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This article will explain its rules, odds, pay table, and how to implement the perfect strategy and increase your winning chances.
How to Play Deuces Wild Video Poker
The rules of Deuces Wild are easy to understand, especially if you are familiar with those of Jacks or Better. Once the game starts, you will be dealt five cards. Decide which cards to keep and press the Hold button, which will automatically discard those you don’t need. The machine will re-deal the cards to replace the discarded ones. Your ultimate goal is to form the strongest hand possible.
Then, your hand will be compared against a table of five-card poker hands. You’ll receive a payout if you have at least three-of-a-kind.
Deuces Wild Poker Hands Ranking and Pay Table
Deuces Wild is played with a standard 52-card deck, and the hand rankings are the same as in other video poker variants. However, the deuces acting as a substitute for other cards complicate things and bring in a few non-standard hand combinations.
Combinations such as one pair or two pairs have no value. Still, it is possible to form a five-of-a-kind, a straight, and a royal flush with deuces. For instance:
- A natural royal flush is considered a royal flush when no wild cards are included. When there is at least one wild card, that is a wild royal flush.
- Five-of-a-kind refers to five cards of the same rank with or without any combination of wilds or non-wilds.
Before playing the game, find the full pay table because only those provide the best value. Playing other devices will only result in lower results and an RTP under 100%.
The pay table below pays 100.76% and displays the results played with a one-coin bet.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Natural royal flush (without wilds) | 250 |
| Four deuces | 200 |
| Wild royal flush | 25 |
| Five of a kind | 15 |
| Straight flush | 9 |
| Four of a kind | 5 |
| Full house | 3 |
| Flush | 2 |
| Straight | 2 |
| Three of a kind | 1 |
Looking at this table, it is evident that the major hands, such as four-of-a-kind, are rated low in this game. This stems from the fact they are not hard to make in Deuces Wild.
You should also not be surprised if you see different pay tables, as they vary from one game operator to another. For instance, Realtime Gaming and Playtech versions of Deuces Wild come with a house edge of 1,09% compared to NetEnt with 2,03% and Microgaming with 3,33%.
Casinos can further alter pay tables and payout rates to make more profit. Thus, you must look into these things before playing. You are more likely to find the machines paying out 100.76% at land-based casinos than online.
Optimal Deuces Wild Strategy
We already said that all deuces in a 52-card deck serve as wild cards and can be used as any card. This means that it is easy for players to form wild hands (7.7% of the deck is wild), and the third of the hands they are dealt will be wild. Consequently, players need to apply the appropriate strategies.
When you receive the first five cards, it is best to begin plotting your strategy right away. The statistics say that about 67%–68% of them will be without any wilds, while most of the subsequent hands will have only one. Poker pros advise learning the strategy with no wild cards and slowly working your way up.
We will examine the optimal strategy for a full-pay Deuces Wild machine. Finding one can be challenging, but succeeding will give you almost a 1% advantage against the house in the long run. The strategy also assumes you will make the right decision every single hand you play, and even a slight mistake may cost you a portion of your winnings.
The following sections will cover the situations and proposed moves when you are dealt four, three, two, one, or no deuces.
Four Wild Cards
If you get four deuces and one other card, the math is simple — keep them all.
A hand with four deuces together has a much greater value than all other cards in this game.
Three Wild Cards
When you receive three deuces, you should keep them, especially if you have made a wild royal flush with them. Otherwise, you should get rid of those two non-wild, unpaired cards. Here are a few other suggested moves:
- You should keep three wilds and eliminate a pair of 9s, 8s, and lower
- You should keep a straight flush
- You should keep a pair with three deuces (five-of-a-kind).
Two Wild Cards
With two deuces in your hand, you should stand if you formed four-of-a-kind, five-of-a-kind, or something better. Additionally, you should discard all three non-deuces cards if you don’t hold four cards that will form the wild royal flush or a straight flush.
It is also advisable to keep two deuces if you have two consecutive cards (6, 7, or higher).
One Wild Card
Having only one deuce is the most challenging situation, as you have to go through multiple scenarios in your head. We will list below some desirable hands you should try to achieve with one deuce. Naturally, try to create as strong a hand as possible. If you can’t form any of them, it is better to eliminate all the non-wild cards. Thus, you should keep:
- Wild royal flush
- Four-of-a-kind or higher
- Four to a royal flush
- Full house
- Three-of-a-kind, flush or straight
- Any four-card straight flush
- Three to a royal flush
- Three to a straight flush (6, 7 or higher)
- Deuces + three cards to a royal flush (5, 6, 7 or higher)
- Three to a royal flush with A as the highest card
No Wild Cards
Compared to other video poker variations where there are no wild cards, the situation is a little different in Deuce Wild simply because there are no one pair-based wins and the draws are more valuable.
Here is a list of certain hands you should strive to form in the absence of deuces. If you can’t create a hand from this list, you’d better get rid of all the five cards dealt. Thus, you should:
- Save a royal flush
- Save four to a royal flush
- Save any four-card straight flush
- Save three-card royal flush
- Save any pair (regardless of the rank)
- Save four to a flush
- Save open-ended straight draw (cards that are consecutive and where a card at either end can make you a straight hand).
- Save three to a straight flush
- Save inside straight draw (when four cards can make your straight, and you need one more to complete it)
- Save two-card royal flush
Conclusion
Deuces Wild undoubtedly remains one of the most popular video poker variations that draws the attention of so many players thanks to its wild cards. Nevertheless, players need to remember a few things before playing it with real money.
You must choose the pay table wisely, adapt your strategy depending on the number of deuces you are dealt, and refrain from keeping low-made hands, such as one pair or two pairs, especially since the draws are more valuable. Additionally, you should stick to the Deuces Wild perfect strategy because it provides the best mathematical winning odds.
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