Understanding Deuces Wild Video Poker Strategy

Updated: 08.07.2024

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Deuces Wild is one of the most popular video poker variants available at online casino sites. In this game, the 2s act as wilds and can be used to represent any other card in the deck. Deuces Wild is a popular video poker variant amongst fans due to the high RTP rate and increased potential to make strong hands. Based on our experience, we've found that learning optimal strategy is key to decreasing the house edge and increasing your chances of walking away a winner in the short term.

In this article, we'll be covering the rules of Deuces Wild Video Poker, the hand rankings, basic strategy, and much more.

Basics of Deuces Wild Video Poker Strategy

The strategy of the Deuces Wild video poker game revolves around the number of deuces you have in your hand; the more deuces you have, the more likely you are to receive a huge payout. The highest payouts are reserved for the strongest hands, so a good rule of thumb is to aim for the best possible hand based on the number of deuces in your hand and the other cards you're dealt.

In Deuces Wild, it's much easier to make strong hands than it is in games like Jacks or Better video poker due to the wild deuces. Hands that are usually highly valued, such as four-of-a-kind or full houses aren't as valuable as a hand of wild 2s.

To that end, we've outlined the basic strategies you can use when playing at the best payout online casinos for Deuces Wild video poker.

Four Deuces

This is an excellent hand to hold onto as you're guaranteed a big payout. There's no strategy required when you're dealt a hand this strong; just sit back and watch the credits roll in.
Three Deuces

This is a good poker hand to be dealt, as you're guaranteed to make four-of-a-kind or better. If you have four cards to a royal flush, choose to hold that card and discard the other. Otherwise, try to make five-of-a-kind by holding on to your deuces.
Two Deuces

If your initial hand is Four of a Kind or better, hold on to it. If you have four of the five cards necessary for a Royal Flush, keep the four and toss the remaining card. If you have four cards to a Straight Flush, for instance, two of the cards are higher than 6, keep those four cards and toss the other one. With all other combinations, hold your deuces and discard cards that don't improve your hand.
One Deuce

The rules here are identical to if you hold two deuces, with a few additional pointers. You should always keep a full house should you have one, as well as any three-of-a-kind, straight, or flush. If you haven't been dealt a made hand, keep your deuce and toss the rest.
No Deuces

If you have three or more cards for any combinations, keep them, discard the rest, and hope for a deuce. If you have two or more cards for high-value combinations like a Royal Flush, or three cards to a straight flush, keep them and discard the rest. If you have no hope of creating any combinations, discard all your cards.

Expert Tip

Never throw away a deuce, as these cards are "wild" and can be used with other cards to create strong hands.

How to Play Deuces Wild Video Poker

If you're completely new to the world of online Deuces Wild poker, you may be wondering where to begin. That's why our team have created a helpful guide that you can follow along with at home to play video poker for real money.

Choose a Deuces Wild game

Many of the top casinos offer a variety of different Deuces Wild games, so take a look at the options and pick your favourite. We recommend Full Pay Deuces Wild as it offers the best RTP rate - 100.71%.
Check the payout table

Once you have loaded the game, select how many credits you'd like to be per round. When you're ready, click the Deal button to begin.
Place a bet

Once you have loaded the game, select how many credits you'd like to be per round. When you're ready, click the Deal button to begin.
Choose which cards to keep

After clicking the Deal button, you'll be dealt five cards. Choose which cards to keep by clicking on them, based on the strategies above. Remember that deuces are wild so hold onto them if you find them.
Confirm your choice

Once you're ready to throw away your cards, click the Draw button. Your selected cards will be discarded and you'll be dealt new cards in their place.
Check your new hand

Once your new cards are dealt, check your hand against the pay table to see if you've won. Online video poker machines will instantly pay out based on the hand you make.
Decide whether to continue playing

Take a look at your bankroll and decide whether you want to make another wager and gamble your winnings.

Deuces Wild Poker Hand Rankings

Whether you're playing Deuces Wild or Jacks or Better, the aim of video poker is to make the best possible poker hand. When deuces are wild, you can make hands that you wouldn't usually be able to make with a 52-card deck.

To prepare yourself to play Deuces Wild video poker online, take a look at the possible winning combinations below.

Three of a Kind: This hand contains three matching cards, for instance, three 4's.
Straight: This hand contains five sequential cards of differing suits. An ace can feature at the start of a low straight (A2345) or at the end of a high straight (TJQKA).
Flush: This hand is five cards of a singular suit—for example, five spade cards, irrespective of sequence.
Full House: This hand contains both a pair of cards and three of a kind. Suits don't matter here, as long as the cards have the same value.
Four of a Kind: This hand has four matching cards, irrespective of the suit, for example, four 6's.
Straight Flush: This is a hand featuring five cards of the same suit in sequential order.
Five of a Kind: This hand is exclusive to Deuces as it relies on using a 2 to complete what would otherwise be four of a kind.
Wild Royal Flush: In traditional poker rules, a royal flush would be considered the strongest hand in the game. It is similar to a straight flush, but it can only be made with the 10, J, Q, K, and A of a single suit. A royal flush made using one or many deuces is considered a "wild royal flush" and has a lower value than a natural royal.
Four Deuces: This is a hand containing four 2's.
Natural Royal Flush: This is a Royal Flush as above, without including any wild cards, in this case, deuces.

Winning Hand Payout Table

Like online slot games, Deuces Wild video poker uses a pay table to determine how much a player gets when they make certain hands. While similar to Jacks or Better, the Deuces Wild paytable has some slight changes that reflect the different winnings hands that you can make. Each variant of Deuces Wild has a different paytable, so make sure you familiarise yourself with the table for your game before you start playing.

Below, we've posted the paytable for the Full Pay Deuces Wild game, which has a return to player rate of 100.71%.

Winning Hand Payout Table
Hand	Prize with a bet of 1 coin	Prize with a bet of 2 coins	Prize with a bet of 3 coins	Prize with a bet of 4 coins	Prize with a bet of 5 coins
Three of a kind	1	2	3	4	5
Straight	2	4	6	8	10
Flush	2	4	6	8	10
Full House	3	6	9	12	15
Four of a Kind	5	10	15	20	25
Straight Flush	9	18	27	36	45
Five of a Kind	15	30	45	60	75
Wild Royal Flush	25	50	75	100	125
Four Deuces	200	400	600	800	1,000
Natural Royal Flush	800	1,600	2,400	3,200	4,000

TIPS FOR BANKROLL MANAGEMENT

While strategies for card games such as Deuces Wild are important, the most important thing to remember is to always gamble responsibly. To help our readers enjoy Deuves Wild video poker responsibly, our experts have provided some helpful tips:

Only bet what you can afford to lose: When playing any game for real money, never bet money that you can't afford to lose, and never increase your bet size to chase losses.
Determine your budget before playing: Before you start playing, choose a coin size that's appropriate for your bankroll and stick to it. This will help you ride the swings of the game while staying within your bankroll.
Don't use the 'Gamble' button: Many video poker games offer a "Double or Nothing" gamble feature when you win a hand, but our experts advise against playing it.
Higher bets result in bigger wins: Betting the maximum amount of five coins is usually recommended when playing video poker, but should only be done so if it fits your budget.

Summary

To sum up, Deuces Wild is a popular poker game that's available at some of the best online casinos in Canada and around the world. To play optimally, we recommend following our strategy guide and aim to make the best hand possible based on the number of deuces you hold. Make sure you check the pay table before playing and always gamble responsibly.

If you want to learn the ropes before playing for real money, our experts recommend playing free online versions of video poker; these games allow you to play games of Deuces Wild without risking your money.

With over 5 years of experience in iGaming, Dmitry Rogalchuk leads a content team at CasinoCanada, ensuring that every article on the CasinoCanada website is informative and engaging for our readers.

Dmitry Rogalchuk

5.0

Former Head of Content

The University of British Columbia

Master of Business Administration - MBA, Digital Marketing and Business Analytics