An Expert Deuces Wild Strategy

Start with the Basics

It is possible to become so caught up with mathematical strategies when playing video poker that the basics are forgotten. As is true with nearly every version of video poker, when playing Deuces Wild you should always bet the maximum of five coins per hand. Never play unless you are betting five coins, even if you have to reduce the coin size.

That last point is very important when planning your bankroll. Remember that you can always find games with smaller coin denominations if the one you first look at is fixed at €0.25 or higher. It is understandable that €1.25 per hand is too much for some players, so look for a machine that accepts coin sizes of €0.05 or even smaller. That way you should be able to accommodate five coin bets in your bankroll.

The reason for always betting five coins is very simple. There is no way that you can win the game’s top payout without doing so. Below is an example pay table for Deuces Wild that shows how much each hand pays out for different size bets and the game’s theoretical RTP.

You can see that the payout for all hands apart from Natural Royal Flush increases by a constant amount with each additional coin bet, e.g. 2, 4, 5, 8, 10 for Straights and Flushes. However, when you look at the Natural Royal Flush you will see that there is a huge jump in the potential payout for a five-coin bet. If it followed the pattern, it would payout 1,500 coins; however, it pays out 4,000 coins, which is significantly more.

Therefore, make sure you are always betting the maximum five coins otherwise you’ll be kicking yourself if you are dealt a Natural Royal Flush and miss the jackpot.

Inspect the Paytables Carefully

When choosing which Deuces Wild game to play, be sure to look at the RTP rates that can usually be found in the game’s paytable or rules. In a full pay game, thanks to the jackpot available for a Royal Flush, the game’s RTP jumps from 99.67% to 100.76%.

Yes, incredibly it is above 100%, which is why Deuces Wild is the most popular version of video poker. The house edge actually goes into the negative, or the player is given a positive edge of 0.76%, which is unprecedented in casino games.

Given that casinos are capable of turning a profit from blackjack games with a house edge of just 0.50%, having a positive player edge is hugely important. Unfortunately, because of this, it can be quite hard to find full pay Deuces Wild games, but if you do find one, then it is worth sticking to. In the table below, you can see how slight changes to the payout structure changes the RTP. The six numbers in the first column simply refer to the payouts for Wild Royal Flush, Five of a Kind, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House and Flush when betting a single coin.

As you can see, just small changes to the payout structure can make a huge difference, and sometimes the changes can appear to be beneficial at first glance. Compare the bottom and the top rows of the above table. In the bottom row, there is a larger payout for a Straight Flush, but a smaller payout for Four of a Kind, which is a far more common hand in Deuces Wild.

Learn the Strategy

Once you have found a version of Deuces Wild that offers the 0.76% player edge, you need to make sure that you know the game’s basic strategy; otherwise, you will lose that edge. The strategy can appear a little confusing at first, but with some practise, you should be able to master it.

The strategy is best shown in a series of charts that show you what to do based upon the cards that you are holding. Here you can find all of the charts, and there is no reason why you can’t refer to them as you play.

When Holding Four Deuces

When Holding Three Deuces

When Holding Two Deuces

When Holding One Deuce

When Holding No Deuces

These charts can be quite confusing at first, but they are actually very easy to use. First, you check how many deuces (twos) you are holding and then go to the relevant chart. You then start at the top of the chart, at the hand with Strength 1, and work your way down until you find the starting hand that matches yours. All you then do is follow the instructions in the Optimal Play column.

For example, imagine you were dealt 4 Hearts, 9 Hearts, 10 Hearts, J Hearts, 2 Spades. Looking at the hand, you could either use the wild card as a fifth heart to form a flush or make it an 8 Hearts or Q Hearts to form a four-card straight flush draw (i.e. you would be drawing one card to try to make a straight flush).

It can be hard to know whether to go with the definite payout of two coins or to draw for the chance of winning nine coins. That is when you refer to the one deuce chart. The chart shows you that the four-card straight flush draw is higher ranked that the pat flush. Therefore, the mathematically best option is to replace the 4 Hearts and play for the straight flush.

These strategy charts definitely take some getting used to. Furthermore, they rely on you being very familiar with poker hands and being able to spot what you are holding. However, with practise, this becomes second nature and by following all of the above advice, you can soon become a true expert Deuces Wild player.