Memorizing a perfect  Deuces Wild video poker strategy might be more work than you're willing to commit to. But you can still get a decent return on a video poker game using a simpler strategy without giving up a high percentage of expectation. If you play slowly and enjoy some of the comp drinks, you might even be able to break even.

• There is no such thing as a high card in Deuces Wild. You never hold a single card unless it's a deuce.
• You never discard a deuce, even if you have a draw to a natural royal flush.
• You will never hold a deuce plus one card. The only time you'll hold cards with a deuce is when you have more than one card to hold with it.
• Always keep a pair over a flush or a straight draw.
• Never keep 2 pair. You always throw on of the 2 pairs away, and it doesn't matter which one.
• Four of a kind accounts for almost 1/3 of the payback percentage on a Deuces Wild game. Look for machines that offer at least a 5 for 1 payoff on a four of a kind.
• If you see a four of a kind less often than once every 15 hands or so, you're probably running cold.

That's a quick, simple, and easy-to-remember strategy for Deuces Wild video poker which will get you started playing without giving up too much advantage to the house. Be sure to learn a complete Deuces Wild strategy as you can though; it's not that hard, and it's worth it to get that extra percentage or two you're giving up by not knowing it.

You can also learn a complete strategy using our Deuces Wild video poker strategy chart. And you might also be interested in our article about free video poker.

This page was written on April 21, 2006 and was updated on September 18, 2007.