Deal Draw Poker Video Poker Guide

Deal Draw Poker video poker gives players a chance to benefit from getting paid twice instead of once. As usual, you’ll receive credits in return if you make a winning five-card hand after the draw. But, in an unusual twist, you can also win money if you have a winning hand on the deal alone.

Deal Draw Poker LogoVideo poker creates excitement by providing gamblers with a unique one-person spin on the poker experience. All you have to do is create a winning hand out of a five-card deal and subsequent draw.

Basic video poker, known as Jacks or Better, is still available at casinos and online gambling websites. But the game has grown exponentially and there are new pay tables that allow players to choose their game. You can find games with conservative pay tables and others with more chances at jackpots.

But there are also video poker games which present twists on the basic rhythm of play. These games might add special features like bonus spins or a spinning wheel.

In the case of Deal Draw Poker video poker, you get variety. First of all, you have exposure to many different pay tables. You can choose the one that fits your preferred style of play the best. On top of that, Deal Draw Poker video poker adds a twist to the action. Most video poker games pay you based on the five-card hand you create after discarding cards from your deal and drawing new ones.

But Deal Draw Poker video poker also allows you to get paid based on the deal alone. The payback for the deal is much higher than what you can expect from the payback for your final hand.

What makes Deal Draw Poker video poker so potentially lucrative is the winning deal. You’ll get paid for it regardless because of the special twist. Then, you can get paid again based on the draw, raising the possibility of massive winnings in one fell swoop.

The only drawback is betting for both the deal and the draw. As a result, you’ll be betting twice as much for every hand of Deal Draw Poker video poker. With this kind of betting commitment in place, you’ll have to play with a significant bankroll.

Learn more about Deal Draw Poker video poker in the following article. We’ll show you how to play basic video poker and go into the twist of getting paid based on the deal. Finally, we’ll explain how this game affects payback percentage and how you can learn ideal strategy to maximize your winnings.

Playing Basic Video Poker

For a newcomer to real money video poker, Deal Draw Poker video poker might seem a bit confusing at first. If you fall into that category, it’s probably a good idea to get the hang of the basic game first.

Luckily, video poker is pretty easy to learn. In fact, that learning curve is just one of many great things that await gamblers who play video poker. The game takes the best elements of slot machines and table games, combines them, and comes out the other end with something unique, exciting, and lucrative.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of video poker to the average gambler:

  • You can learn to play in practically no time at all. If you’re familiar with winning poker hands, it will be a breeze. But even complete novices should understand the rhythm of play quite quickly.
  • You can play without needing the help of anybody else. You don’t have to deal with casino patrons. Video poker makes for an entirely self-contained, hassle-free experience.
  • You can use strategy when playing video poker. This is something that doesn’t come into play when you’re mindlessly spinning slot reels. The better your decisions playing video poker, the better you’ll do in the long run.
  • You can make those decisions based on playing card probability. As a result, you won’t have to guess how often to expect winning hands or what your overall payback might be. It’s all right there within the probabilities.
  • You can expect to win more money playing video poker, on average, than you could playing slot machines. And the highest-paying video poker games pay off similarly to the top table games. When it comes to gambling as an investment, it’s hard to do better than video poker.
  • You can play video poker online and expect the same experience from playing in a casino. There’s a wide variety of video poker games to be found on top gambling websites. And you can play them with convenience wherever you have an internet-connected device.

These are just some of the reasons why video poker is so popular. Let’s learn how to play a basic hand of video poker. After that, we’ll move on to the special feature involved with Deal Draw Poker video poker.

Step 1: Your Bankroll

To play any video poker game for real money, you first have to put some money at stake. This money goes into your bankroll. The bankroll allows you to make your wagers and collect all your winnings.

To create a bankroll at a video poker machine, simply insert some money. You can also use a redemption ticket from the casino with credits still remaining. If you’re playing online, you’ll create your bankroll through a gambling account that you have to find before getting started.

Once you’ve created your bankroll, you’ll see it show up on your video poker screen as units known as credits or coins. Each of these units will correspond to whatever the denomination of the game you’re playing. For example, one coin on a 25-cent machine will be worth 25 cents, two coins will be worth 50 cents, and so on.

Step 2: Your Bet

Most video poker games require you to bet between one and five credits per hand. But you have to remember that, with Deal Draw Poker video poker, you have to bet on both the deal on the draw. As a result, you’ll be making wagers in increments of two.

Instead of choosing between 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 credits per hand, you’ll choose between 2, 4, 6, 8, or 19 credits per hand. Half of the bet goes to the draw and the other half to the deal.

In this way, Deal Draw Poker video poker is a tad more expensive than the average video poker game. But, of course, you also have two chances to win, so it evens out.

Your ideal wager in Deal Draw Poker video poker is 10 coins. This is the bet that will give you the best returns over the course of playing the game for a long period of time. And the reason for that is the payoff for the royal flush.

Most winning hands go up in payback in direct proportion to how much is bet. In other words, if you win five coins on a certain hand with a one-coin bet, you’ll win 10 coins with a two-coin bet, 15 coins with a three-coin bet, and so on.

But that isn’t the case with the royal flush. On both the deal and the draw pay tables for Deal Draw Poker video poker, the royal flush payback for five coins wagered is at a much higher ratio than at one through four coins bet. Therefore, you’ll be short-changing yourself if you don’t bet the maximum.

Step 3: Your Hand

If you’ve ever played the table game known as Five-Card Draw, you’ll immediately see the resemblance this game has to video poker. The rhythm of play is the same, in that both include a deal, a discard, and a draw.

But Five-Card Draw is a multi-player game. You have to either form the best hand at the table to win or get everybody else to fold their hands.

Video poker only requires you make one of the winning hands on the pay table. Do so and you’ll get some money back on your wager.

Each different pay table on a Deal Draw Poker video poker machine contains different paybacks for winning hands. In some cases, the threshold for what constitutes a winning hand might even be different. But, for the most part, here is a list of the video poker hands that will pay you back:

  • Pair of jacks or better
  • Two pair
  • Three of a kind
  • Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
  • Flush (five cards of same suit)
  • Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
  • Four of a kind
  • Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
  • Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)

As you can see, some of those combinations require just a few cards, while others require all five in the hand. The hands at the top of the list are relatively easy to make, while the ones at the bottom come up rarely during gameplay. It’s no surprise then that the ones at the bottom pay more.

After making your bet and hitting the “deal” button, five cards appear on your screen. These five cards come from an exact simulation of a 52-card deck.

The 52 cards are always being shuffled by the random number generator within the machine’s software. As soon as you press the button for the deal, the top five cards appear as your deal. Then, the shuffling begins again with the 47 cards until you’re ready for the draw.

You have to assess the cards in your deal for similarities to the winning hands above. In some cases, you’ll have a winning combination right off the bat (which, as you’ll see in a bit, is a really good thing when you’re playing Deal Draw Poker video poker). Other times, you might receive five cards with little connection to each other.

In any case, you will have a chance to improve your hand. First, you get to discard whatever cards in your deal you don’t think are useful to you. You then get to draw new cards from the deck of 47 to complete your hand.

You’ll make the decisions about what to hold and what to discard based on those playing card probabilities we mentioned above. And you also have to consider how much the payout will be for whatever hands you might pursue on the draw. For each hand, you have to decide on the risk of losing the hand you want to incur compared to the reward you might receive if you win.

Let’s take a look at a sample hand for an example of this process. Imagine this five-card deal appearing on your screen:

Six of Diamonds, Six of Clubs, Seven of Clubs, Ten of Clubs, Ace of Clubs

There are no winning combinations in this deal right off the bat. But you can look at the cards and see they can be turned into winning combinations with the right card or two on the draw.

For example, you can hold on to the pair of sixes. With the three cards you’ll be drawing, you could end up with winning hands like two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind.

Another possibility would be to hold on to the four clubs while discarding the six of diamonds. This would leave you around a 1 in 5 choice of drawing a flush.

How did we come up with that probability? Well, there are nine clubs still in the deck of 47. Divide 47 by 9 and you get 5 with a small remainder, hence the chances of a flush are a little less than 1 in 5.

If you’re looking for a high-paying hand, you could try to hold the six, seven, and ten of clubs in the hopes of a straight flush. Or you could hold just the ten and ace of clubs and hope for the royal flush.

In both cases, your chances of getting what you need on the draw are remote. But the size of the potential payback for those hands might be tempting.

Once you make your final decision, you have to press the buttons corresponding to the cards you want to hold, if any. You’ll then press the “draw” button. The cards you’ve discarded will be replaced by new ones from the deck, the hand will be complete, and any winnings will be added.

That’s how a basic hand of video poker works. You can keep playing by repeating the steps for as long as you have credits in your bankroll. Or you can cash out any time you want.

Now that you have that down, it’s time to get a little more involved. Let’s see how Deal Draw Poker video poker works.

Getting Paid on Both the Deal and the Draw

As we mentioned above, Deal Draw Poker video poker allows you to win money on both the deal and the draw. You’ll pay for this privilege by betting twice as much as you normally would.

The first thing you have to understand is that there will be two separate pay tables for each of the different variations available on a Deal Draw Poker video poker machine. One will show your payoffs for the deal. And the other will show your payoff for the draw.

You’ll consult these pay tables to understand how much you’ll get paid for both parts of your hand. Let’s take a look at a sample hand to show you how Deal Draw Poker video poker works.

Imagine you were playing a Double Bonus variation (pay tables shown in the next section) and made the maximum bet of 10 coins and received the following deal:

Three of Hearts, Three of Clubs, Three of Diamonds, Five of Hearts, Seven of Spades

This deal provided you with three of a kind right off the bat. You would consult the “deal” pay table to see what you would win.

You would look under the column for “5 coins,” since your bet is split with five coins on the deal and five coins on the draw. And you would find that you’re due for a 30-coin payout for this portion of the hand alone.

But remember that’s only the deal part of the hand. You would then complete the draw part as if you were playing basic video poker.

Obviously, the right strategic move on that deal is to hold on to the three of a kind and discard the other two cards. Let’s see how that might turn out on the draw:

Three of Hearts, Three of Clubs, Three of Diamonds, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades

You ended up with a full house on the draw. Consulting the Double Bonus pay table below, you can see that your payout for this part is 45 coins.

Now, let’s add it all up. You made 30 coins on the deal and 45 coins on the draw. As a result, your total winnings are 75 coins. Remember that you wagered 10 coins to start. That means that your profit for the hand is 65 coins.

What this sample hand illustrates is how a good deal can essentially pay off double when you’re playing Deal Draw Poker video poker. You know that if you have a winning hand on the deal that you’ll also have one on the draw.

Of course, the flipside is that the size of your wager will depress your bankroll if you don’t win on both parts of a Deal Draw Poker video poker. Let’s illustrate this.

Imagine that you were playing that same Double Bonus pay table and that you made the max bet once again. On the deal you received the following:

Four of Diamonds, Six of Spades, Nine of Clubs, Jack of Hearts, Queen of Hearts

There are no winning combinations on this deal. As a result, you won’t be getting back anything for the deal part of the equation. Let’s assume that you play out the hand by holding on to the jack and queen of hearts. Here is the draw:

Two of Spades, Eight of Clubs, Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Queen of Hearts

You ended up with a pair of jacks. On the Double Bonus draw pay table, such a hand pays back five coins for five coins wagered. In other words, if you were playing the game normally, you would have ended up making your money back.

Such break-even hands are very important in video poker. They allow you to keep your bankroll steady while giving you more chances for big winning hands.

But since this hand came about as part of a Deal Draw Poker video poker game, you would have wagered 10 coins at the start of the hand. And the winnings would still only be five coins. As a result, you have a net loss on the hand of five coins.

Such a style of play means that Deal Draw Poker video poker can be considered a volatile game. By that, we mean that you shouldn’t be surprised if your bankroll swings a bit wildly between big wins and long stretches of losses. In other words, it might not be the game for you if you want to have a good chance of sustaining a bankroll for a long period of time.

Pay Tables for Deal Draw Poker Video Poker

There are several different types of pay table variations available on Deal Draw Poker video poker machines. You can choose between them in an effort to suit the way you want your games to play out.

If you want to keep it simple and keep volatility low, you should choose the Jacks or Better pay table. Should you want to spice up the game by adding more sizable single-hand payouts to the action, you should try one of the Bonus pay tables. And if you want to add wild cards to the action, you should check out Deuces Wild.

No matter which variation you choose, you’ll see two different pay tables for that particular game. One will be for the deal part of the hand and one will be for the draw.

Deal Draw Poker
To illustrate this, we included both the deal and the draw pay tables for Double Bonus poker at the top of the list of tables. From these, you can see that it takes much less to get paid more with the deal pay table.

You’ll notice that the deal pay table starts up with a pair of fives as a paying hand, compared to the draw pay table, which starts with a pair of jacks. As you move up the line from there, you’ll see that the payback for winning hands on the deal is much higher at every point than it is for winning hands on the draw.

Below the two Double Bonus pay tables, we’ve included samples of some of the other draw pay tables available on a Deal Draw Poker video poker machine. Keep in mind that these are just examples and that you might find other tables with slightly different payback amounts depending on where you find the game. Always try to find the tables with the best payback so that you can minimize the house edge.

Double Bonus Poker (Draw) Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind (aces) 160 320 480 640 800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind (any other) 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 7 14 21 28 35
Straight 5 10 15 20 25
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pair 1 2 3 4 5
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Double Bonus Poker (Deal) Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 60000
Straight flush 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Four of a kind (aces) 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 200 400 600 800 1000
Four of a kind (any other) 100 200 300 400 500
Full house 50 100 150 200 250
Flush 20 40 60 80 100
Straight 12 24 36 48 60
Three of a kind 6 12 18 24 30
Two pair 4 8 12 16 20
Jacks or better 2 4 6 8 10
Pair of 5s through 10s 1 2 3 4 5

Jacks or Better Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
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 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pair 2 4 6 8 10
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind (aces) 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 40 80 120 160 200
Four of a kind (any other) 20 40 60 80 100
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
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Bonus Poker Deluxe Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind 80 160 240 320 400
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pair 1 2 3 4 5
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Double Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind (aces) 160 320 480 640 800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind (any other) 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 7 14 21 28 35
Straight 5 10 15 20 25
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pair 1 2 3 4 5
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Double Double Bonus Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind aces w/ any 2,3,4 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Four of a kind 2s, 3s, or 4s w/ any A,2,3,4 160 320 480 640 800
Four aces 160 320 480 640 800
Four 2s, 3s, 4s 80 160 240 320 400
Four 5s through Ks 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pair 1 2 3 4 5
Pair of jacks + 1 2 3 4 5

Triple Double Bonus Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 200 400 600 800 4000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind – aces 2, 3, or 4 kicker 800 1600 2400 3200 4000
Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s A, 2, 3, or 4 kicker 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Four of a kind – aces 5s – Ks kicker 160 320 480 640 800
Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s 5s – Ks kicker 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind – any other 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 2 4 6 8 10
Two pair 1 2 3 4 5
Pair of jacks + 1 2 3 4 5

Deuces Wild Pay Table

Coins/Hands 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Four deuces 200 400 600 800 1000
Wild royal flush 20 40 60 80 100
Five of a kind 12 24 36 48 60
Straight flush 10 20 30 40 50
Four of a kind 4 8 12 16 20
Full house 4 8 12 16 20
Flush 3 6 9 12 15
Straight 2 4 6 8 10
Three of a kind 1 2 3 4 5

Strategy for Deal Draw Poker Video Poker

If you’re serious about playing video poker at a high level, you really have to learn proper strategy. And strategy isn’t something you can make up on your own. You have to base it on the mathematics of what to expect from each possible deal.

In the case of Deal Draw Poker video poker, you don’t have to worry about learning specific strategy for the extra feature of the game. There’s no way you can control what you receive on the deal. That part of your payoff will be completely based on luck.

As for the draw, you will have an impact based on your decisions about what cards to hold and which ones to discard. Make the right decisions and you’ll maximize the money you win back, compared to what you’ve bet over the long haul.

That phrase “over the long haul” is important. Someone playing video poker for just a short session might get away with bad decisions because of luck. By contrast, someone making all the right decisions could lose every hand because they can’t get a break on the draw.

But over time, the probability math will win out. That’s why you have to know how to maximize your potential payback for every possible deal. And you have to base decisions on the pay table you chose. To make it a little easier on yourself, try to stick to one or maybe two pay tables you’re interested in playing on a Deal Draw Poker video poker machine.

Once you’ve done that, get a little help to learn all the right plays in video poker. Trying to do it on your own is next to impossible unless you’re a mathematical genius. Better to let someone do the math for you so you can reap the rewards. With that in mind, we suggest the following methods for learning perfect Deal Draw Poker video poker play.

Video Poker Training Software

Training software lets you learn the right plays for each hand through a process of trial and error. You’ll play sample hands and be tasked with deciding what to hold and what to discard. When you make an incorrect choice based on the math, the software will alert you to the right choice.

After doing this for a while, you’ll start to realize what the right plays are without even thinking about them. Practicing often with video poker training software will allow you to play video poker at a fast rate without having to think about every little choice. And, most importantly, you can be assured of making the right choice every time.

Strategy Charts

Video poker strategy charts are pretty easy to find online, especially for popular pay tables like the ones above. If you can memorize the chart for the pay table you want to play, you’ll be assured of perfect play on a Deal Draw Poker video poker machine. Just don’t try to bring a chart in with you, as casino management might not be pleased about it.

Strategy charts list and rank all the possible card combinations you can receive on the deal. Once you have the chart memorized, you’ll be able to spot the most valuable combinations in each deal that you get. That will let you know that those are the cards you should be holding.

Deal Draw Poker Video Poker Pros and Cons

Pros

  • A great deal will lead to a quick bankroll spike
  • You don’t have to learn any new strategy to play the game well
  • Many different pay tables are available
Cons

  • You have to bet twice the normal amount to play
  • You won’t have any control over essentially half the game
  • A stretch of bad deals will really hurt your bankroll

Conclusion on Deal Draw Poker Video Poker

Deal Draw Poker video poker lets you double up your video poker action without having to do anything extra besides doubling your bet. When you get a great deal, you can rest assured that your bankroll is in for a mighty boost. It will be the kind of game to choose when you want to spice up basic gameplay.