There are several problems with playing $5 video poker that go beyond the bankroll requirements. In the Las Vegas locals market, the $5 games typically have worse pay tables than the lower denominations. That is also the case downtown, except at Plaza, where there are a few 99% options like 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%) and 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.64%).
Some Las Vegas Strip casinos have good $5 video poker. Caesars Palace, Wynn, and Encore are among the Strip casinos with $5 Jacks or Better. Otherwise, the best $5 games are typically 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%) or 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%). Most Caesars properties don’t have games better than 98.5% at higher limits.
In regional markets, high-limit video poker tends to have better paytables than lower-limit ones. That is because games under the $1 denomination often have holds of three percent or more.
As long as the W2G level is $1200, there are more hands than the royal flush that trigger taxable handpays. This creates another dilemma.
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This is a list of the hands that trigger a W2G at the $5 denomination on major video poker titles. A royal flush is one at all games. It pays $20,000 unless there is a progressive jackpot or it is otherwise noted. Here are the other hands that pay $1200 or more.
The first two games listed only have two W2G hands at the $5 denomination. The others have three or more. The payouts below assume that five coins are wagered.
Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is the best $5 video poker game to play. The only two payouts over $1199 are for straight and royal flushes. A straight flush pays $1250.
Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild is another game with only two hands that require a handpay. Those are four deuces and a natural royal flush. Four deuces pay $5000.
Bonus Poker
Three hands trigger W2Gs at Bonus Poker. In addition to the straight flush, which pays $1250, and royal flush hands, four aces pay $2000.
Bonus Poker Deluxe
Bonus Poker Deluxe triggers a handpay at the $5 denomination at a rate of about one every 400 hands. That is because all four of a kind hands pay $2000. A straight flush pays $1250. The royal flush is usually $20,000.
Most games below this on this list also trigger a W2G at a rate of about every 400 hands. To a fast player, that is once about every 30 or 40 minutes.
Double Bonus Poker
Five different hands pay over $1200 at Double Bonus Poker. Quad fives through kings and a straight flush pay $1250. Four twos, threes, or fours, pay $2000. Four aces pay $4000. There is also the royal flush jackpot hand.
Double Double Bonus Poker
Double Double Bonus Poker has seven hands with payouts over $1200. However, the odds of it occurring are no different than in the other double and triple video poker titles. Straight flushes and quad fives through kings pay $1250. Four deuces, threes, or fours pay $2000, except when it has an ace, 2, 3, or 4 kicker, where it pays $4000. Four aces without a kicker also pay $4000. With a kicker, it is $10,000. The royal flush pays as normal.
Triple Double Bonus Poker
Triple Double Bonus is a game with wild variance. Four aces with a kicker pay the same as a royal flush. However, three of a kind only pays two coins for every one bet.
Triple Double Bonus also has seven hands with a payout of at least $1200. Quad fives up to kings and straight flushes pay $1250. Four 2s, 3s, and 4s pay $2000 without a kicker and $10,000 with one. Four aces pay $4000 without a kicker and $20,000 with one, which is the same as a royal flush.
Joker Poker
Joker Poker is not a common $5 video poker game. A straight flush pays $1250. A joker royal flush has a $2500 payout. Five of a kind returns $5000. A natural royal flush pays $23,000.