Last updated: April 27, 2026
Kings or Better is a video poker variant where only pairs of Kings or Aces qualify as winning hands. Unlike Jacks or Better where Jacks and Queens also pay, Kings or Better raises the bar — you need at least a pair of Kings to win. The result is a tighter low-end with the same payouts on hands above pair.
1. Place your bet: Choose BET 1 through BET 5. Always play BET 5 (max bet) — it unlocks the 4,000-credit Royal Flush bonus instead of the standard 1,250.
2. Receive 5 cards: You're dealt 5 cards from a standard 52-card deck.
3. Select cards to HOLD: Click the cards you want to keep. The goal is to build the strongest possible poker hand.
4. Press DRAW: Discarded cards are replaced from the remaining deck. Your final hand is evaluated against the payout table.
5. Minimum winning hand: A pair of Kings or Aces pays 1× your bet. Pairs of Jacks or Queens do NOT pay.
The main difference is the minimum qualifying pair. In Jacks or Better, any pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces pays out. In Kings or Better, only Kings and Aces qualify. This means pairs of Jacks and Queens are losing hands, making the game significantly more challenging. To compensate, the Full House pays 8× (vs. 9× in standard Jacks or Better) and the Flush pays 5× (vs. 6×).
Always hold: Any made hand (pair of Kings+, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind). Never break a made hand chasing a Royal Flush — except when holding 4 cards to a Royal Flush.
Drawing priority (highest to lowest):
1. Four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush
2. Four cards to a royal flush (discard even a pair)
3. Three of a kind, straight, flush, full house
4. Four cards to a straight flush
5. Two pair
6. High pair (Kings, Aces only)
7. Three cards to a royal flush
8. Four cards to a flush
9. Low pair (2s–Queens)
10. Four cards to an outside straight
| Hand | BET 1 | BET 2 | BET 3 | BET 4 | BET 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full House | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Kings or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Kings or Better returns 98.60% RTP with optimal strategy on the 9/6 full-pay table. The math is straightforward: only pairs of Kings or Aces qualify for the 1× return, so the minimum-paying-hand frequency drops sharply versus Jacks or Better. The reduction in low-pair returns is partially offset by holding more high-pair draws to maximize value.
| Hand | Payout (BET 1) | Frequency (1 in X) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 (4000 BET 5) | 40,200 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 9,500 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 425 |
| Full House | 9 | 87 |
| Flush | 6 | 92 |
| Straight | 4 | 89 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 13.5 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 7.7 |
| Pair of Kings/Aces | 1 | 10.5 |
Compared to Jacks or Better's 99.54% RTP, Kings or Better gives up about 0.94% because pairs of Jacks and Queens — which together account for ~10% of all dealt pairs — no longer pay anything.
Hold a pair of Kings or Aces in nearly every hand — the one common exception is a 4-card royal in the same hand. Royal-draw EV is ~18.4 against pair EV ~7.7, so break the pair and draw the royal.
In Kings or Better, low pairs (2s through Queens) only earn back their EV via three-of-a-kind draws. The 4-card flush at ~5.7 EV beats the non-paying pair at ~4.1. Hold the 4-card flush. This differs from Jacks or Better, where Jacks-Queens-pair EV exceeds the flush draw.
Two unsuited face cards including at least one K or A: hold both — pairing the K/A on the draw is worth more than re-dealing five fresh. QQ or JJ is a non-paying pair, so treat it as a trips draw rather than a winning hand.
| Variant | Royal | SF | 4-Kind | FH | Flush | Straight | RTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/6 (Full Pay) | 800* | 50 | 25 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 98.60% |
| 7/5 | 800* | 50 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 96.45% |
| 6/5 | 800* | 50 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 95.32% |
*per coin at max bet.
Pairs of Kings/Aces are the only paying low hand. Players coming from Jacks or Better often hold Queens out of habit and forget pairs of Q/J no longer pay here.
| Hand | Frequency (1 in X) | Pays (BET 5) | EV Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 40,200 | 4,000 | ~1.99% |
| Straight Flush | 9,500 | 250 | ~0.53% |
| Four of a Kind | 425 | 125 | ~5.88% |
| Full House | 87 | 45 | ~10.3% |
| Flush | 92 | 30 | ~6.52% |
| Straight | 89 | 20 | ~4.49% |
| Three of a Kind | 13.5 | 15 | ~22.2% |
| Two Pair | 7.7 | 10 | ~26.0% |
| Pair (K/A) | 10.5 | 5 | ~20.6% |
| Game | Full Pay RTP | Min Paying Pair | Variance | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tens or Better | 99.14% | Tens | Low (15.8) | Beginners, low-bankroll grinders |
| Jacks or Better | 99.54% | Jacks | Low (19.5) | Industry standard play |
| Kings or Better | 98.60% | Kings | Low (18.7) | High-volume slot-style players |
Kings or Better still classifies as low variance (index ~18.7) even though per-dollar return is below Jacks or Better. A 600-hand bankroll target is about 150× your max bet. At nickels that is $37.50; at quarters that is $187.50. The flatter pay table means smaller swings — sessions feel more like steady drains rather than wild rides, which is roughly why slot players moving to video poker often pick Kings or Better as the first stop.
Dealt: Q♠ Q♥ 4♦ 7♣ J♦. The QQ pair pays nothing in Kings or Better. EV of holding QQ ≈ 4.12 (draw to trips). EV of holding Q-J (two high cards) ≈ 2.45. Hold the QQ. Even though the pair does not pay, it is your best draw to a winning hand here.
Dealt: K♥ 6♥ 9♥ 10♥ 4♣. Hold all four hearts including the K — EV ≈ 5.74 plus an extra ~0.3 for the King-pairing chance after the swap-out. Discarding the 4 only is correct.
Dealt: K♥ Q♥ J♥ K♣ 5♦. You have a paying pair of Kings AND a 3-card royal. EV(KK pair) ≈ 7.7; EV(3-card royal hold) ≈ 7.4. Hold the pair of Kings. The 3-card royal draw is close but does not quite beat a guaranteed-paying pair.
Kings or Better is one of the older video poker variants — the design dates to the late 1970s, when manufacturers were still experimenting with which minimum paying pair would set the right return. The original 1979 video poker machines used a Pair-of-Aces minimum (Aces or Better), which proved too tight for casual play. Jacks or Better became the eventual winner because it produced enough small wins to keep play sessions long, but Kings or Better stuck around as a slot-floor regular in markets where the casino preferred a flatter return curve. Today the game is most common at low-denomination machines (nickels and quarters) where the operator wants a lower per-hand RTP without changing the higher-end pay table.
About 12–15% of hold decisions change between Jacks or Better and Kings or Better. The big shifts: a pair of Jacks or Queens is no longer a paying hand, so it should never be held over a 4-card flush or straight; single Jacks and Queens on the deal are weaker than in JoB and rarely worth holding alone; and the value of a 3-card royal goes up slightly because the alternative paying-pair holds are scarcer. Most online strategy charts for Jacks or Better can be adapted by demoting J/Q pairs and J/Q singletons one tier on the priority list. Players running automated strategy advisors should switch the chart explicitly — running a JoB advisor on a Kings or Better game produces about 0.3% RTP loss from misplayed J/Q pairs and singletons.
Live casinos deal Kings or Better at roughly 600–700 hands per hour. At nickels with max bet, that is $1.50–$1.75 per hour in expected loss on the 9/6 full pay table. Loyalty programs at major properties typically rebate 0.1–0.3% as cashback, dropping effective hourly cost into the 50¢–$1.20 range — within the cost of a coffee. That low expected loss is one of the main reasons regular players choose Kings or Better for long evening sessions. Online, the same math applies but the speed is about 15% slower (no physical card flip animation needed). Players combining Kings or Better with deposit-match bonuses can push the effective RTP above 100%, but most casinos exclude video poker from bonus wagering or count it at 10–20% rate, which is worth checking in the bonus terms before depositing.
Kings or Better produces a paying hand on roughly 36% of dealt-and-drawn hands — slightly below Jacks or Better's 45%. The drop is entirely in the smallest paying tier (Jacks/Queens pairs no longer count). Practically, that means a 600-hand session will feel about 30% drier in terms of small-win frequency. The compensation is that the win sizes for Kings/Aces pairs and above are unchanged, so the dollar amount of small wins stays similar — there are just fewer of them. Players coming from slots usually find this rhythm more familiar than Jacks or Better's rapid-fire small wins, which is part of the reason it stays in rotation at low denominations.
Live Kings or Better machines display the pay table on the screen header, but the schedule rotates with bet size — the displayed numbers are usually for BET 1. To check 9/6 status, look at Full House (must show 9) and Flush (must show 6) on the BET 1 column. Royal Flush should show 250 at BET 1 and jump to 4,000 at BET 5 — if it scales linearly to 1,250 at BET 5, the machine is running a non-standard schedule and should be skipped. Some machines also show the published RTP percentage on a separate info screen; cross-checking that against the visible pay table is the best practice. Online operators publish RTP on the game info panel — open it before depositing, not after.
Many regulars play Kings or Better as a session opener (warm-up) before switching to a higher-variance bonus game. The reasoning: the simpler strategy lets the player settle into rhythm without making expensive mistakes early in the session, and the lower variance gives the bankroll a buffer before higher-variance games pull on it. The pattern works because Kings or Better strategy is a near-subset of bonus strategy — the holds learned here transfer to Bonus Poker directly with only the paying-pair tier needing adjustment. Players who do not warm up tend to misplay the first 50–100 hands of any session, which costs more than the warm-up time saved.
Kings or Better is one of the few video poker games where most of the available RTP can be captured with a strategy chart that fits on a single index card. There are roughly fifteen meaningful hold/discard decisions in any given hand, and the chart resolves all of them. Casual players often skip the chart and rely on intuition; the cost is small per hand but adds up to about 1–1.5% RTP over a session, which roughly doubles the expected hourly loss. Printing or memorizing the chart is the single biggest improvement available to most casual players, and it transfers directly to Aces or Better and Tens or Better with only the paying-pair tier needing adjustment. The game does not reward complex play; it rewards consistent application of a simple chart.
Run 300 hands focused on hands containing one or zero high cards. The Jacks-versus-Kings rule shift is in this category, and most strategy mistakes new Kings or Better players make happen when the deal contains Jacks or Queens but no Kings or Aces. Verifying each of those decisions against the chart settles the strategy faster than trying to learn the chart abstractly. Practice mode credits cover roughly 600 hands at quarter-equivalent stakes — two practice sessions are usually enough.
Kings or Better returns 98.60% to the player (RTP) with optimal strategy. This means for every $100 wagered over the long run, the expected return is $98.60. Using proper strategy is essential to achieve this return rate.
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 Kings or Better. Always bet max coins (5) to qualify for the enhanced Royal Flush jackpot of 4,000 coins.
Yes! Kings or Better is one of the best games for beginners because of its straightforward strategy and low variance. The consistent payouts mean your bankroll lasts longer while you learn. Start by learning which hands to hold and always play max bet for the Royal Flush bonus. Practice here for free to build your skills before playing in a casino.
Kings or Better has low variance. This means relatively steady, predictable results with smaller swings in your bankroll. Ideal for beginners and players who prefer consistent returns.
Yes! Kings or Better 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.
Pairs of Jacks and Queens together cover roughly 10% of all dealt pairs, and Kings or Better pays nothing on either. That single rule change accounts for the whole 0.94% RTP gap. The pay table for higher hands is identical between the two games on full-pay tables.
Yes. The flatter return curve and the rarer triggering of small wins make Kings or Better feel similar to a slot machine in pace. The strategy is also simpler than Bonus Poker because there are fewer special-case quad payouts to memorize.
Some land-based casinos offer Kings or Better as part of progressive video poker banks where the Royal Flush jackpot grows. Online progressive Kings or Better is rarer; check the casino's pay table page for any current jackpot promotions before committing.
Yes — low pairs (2s through Queens) are still strong holds because they draw to three-of-a-kind, two pair, and full house, all of which pay. The non-paying pair has EV around 4.1 coins, which beats most random discard strategies. The same logic applies to suited or connected high cards — single Kings and Aces hold their value as 1-card draws to a paying pair, but unsuited Jacks and Queens are weak holds compared with re-dealing fresh.
Aces or Better requires a pair of Aces as the minimum paying hand, making it even tighter than Kings or Better. RTP drops further (typically 96–97%). Kings or Better is the more common variant and offers a better balance between hit frequency and pay table generosity.