Video poker is a self-contained game, so developers get inventive with pay tables and wild cards. SpinHub's poker library carries several variants worth knowing before you sit down.
Deuces Wild uses a standard 52-card deck, but all four twos act as wild cards. Swap a deuce into any hand and you can complete a Four of a Kind, Straight, or even a Royal Flush that would otherwise be out of reach. Four Deuces ranks second only to a Royal Flush, and Three of a Kind sits at the bottom of the pay table, paying even money.
Because wild cards push your odds of winning up, casinos balance the pay table down. You'll find a related variant called Not-So-Ugly Deuces Wild on many sites, which trims the volatility while keeping the wild-card mechanic intact.
Jacks or Better is the version most players learn first, since its rules underpin nearly every other variant on this list. The lowest hand that pays out is a pair of jacks, hence the name, and the pay table stays clean and predictable, which makes strategy easy to pick up.
The odds count among the best in video poker. A 9/6 full-pay table pays nine times your stake for a full house and six times for a flush, making Jacks or Better a solid starting point before you move to trickier variants.
Tens or Better plays like Jacks or Better with one change: the lowest paying hand drops to a pair of tens instead of jacks. That means more frequent wins, but smaller ones, since the casino adjusts the pay table to cover the extra payouts.
A full house pays six times your stake here instead of nine, and a flush pays five times instead of six, which is why this version sometimes goes by the name 6/5 Jacks or Better. Win the double-up bonus round and you push your payout further, the same way you would in standard Jacks or Better.
Joker Poker adds a single joker to the standard 52 cards, bringing the deck to 53, and that joker acts as a wild card. You need Kings or Better to start collecting payouts, tougher than Jacks or Better, but the wild card makes up the difference.
Five of a Kind ranks below a Natural Royal Flush (a Royal Flush made without wild cards) and above a Straight Flush. Look for the 7/5 pay table over the 6/5 version when you get the choice, since it pays more across the board. Some SpinHub poker tables also run Two Pairs or Better and Aces or Better versions of Joker Poker, alongside the standard Kings or Better game.
Aces and Faces builds on Jacks or Better but pays you more for hitting Four of a Kind with aces or face cards (jacks, queens, or kings). In the standard 8/5 version, four aces pay 80 times your stake rather than the 50 times you'd get in a standard game, and four face cards pay 40 times your stake.
You'll also find 7/6 and 7/5 versions of Aces and Faces around, each with a different balance between the Four of a Kind bonus and the full house and flush payouts.
Bonus Poker keeps the Jacks or Better hand rankings but pays extra for Four of a Kind hands, with aces worth the most at 80 times your stake. Every other hand follows the usual pay table, so the strategy barely changes from standard Jacks or Better.
The full-pay version runs 8/5: a full house pays eight times your stake and a flush pays five times. A 7/5 version exists too, along with Double Bonus Poker, a variant that pushes Four of a Kind payouts even higher at the cost of full house and flush returns.
Starting a new game on SpinHub poker can feel daunting if you've never sat at a video poker machine before. These three habits keep you playing smart from the first hand.
Video poker rewards strategy, and there's more than one approach depending on the variant you pick. Trying a few strategies changes how you play and can help you manage your bankroll, but no strategy guarantees a win. The RNG decides the outcome the moment you hit deal.
The same video poker variant can pay out at different rates depending on the pay table, the same way two slots with an identical theme can carry different RTP figures. A 9/6 Jacks or Better machine returns more over time than a 6/5 version of the same game, so check the pay table on screen before you commit your stake.
Video poker is quick, solo, and easy to lose track of time in. Set a budget, say £20 for the session, and a time limit before you load up a game, and stick to both even if you're on a winning streak. If you notice frustration creeping in, step away, whether or not you've hit your limit. SpinHub supports GamStop and works with BeGambleAware if you ever need extra support managing your play.
Video poker and live poker both live under the poker umbrella, but they play nothing alike. The table below breaks down where they differ.
| Feature | Live Poker | Video Poker |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Streamed from a studio or physical casino floor, or dealt casually at home. | Played on a screen, whether that's a terminal in a casino or a browser tab at SpinHub. |
| Interaction | You play against a dealer and other real players at the table. | You play alone. Cards come from RNG software, not a dealer's hand. |
| Speed | Slower, since other players and the dealer set the pace. | As fast or slow as you like, since you're the only one at the table. |
| Skill Level | Open to any skill level, but reading opponents and understanding odds takes time to build. | Beginner-friendly. You set your own pace, and the interface spells out hand rankings for you. |
| Fairness | A dealer shuffles and deals under camera supervision. | RNG software deals every hand, checked by an independent testing lab and licensed under the UKGC. |
| Mistakes | Dealer error is rare, but you can still misplay a hand or get out-bluffed. | The automated interface stops you misreading a hand, though a dropped connection can void a round. |
If video poker's solo pace doesn't scratch the itch, SpinHub online poker also runs live tables around the clock. Live game developers keep pushing the format forward, so keep an eye out for new poker tables and game shows that borrow poker rules alongside their own twists.