Deuces Wild plays just like any other
video poker machine: you're dealt 5 cards and you get to decide
which cards to keep and which ones to discard. (5 card draw, they call
it in traditional poker.) See
how to play video poker for an overview of playing the game, and if
you're not sure whether or not you even want to try it, check out the
article on why to
play video poker.
But unlike Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild is a wild card game, and all deuces are wild. This difference has significant effects on both the appropriate strategy for the game and for the payouts.
A wild card is a card that substitutes for whichever card would make your poker hand the best poker hand possible. This of course increases the chances of getting a good hand, and the pay tables for Deuces Wild reflect that difference by requiring a better hand in order to win.
The payouts on Deuces Wild begin with 3 of a kind and go up from there. (Contrast this with Jacks or Better, which has payouts beginning with a pair of jacks.)
The royal flush is still the highest paying hand in this variation of video poker, although 4 deuces will also provide you with a sort of mini-jackpot.
Also, one of the exciting things about Deuces Wild is that you'll see a four of a kind once every 15 hands or so on average. The payout on the 4 of a kind amounts to over 1/3 of the total payback on this game.
Deuces Wild payback tables vary even more dramatically than Jacks or Better payback tables, but Deuces Wild actually offers a 100.76% payback on a full pay machine, which is even better than the 99.5% offered by full pay Jacks or Better. These full pay machines still require perfect strategy to achieve that payback percentage.
Since full pay Deuces Wild is so hard to find, there is a 2nd category of paybacks called "Not So Ugly" or NSU Deuces Wild. (The phrase was coined by video poker expert author Skip Hughes.) The return for NSU Deuces Wild is 99.73%
I'll write a separate article outlining a full version of Deuces Wild strategy, but for now, here are some quick tips that should be easy to remember:
- Never discard a deuce.
- Never keep 2 pair. Doing so eliminates the possibility of getting 4 of a kind.
- Always keep a pair over a 4 card flush or straight draw.
- If the machine doesn't offer at least a 5 for 1 payoff on 4 of a kind, find another machine to play that does.
I'll close this overview of Deuces Wild out with the same final tip I included in the Jacks or Better section: have fun while you're playing. Also see our easy strategy for Deuces Wild video poker article.
You might also be interested in the list of video poker games or free video poker. And learn more about Deuces Wild strategy here.
This page was written on April 10, 2006 and was updated on September 18, 2006..
