Deuces Wild Video Poker Strategy

Deuces Wild is one of the most popular video poker variants, played with a standard 52-card deck. The structure of the game is no different from other video poker variants and the objective is to beat the house (or, in this case, the machine) with the stronger hand. What distinguishes Deuces Wild from other video poker variants are the Wild Deuces, which can replace any other card and complete the hand.

Deuces Wild Basic Rules

Deuces Wild session starts with five cards, which the player can hold or discard. The selected cards remain on the screen, while the others are being replaced. To win, the player will need to land at least Three of a Kind; a Pair or a High card will not generate any payment on their own but can be held and combined with the new cards. As mentioned, Deuce is the Wild, which means that you should hold on to it since it can complete any winning hand.

Deuces Wild Strategy

The strategy of Deuces Wild will depend on the number of Deuces dealt in the first hand, and obviously, the rank of your original card combination. Clearly, Wild should always be kept, but if you land a hand with no Deuces, the following principles should be applied:

No Deuces
Hand	What to do
5 low cards	Discard all
King + 10/King + Jack/King + Queen	Discard the rest of the cards
3 to a Straight Flush	Discard the other 2 cards
4 to a Straight	Discard the 5th card
Pair	Keep the pair, discard the other 3 cards
2 Pairs	Keep the pairs, discard the remaining card
4 to a Flush	Discard the remaining card
3 to a Royal Flush	Discard the remaining 2 cards
4 to a Straight Flush	Discard the remaining card
3 of a Kind	Discard the remaining 2 cards
Straight	Keep all cards
Flush	Keep all cards
Full House	Keep all cards
4 of a Kind	Discard the remaining, 5th card
Straight Flush	Keep
4 Card Royal Flush	Discard the remaining, 5th card
Royal Flush	Rejoice!

 

With one Deuce in your hand, you will have something to fall back to:

1 Deuce
Hand	What to do
1 Deuce + low cards	Hold the Deuce, discard the rest
1 Deuce + 3 to a Straight	Hold the Deuce and 3 to a straight, discard the remaining card
1 Deuce+ 2 to a Straight Flush	Hold the Deuce and the 2 cards, discard the rest
1 Deuce+ 2 to a Royal Flush	Hold the Deuce and the 2 to a Royal Flush, discard the rest
1 Deuce + 3 to Straight Flush	Hold the Deuce and the 3 to a Straight Flush, discard the 5th card
1 Deuce + Pair	Hold the Deuce and the pair, discard the rest
1 Deuce + 4 to a Flush	Hold all
1 Deuce + 2 Pairs (Full House)	Hold all
1 Deuce + 3 to a Royal Flush	Hold the Deuce and 3 to a Royal Flush, discard the remaining card
1 Deuce + 3 of a Kind	Hold the Deuce and 3 of a Kind, discard the remaining card
1 Deuce + 4 to a Straight Flush	Hold all
1 Deuce + 4 of a Kind/5 of a Kind	Hold all
1 Deuce + 4 to a Royal Flush	Hold all

 

2 Deuces will give you additional leverage:

2 Deuces
Hand	What to do
2 Deuces + low cards	Hold the Wild cards and discard the rest
2 Deuces + 2 to Straight Flush	Hold the Wild cards and 2 to a Straight Flush, discard the 5th card
2 Deuces + 2 to Royal Flush	Hold the Wild cards and 2 to a Royal Flush, discard the 5th card
2 Deuces + Pair	Hold the Wild cards and the pair, discard the remaining card
2 Deuces + 3 to a Straight Flush	Hold all
2 Deuces + 3 of a Kind	Hold all
2 Deuces + 3 to a Royal Flush (Royal Flush!)	Hold all

 

The hand with 3 or even 4 Deuces is heaven-sent, providing an amazing combinatory potential:

3 & 4 Deuces
Hand	What to do
3 Deuces + low cards	Hold the Wild cards and discard the rest
3 Deuces + Pair	Hold all, as this is 5 of a Kind
3 Deuces + 2 to Royal Flush	Hold all
4 Deuces	Hold all