For those that don’t know, Deuces Wild is a video poker variation that is popular at online casinos the world over. The game uses a standard pack of 52 cards and in this game all deuces, 2s if you weren’t sure, are played as wild and can substitute for any other card in the pack in to make a winning hand.
Because of this, winning in this game is much easier although that does mean that the pay table is that bit tighter than with other video poker variants such as Jacks or Better or Aces and Eights.
Deuces Wild is perfect for those who prefer to gamble on their own rather than taking on a table against a set of opponents. For other people, this combination of slot machines and poker can be exciting. The game of Deuces Wild is played with five cards at a time, but there is a little twist on the usual video poker variants.
How to Play Deuces Wild Video Poker
Deuces Wild is simple and the gameplay is nice and simple to master. It plays in basically the same way as most of the other online video poker variants. Here’s how it’s done…
At the beginning of a hand, a bet is placed, and players are dealt five cards. Players taking part can hold on to all five cards or discard up to five cards to be dealt new cards in the hope of getting a better hand one with an increased chance of winning. If the player does choose to discard some or all of their cards, the computer will re-deal new cards.
Standard hands are possible with the five cards, and some have higher and lower payouts than the other hands. Before you take on Deuces Wild, it is important to know your hands, along with the corresponding payout scheme.
Deuces wild Hand Strength
Below, we have outlined all of the possible hands that can reward you with a payout in Deuces Wild starting with the highest paying hand and listed in diminishing returns.
Royal Flush
The best hand in the game, a Royal flush happens when all five cards belong to the same suit and run from Ace through Ten like this A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠. The suit doesn’t matter at all here in order to win as the only important qualifying matter is that all of the five cards belong to the same suit. In Deuces Wild, if one of the cards that made the Royal Flush was a wild card, it has a lower payout than a natural Royal Flush.
Four Deuces
To get this hand, players need to be dealt all of the four deuces from all of the four suits, leaving the fifth card irrelevant. In Deuces Wild, the hand with four Deuces in it is worth more than other hands with four cards of a kind because Deuces have greater value than all other cards in the deck.
Five of a kind
As the name suggests, five of a kind is when you have been drawn five cards of the same kind. Typically, this hand should not be possible to have in a standard deck, but in Deuces Wild, it is possible due to the presence of a wild card, a Deuce which can be substituted for any of the cards, so it can be used to upgrade four of a kind to make it five of a kind. This hand has a higher rank than a straight flush.
Straight flush
A straight flush is when you have five cards of the same suit, and in a sequence. An example of this type of hand is J♥ 10♥ 9♥ 8♥ 7♥. A straight has a lower rank than a royal flush but higher than all other hands in this game.
Four of a kind
This hand is made when a player has four cards of the same rank in different suits, plus one irrelevant card. The rank between all four of a kind hands is decided with respect to the card that occurs four times plus the irrelevant card.
Full House
A full house is when players get drawn three cards of the same rank plus two cards of another rank. An example of a full house is 8♠ 8♦ 8♥ 7♦ 7♣. With a full house, ranks are determined by the card that landed three times first and then the card that comes twice.
Flush
A Flush is when all of the drawn cards are of the same suit, but not necessarily in sequential order. It is ranked below a full house but higher than a straight. Flushes or full houses or quads or straight flushes that differ by suits alone are of the same rank. An example of a flush being 10♦ 8♦ 7♦ 6♦ 5♦.
Straight
This hand occurs when all of the cards are of sequential rank, but not all of the same suit. An example of this hand is 7♣ 6♠ 5♠ 4♥ 3♥ which would be a seven high straight. In any straight, – Straight or a straight flush – the hand is called King high straight if the highest card in the sequence is a king.
Three of a kind
Three of a kind is when the player has three cards of different suits with the same faces and two irrelevant cards in the five cards that have been dealt to him. It is ranked lower than a straight but higher than a two pair.