and it single-handedly determines the game's return. Understanding what a paytable is — and learning to read one — is the foundation of smart video poker play. This guide explains exactly what a paytable is and why it matters so much.
The Simple Definition
A paytable is the schedule of payouts for a video poker game. It lists each paying hand — from the lowest (often a pair of Jacks) up to the royal flush — and the number of coins each pays for every coin you bet. For example, a line reading "Flush ... 6" means a flush pays 6 coins for each coin wagered. Because video poker outcomes are fixed by the rules of the deck, the paytable is the only thing that changes a game's return from one machine to another.
A Sample Paytable
Here is the paytable for full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better, shown per coin on a five-coin max bet:
| Hand | Payout (per coin) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 |
| Full House | 9 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 |
Notice that the royal flush jumps to 800 only on the fifth coin (it pays 250 per coin for 1-4 coins). That bonus for max-coin play is why you should always bet five coins, a point we return to below.
Why the Paytable Determines Your Return
In video poker, the cards are dealt from a standard, fair deck, so the probability of making each hand is fixed and identical across machines. What differs is how much each hand pays — and that is the paytable. Multiply the probability of each hand by its payout, sum it up, and you get the game's return to player (RTP). Change a single payout and the RTP changes. This is why 9/6 vs 8/5 Jacks or Better matters: lowering the full house from 9 to 8 and the flush from 6 to 5 drops the return from 99.54% to 97.30%, even though the games are otherwise identical. To understand the resulting percentage, see our guide on what RTP means.
How Paytables Define Game Families
Paytables do more than set the return — they define what game you are playing. The structure of the paytable distinguishes the families: Jacks or Better starts at a pair of Jacks; Bonus Poker adds tiered four-of-a-kind payouts; Deuces Wild starts at three of a kind because the wild cards make low hands too easy. When you learn to read a paytable, you can identify both which family a machine belongs to and whether it is the full-pay or a short-pay version of that family.
Full Pay vs Short Pay
Within every game family, the best paytable is called "full pay" and reduced versions are "short pay." Full pay offers the highest return; short pay shaves payouts to increase the house edge. The names are the same, the screens look nearly identical, and only the payout numbers differ. A casual player cannot tell them apart without reading the paytable — which is exactly why casinos can place short-pay machines right next to full-pay ones. The single skill that protects you is reading the paytable before you play.
Where to Find the Paytable
On a physical or online machine, the paytable is displayed on the main screen, usually as a grid at the top. Many machines also let you tap a "pay table" or "see pays" button to view the full schedule, including how payouts scale with the number of coins bet. Before sitting down or starting a game, glance at the key lines — especially the full house and flush in non-wild games, or the four of a kind in wild games. Our step-by-step guide to reading a paytable shows exactly which numbers to check.
The Max-Coin Rule
One feature every paytable shares is the royal flush bonus on the fifth coin. For one through four coins, the royal pays 250 per coin; on the fifth coin it leaps to 800 per coin. Betting fewer than five coins throws away that bonus and drops your return by over a full percentage point. The correct approach is always to bet five coins — and if that is too expensive, drop to a lower denomination rather than fewer coins.
Reading the Coin Columns
A full paytable is not a single column of numbers but a grid. The rows are the paying hands; the columns are the number of coins bet, from one to five. Most payouts simply scale linearly — a flush paying 6 for one coin pays 12 for two, 18 for three, and so on. The one exception is the royal flush, which scales linearly for one through four coins and then jumps disproportionately on the fifth.
| Coins Bet | Royal Flush Pays | Per-Coin Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 250 | 250 |
| 2 | 500 | 250 |
| 3 | 750 | 250 |
| 4 | 1,000 | 250 |
| 5 | 4,000 | 800 |
Reading across this grid is how you confirm a machine rewards max-coin play. If the fifth-coin royal does not jump to a 800-per-coin rate, something is unusual about the machine and you should look closer. On most standard games, that jump is present and is the single best reason to always bet five coins.
How a Paytable Translates Into Return
It is worth understanding, at least conceptually, how the chart on the screen becomes the return percentage players quote. Every paying hand has a fixed probability of occurring when you play optimally — these probabilities come from the mathematics of a 52-card deck and are identical on every machine of the same game family. The paytable supplies the payout for each hand. Multiply each hand's probability by its payout, add up all those products, and you get the expected return per coin wagered. Expressed as a percentage, that is the game's RTP.
This is why the paytable is the only thing that matters between two machines of the same game: the probabilities never change, so the payouts are the sole variable. It is also why a single altered line — a flush dropped from 6 to 5 — changes the entire return. The probability of a flush stayed the same; you are simply paid less each time it occurs, and that reduction, summed across all the flushes you will ever hit, lowers the RTP measurably. For a fuller treatment, see our guide on what RTP means in video poker.
Paytables Across Different Game Families
While the concept is universal, the specific lines to watch change from family to family. Knowing where each family hides its value lets you evaluate any machine quickly.
| Family | Key Lines | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | Full house / flush | 9 / 6 is full pay |
| Bonus Poker | Full house / flush | 8 / 5 is full pay |
| Double Double Bonus | Full house / flush + four-Aces kicker | 9 / 6 plus rich Aces+kicker |
| Deuces Wild | Four of a kind | 5 is full pay; 4 needs other lines checked |
| Joker Poker | Full house / flush / kings minimum | Varies by version |
The general rule that ties these together: the payouts that matter most are attached to the hands you make most often. In non-wild games that means the full house and flush; in wild-card games it means the four of a kind, which becomes common once wilds are in play. A jackpot line like the royal flush, however large, barely affects the return because it occurs so rarely.
Common Mistakes Players Make With Paytables
Even players who know paytables matter make predictable errors. The first is checking the game name instead of the payout column — assuming any machine labeled "Jacks or Better" is the full-pay version. The second is glancing only at the jackpot, impressed by a big royal flush number while ignoring the full house and flush lines that actually drive the return. The third is betting fewer than five coins to save money, which sacrifices the royal bonus and quietly lowers RTP by more than a full point; the correct response to a tight budget is a lower denomination, not fewer coins. The fourth is failing to re-check after switching machines, since the machine right next door can carry a completely different schedule. Avoiding these four mistakes captures nearly all the practical value of paytable literacy.
The Difference One Line Makes
To appreciate why every line on a paytable carries weight, consider how changing just one payout cascades into the overall return. Take 9/6 Jacks or Better and lower only the flush, from 6 to 5, leaving everything else untouched. The flush occurs roughly once every 91 hands with optimal play. That one-coin reduction, applied across all the flushes you will ever make, lowers the game's return by about 1.1 percentage points — turning a 99.54% game into one returning roughly 98.4%.
Now lower the full house too, from 9 to 8, and you have created the classic 8/5 schedule returning 97.30%. Two single-coin reductions on two common hands cost you over two full percentage points. This sensitivity is the essence of why the paytable is supreme: small-looking numbers attached to frequent hands have outsized effects on your long-term results. A player who grasps this never dismisses a payout difference as "just one coin."
Paytables and Strategy Are Linked
A subtle but important point is that the paytable does not only determine your return — it also shapes the correct strategy. Because optimal play means choosing the hold with the highest expected value, and expected value depends on the payouts, a change in the paytable can change which hold is correct in borderline situations. When the flush pays more, flush draws become slightly more valuable and you chase them in a few more spots; when the four-of-a-kind bonus is rich, as in Double Double Bonus, you hold single Aces in situations where standard Jacks or Better would discard them.
This is why each game and major paytable has its own strategy chart, and why you cannot simply carry one game's instincts to another. The paytable is the input that determines both the return you are playing for and the decisions that capture it. Reading the paytable, then, is not just about judging whether a machine is worth playing — it is the first step in knowing how to play it correctly. To see how the payouts translate into a percentage, review our explainer on RTP in video poker.
Putting Paytable Knowledge to Work
The practical payoff of understanding paytables comes together into a simple pre-play routine. Before committing money to any machine, identify the game family by checking the minimum paying hand and the four-of-a-kind structure. Then read the key value lines — full house and flush for non-wild games, four of a kind for wild games — and compare them to the full-pay standard for that family. Confirm the royal flush jumps to 800 per coin on the fifth coin so you know max-coin play is rewarded. Finally, decide based on those numbers, not on the game's name or theme.
This routine takes only seconds and is the foundation on which every other video poker skill rests. Strategy charts, bankroll management, and game selection all assume you are playing a paytable you have actually evaluated. A player who masters reading paytables has eliminated the single most common and most expensive mistake in the game — unknowingly playing a short-pay machine — and is positioned to extract the full return that strategy makes possible. Our step-by-step guide on reading a paytable turns this routine into a habit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the paytable the same on every machine of the same game?
No. Two machines labeled the same game can have different paytables and therefore different returns. Always check each machine individually.
Does the paytable tell me the RTP directly?
Not as a number, but the RTP is calculated entirely from the paytable. Experienced players recognize the return by reading key payout lines.
Which paytable lines matter most?
In non-wild games, the full house and flush. In wild games like Deuces Wild, the four of a kind. These lines move the return the most.
Bottom Line
A paytable is the chart of payouts that determines everything about a video poker game's return. Because the odds of making each hand are fixed, the paytable is the only variable that matters between machines. Learn to read it, always bet max coins, and you will never accidentally play a short-pay game again.