How to play Deuces Wild video poker

With high returns and four wild cards in play, Deuces Wild is a firm favourite among video poker players worldwide. Find out how it differs from standard Jacks or Better poker and where to play it online for real money.

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Where to play Deuces Wild online

Video poker players don’t have many land-based options nowadays, as most of the nation’s brick-and-mortar casinos have ditched these high-paying games to make more room for slot machines. As such, the easiest way to find the best Deuces Wild poker games is to play online at one of our trusted real money casinos, the best of which are listed in the casino table above.

Each of these safe casino sites carries popular video poker games such as Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better and Joker Poker, all of which are available for real money play with your currency. We only recommend online casinos that use respected software providers like Betsoft, Microgaming and Net Entertainment, and which are licensed and regulated by recognised gambling authorities. If you are ever in doubt about a casino’s credentials, look for the seal of approval from eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) – the gold standard in safety, fairness and honest operation.

Rules of Deuces Wild video poker

Each hand of Deuces Wild is played with a standard deck of 52 cards in which the Deuces (Twos) all act as wild cards. That means if you have a Deuce, it can substitute for any other card to make the strongest possible hand.

For example, let’s say we are dealt two Kings, two Aces and a Deuce. Because the Deuce is a wild card, it can act as either an Ace or a King to complete a full house.

Otherwise, Deuces Wild poker follows standard Jacks or Better gameplay rules. The only difference is the payout chart, which is adjusted to reflect the comparative ease of drawing strong hands with four wilds in play. It also features a few unique combinations you won’t find in non-wild games.

Deuces Wild pay chart

Deuces Wild Power PokerWhereas full pay Jacks or Better poker only requires a pair of Jacks or higher to win a payout, the lowest-paying hand in Deuces Wild is a three of a kind. There are also three special hands not found in most forms of online video poker:

Four Deuces – A four of a kind featuring all the Twos in the deck. This is the second best hand in the game, behind a non-wild royal flush.

Wild royal flush – A royal flush that features at least one wild card. A royal flush with no wilds is called a ‘natural’ royal flush.

Five of a kind – A hand made up of a wild and four non-wild cards of the same rank (e.g. four Kings and a Deuce).

There is a great deal of variance in the payout charts for online Deuces Wild video poker. Below is the standard schedule for ‘full pay’ games found at land-based casinos in the United States, with returns listed according to a five-coin bet (e.g. a natural royal pays 4000 for 1 odds, which equates to a payout of 800 coins for each coin wagered).

  • Natural royal flush = 800 for 1
  • Four Deuces = 200 for 1
  • Wild royal flush = 25 for 1
  • Five of a kind = 15 for 1
  • Straight flush = 9 for 1
  • Four of a kind = 5 for 1
  • Three of a kind = 3 for 1
  • Flush = 2 for 1
  • Straight = 2 for 1
  • Three of a kind = 1 for 1
  • Two pair or less = no win

By contrast, this is the pay chart for Microgaming’s Deuces Wild Power Poker title:

  • Natural royal flush = 800 for 1
  • Four Deuces = 250 for 1
  • Wild royal flush = 45 for 1
  • Five of a kind = 15 for 1
  • Straight flush = 9 for 1
  • Four of a kind = 4 for 1
  • Three of a kind = 3 for 1
  • Flush = 2 for 1
  • Straight = 2 for 1
  • Three of a kind = 1 for 1
  • Two pair or less = no win

Deuces Wild house edge

As there are so many different pay tables for Deuces Wild, the house edge and ideal strategy can vary significantly from game to game. For example: the full pay Deuces Wild table above gives a theoretical return of 100.76 per cent with optimal strategy – i.e. a negative house edge – while the Microgaming Power Poker version pays at around 99.37 per cent.

BetSoft Deuces Wild Multihand

Below are the expected returns for some of the most popular real money Deuces Wild games at our top online casinos.

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Basic strategy for Deuces Wild poker

Deuces Wild strategy is split into five lists that show the ideal way to play when you have either four Deuces, three Deuces, two Deuces, one Deuce, or no Deuces. Look at your initial hand, check the appropriate list depending on the number of Deuces drawn, then play the highest-ranked option available for the cards at your disposal.

This is the basic strategy for Microgaming Deuces Wild Power Poker:

Four Deuces drawn

  1. Four Deuces (no change)

Three Deuces drawn

  1. Wild royal flush
  2. Three Deuces (discard others)

Two Deuces drawn

  1. Wild royal flush, five of a kind, or straight flush
  2. Four cards to a royal flush
  3. Four of a kind
  4. Two Deuces (discard others)

One Deuce drawn

  1. Wild royal flush, five of a kind, or straight flush
  2. Four cards to a royal flush
  3. Four of a kind or full house
  4. Four cards to a straight flush (no gap)
  5. Flush or straight
  6. Any four cards to a straight flush
  7. Three of a kind
  8. Three cards to a royal flush
  9. Three cards to a straight flush (no gaps)
  10. One Deuce (discard others)

No Deuces drawn

  1. Royal flush
  2. Four cards to a royal flush
  3. Straight flush, four of a kind, or full house
  4. Flush or straight
  5. Three of a kind
  6. Four cards to a straight flush (no gap)
  7. Three cards to a royal flush
  8. Any four cards to a straight flush
  9. One pair
  10. Four cards to a flush
  11. Four cards to a straight (no gap)
  12. Three cards to a straight flush (one gap or none)
  13. Suited 10-Jack, 10-Queen, or Jack-Queen
  14. Suited King-Queen, King-Jack, or King-10
  15. Three cards to a straight flush (two gaps)
  16. Any four cards to a straight
  17. Suited Ace-King, Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack, or Ace-10
  18. Discard all

Looking for other video poker variants to try? Give these games a go:

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