All American Poker is the rare video poker variant that pays the same — 8-for-1 — for Full House, Flush, and Straight. That single design choice flips strategy upside down compared with Jacks or Better and elevates Straight Flush to a 200-for-1 bonus payout (1,000 coins on max bet). Combine these elevated mid-tier rows with a 40-for-1 Four of a Kind and the result is one of the highest-RTP video poker games on the casino floor: under optimal play the full-pay version returns approximately 100.72% RTP — a positive expectation against the house, in theory.
The catch is that full-pay 8/8/8/40 (also called "8/8/8 with 200 SF") is increasingly rare on real casino floors, and the trade-off for the elevated mid-tier payouts is a much weaker Two Pair row (1-for-1 instead of JoB's 2-for-1). That makes Two Pair almost worthless and forces aggressive draw decisions on borderline hands. This guide walks through the basic mechanics, the optimal-strategy adjustments forced by the equal-payout rows, the head-to-head comparison with Jacks or Better, the three paytable variants you'll encounter, and the rookie mistakes that bleed away the game's mathematical edge.
1. Standard 52-card deck, no wild cards, no jokers. Minimum winning hand: a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces.
2. Equal mid-tier payouts: Full House, Flush, and Straight all pay 8-for-1 — equal payout for these three hands. This is the variant's signature.
3. Two Pair pays 1-for-1 (same as a high pair). This is the trade-off for the elevated Straight/Flush rows.
4. Four of a Kind pays 40-for-1 — 60% higher than the standard 25-for-1 in Jacks or Better.
5. Straight Flush pays 200-for-1 on a 1-coin bet, scaling to 1,000 coins on max bet. This is one of the highest Straight Flush payouts in any video poker variant.
6. Always bet max (BET 5) for the Royal Flush jackpot of 4,000 credits (800-for-1) versus 250-for-1 on smaller bets.
All American's equal 8× for FH/FL/Straight changes the mathematical value of every drawing decision. Straights and flushes are now as valuable as full houses, and Straight Flush at 200-for-1 dwarfs every other Straight Flush payout in the genre. The trade-off is the gutted Two Pair row.
| Hand | Payout (BET 1) | vs. Jacks or Better (9/6) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush (max bet) | 800-for-1 | Same |
| Straight Flush | 200 | 4× higher |
| Four of a Kind | 40 | 60% higher |
| Full House | 8 | 11% lower (was 9) |
| Flush | 8 | 33% higher (was 6) |
| Straight | 8 | 100% higher (was 4) |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | Same |
| Two Pair | 1 | 50% lower (was 2) |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | Same |
Straights are now premium hands: With 8-for-1 payout, Straights are worth chasing aggressively. Open-ended straight draws (4 cards, 8 outs) have excellent EV — far better than they have at JoB.
Flush draws are equally valuable: 4-card flush draws should be held over low pairs in All American — a complete reversal from Jacks or Better strategy where the low pair wins.
Two Pair warning: Two Pair pays only 1-for-1 in this variant. Don't be satisfied with Two Pair — strategy charts often correctly draw to improve to a Full House because the EV gap is small.
High pair vs 4-card straight/flush: In standard Jacks or Better, you'd hold the high pair. In All American, a 4-card flush or open straight draw often has higher EV than a high pair.
Always max-bet: Sub-max betting forfeits the Royal Flush bonus and quietly costs about 1.6% of total RTP — bigger than the entire mathematical edge of the full-pay paytable.
Straight Flush is gold: At 200-for-1 (1,000 coins on max bet), Straight Flush is the second-highest payout. Pursue any 4-card Straight Flush draw aggressively — even over a made Flush, in some situations.
Breaking high pairs: In All American, it can be correct to break a pair of Aces for a 4-card flush draw — the 8-for-1 flush payout changes the math significantly compared with the 6-for-1 in JoB.
Inside straight draws: Even 4-card inside straight draws (gutshots, 4 outs) become borderline playable with the 8-for-1 payout — something never done in Jacks or Better. The EV is approximately 0.85, just above neutral.
Two Pair disposal: With Two Pair, calculate whether drawing 1 card to a Full House (8) is worth abandoning the guaranteed 1. With four full-house outs available, the EV of drawing is approximately 0.85 versus the guaranteed 1 of holding — strategy charts almost always hold the Two Pair, but the gap is razor-thin.
Sequential strategy priority (All American specific):
1. Royal Flush → 2. Straight Flush → 3. Four of a Kind → 4. 4-card Royal → 5. Full House → 6. Flush → 7. Straight → 8. 4-card Straight Flush → 9. Three of a Kind → 10. 4-card Flush → 11. High Pair → 12. 4-card Open Straight → 13. Two Pair → 14. 3-card Royal
Searchers comparing "all american poker vs jacks or better" usually want to know whether the elevated Straight, Flush, and Straight Flush rows are worth the gutted Two Pair payout. The math is favourable when full-pay is available: All American at 100.72% beats every variant of Jacks or Better, including the 99.54% full-pay 9/6. Both games share the 52-card deck, no wilds, and the 4,000-coin max-bet Royal. The differences are concentrated in five rows.
| Feature | All American (8/8/8/40) | Jacks or Better (9/6) |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Flush payout | 200-for-1 | 50-for-1 |
| Four of a Kind payout | 40-for-1 | 25-for-1 |
| Full House payout | 8 | 9 |
| Flush payout | 8 | 6 |
| Straight payout | 8 | 4 |
| Two Pair payout | 1 | 2 |
| Optimal RTP | 100.72% | 99.54% |
| House edge | -0.72% (player edge) | 0.46% |
| Variance index | ≈26 (high) | ≈19.5 (medium) |
| Best for | Advantage players, EV maximisers | Casual / steady play |
Compared to 9/6 Jacks or Better's 99.54% RTP, full-pay All American Poker GAINS 1.18% for the player — a theoretical positive expectation. That's why advantage players hunt for full-pay All American machines. The catch: most casinos no longer offer the 8/8/8/40 schedule. Common 8/8/5/40 and 8/5/8/40 variants reduce RTP to roughly 99.6% and 99.4% respectively — still excellent, but no longer player-positive.
All American paytables are quoted with a multi-number shortcut indicating Full House / Flush / Straight / Four of a Kind. "8/8/8/40" means all three mid-tier hands pay 8 and quads pay 40 — the full-pay version. The Straight Flush row is constant at 200-for-1 across these variants. Below are the three you'll most often encounter, with the RTP each delivers under optimal play:
| Hand | Full Pay 8/8/8/40 (100.72%) | 8/8/5/40 (99.60%) | 8/5/8/40 (99.40%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush (max bet) | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| Straight Flush | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Four of a Kind | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Full House | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Flush | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Straight | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The 8/8/8/40 version is the legendary "full pay" All American — the only video poker variant in standard circulation with a positive expectation. The 8/8/5 and 8/5/8 short pays are still excellent at ≈99.5% RTP but cross back into negative-expectation territory. Always check the Flush and Straight rows first — they tell you instantly whether you've found the player-positive paytable or one of the trimmed alternatives.
All American Poker punishes JoB-trained instincts because the equal-payout rows demand a completely recalibrated strategy. The five most expensive errors:
1. Not betting max coins. A 1-coin bet caps the Royal at 250 coins; 5 coins pays 4,000. The Royal jackpot bonus contributes about 1.6% to total RTP — bigger than the entire mathematical edge of the game. Sub-max betting at All American is borderline self-sabotage.
2. Holding low pairs over 4-card flush/straight draws. JoB-trained players instinctively hold low pairs. In All American the 8-for-1 Flush and Straight payouts make 4-card draws meaningfully more valuable than a low pair — a complete reversal.
3. Confusing the paytable with Bonus Poker. Both pay 40 for some Four-of-a-Kind hands, but the Flush and Straight rows are vastly different. Memorising the wrong paytable causes incorrect hold decisions on borderline hands.
4. Not recognising the equal-payout rows. If Full House, Flush, and Straight don't all pay 8, you're not at a full-pay All American machine. Treat 8/8/5/40 and 8/5/8/40 as different games with different optimal strategies.
5. Treating Two Pair as a "good" hand. Two Pair pays only 1-for-1 in All American, the same as a high pair. Don't celebrate Two Pair — it's barely worth the seat time.
Because All American has high variance (index ≈26) driven by the 200-for-1 Straight Flush and 40-for-1 quads, the recommended bankroll is larger than for Jacks or Better. A practical rule of thumb is 400 max bets per session — at $1.25 per spin (5 quarters), that's a $500 buy-in for around 90 minutes of play. Set a stop-loss at 50% of buy-in and a stop-win at +100% to lock in upswings. Advantage players targeting the +0.72% theoretical edge need a meaningfully larger bankroll (typically 500–1,000 max bets) to ride out the variance long enough for the math to materialise.
Full-pay All American Poker is rarer online than at Las Vegas locals' casinos. RTG and Microgaming both offer 8/8/8/40 variants in some markets, while most other operators default to 8/8/5/40 or 8/5/8/40. Pure Video Poker hosts the full-pay 8/8/8/40 version free with 1,000 practice credits and no download required — the right place to drill the equal-payout strategy adjustments before risking real money. When you graduate to a real-money venue, prefer regulated jurisdictions and verify the in-game Flush and Straight rows match the lobby description.
| Hand | BET 1 | BET 2 | BET 3 | BET 4 | BET 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight Flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
| Four of a Kind | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Full House | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Straight | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
All American Poker returns 100.72% to the player (RTP) with optimal strategy on the full-pay 8/8/8/40 paytable. This is one of the few video poker games with a theoretical positive expectation for the player. Common short-pay variants 8/8/5/40 and 8/5/8/40 return roughly 99.6% and 99.4% respectively.
Place your bet (1-5 coins), then press Deal to receive 5 cards from a 52-card deck. Select which cards to hold, then press Draw to replace the rest. Your final hand is evaluated against the pay table. The minimum winning hand is Jacks or Better. Always bet max coins (5) to qualify for the enhanced Royal Flush jackpot of 4,000 coins and the 200x Straight Flush bonus.
All American Poker pays the same 8-for-1 for Full House, Flush, and Straight — equal payouts that exist nowhere else in mainstream video poker. Straight Flush pays 200-for-1 (versus 50 in JoB) and Four of a Kind pays 40 (versus 25). The trade-off is Two Pair, which pays only 1-for-1 instead of 2-for-1.
All American Poker has high variance with an index of approximately 26. The 200-for-1 Straight Flush and 40-for-1 quads produce occasional large payouts, but the gutted Two Pair row produces deeper drawdowns between hits. Bankroll management is more important here than at Jacks or Better.
Yes. All American Poker is completely free to play on Pure Video Poker. No download, no registration, and no real money required. You get 1,000 practice credits to play with. It works in any modern web browser on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Use it to practice strategy and learn the game before playing at a real casino.
The best schedule is the 8/8/8/40 full-pay version at 100.72% RTP — a theoretical positive expectation. The maximum single-hand payout is 4,000 coins for a Royal Flush on a max 5-coin bet, followed by 1,000 coins for a Straight Flush. Avoid the 8/8/5/40 (99.6%) and 8/5/8/40 (99.4%) short-pay variants when full pay is available.
Yes. All American is harder because the equal 8-for-1 Full House / Flush / Straight payouts force a recalibrated strategy. Low pairs become less valuable than 4-card flush or straight draws, Two Pair pays only 1-for-1, and inside straight gutshots become borderline playable. JoB-trained instincts produce systematic errors.
On a max 5-coin bet, the top single-hand wins are: Royal Flush 4,000 coins, Straight Flush 1,000, Four of a Kind 200, Full House 40, Flush 40, Straight 40. The Royal hits about once per 40,000 hands, while Straight Flush hits about once per 9,150 hands.
Only the full-pay 8/8/8/40 version returns 100.72% — a theoretical 0.72% positive expectation under optimal play. Most casinos no longer offer this paytable; the more common 8/8/5/40 and 8/5/8/40 variants return 99.6% and 99.4% respectively. Always verify the Flush and Straight rows before assuming 100%+ RTP.