Joker Poker: Rules, Paytables and Strategy
Joker Poker is five-card draw video poker played with a standard 52-card deck and one wild Joker. After the deal, you choose which cards to keep and replace the rest once. The Joker can complete ordinary poker hands, Five of a Kind or a Royal Flush. Paytables vary between versions, so there is no single RTP for every game called Joker Poker. This guide explains Kings or Better using a specific PokerStars paytable. The embedded InOut demo is a different implementation. For Balatro players, the connection is the way a Joker changes possible hands; this version does not have a collection of passive effects that develops across a run.
Joker Poker at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Game type | Five-card draw video poker |
| Deck | 52 standard cards plus one wild Joker |
| Player decision | Hold zero to five cards, then draw replacements |
| Special hands | Five of a Kind and Royal with Joker |
| Common minimum hand | Kings or Better; some versions use Aces or Better |
| RTP | Determined by the exact paytable and optimal strategy |
| Closest Balatro feature | A Joker changes how a hand is completed |
Where to Play Joker Poker Online
PokerStars Casino
PokerStars offers Joker Poker for real-money play in markets where the game is available. Awards come from a paytable rather than competition against other players. Check the version and its rules in the game itself.
How to Play Joker Poker
- Select the wager.
- Receive five cards from the 53-card deck.
- Use the active paytable, not a generic Joker Poker chart.
- Keep the cards with the highest expected return for that paytable.
- Replace every unheld card.
- The final hand receives the award listed in the paytable.
- The deck is reshuffled for the next deal.
Game flow: bet → receive five cards → choose cards to keep → replace discards → evaluate the final hand → pay the listed award.
How the Wild Joker Works
| Cards | Final Hand |
|---|---|
| K♠ · K♥ · K♦ · K♣ · Joker | Five of a Kind |
| 10♠ · J♠ · Q♠ · K♠ · Joker | Royal with Joker |
| 7♠ · 7♥ · 7♦ · Joker · 2♣ | Four of a Kind before the draw decision |
The Joker substitutes for the card that produces the highest-paying valid hand. It can complete a Straight, Flush, Straight Flush or Four of a Kind. It also allows Five of a Kind, which is impossible with an ordinary deck.
A Royal Flush completed with the Joker usually pays less than a Natural Royal Flush. In the version described here, the Joker helps form a hand; it does not multiply the payout by itself.
Joker Poker Hand Rankings
This ranking follows the paytable below. The lowest paying pair and individual awards vary between versions, so an Aces or Better strategy cannot simply be applied to Kings or Better.
- Natural Royal Flush
- Five of a Kind
- Royal with Joker / Wild Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pair
- A pair of Kings or Aces (Kings or Better)
Example Joker Poker Paytable
This table comes from the PokerStars Joker Poker rules. The strategy examples use its five-coin column, not the InOut demo paytable. PokerStars — PDF
| Hand | 1 Coin | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Royal Flush | 500 | 4,000 |
| Five of a Kind | 200 | 1,000 |
| Royal with Joker | 100 | 500 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 250 |
| Four of a Kind | 18 | 90 |
| Full House | 7 | 35 |
| Flush | 5 | 30 |
| Straight | 3 | 15 |
| Three of a Kind | 2 | 10 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 5 |
| Kings or Better | 1 | 5 |
PokerStars lists a theoretical RTP range of 98.26%–98.94% across its configurations. At five coins, the Natural Royal pays 4,000 and the Flush pays 30: both exceed five times their one-coin award. The shorthand “18/7/6” therefore does not describe the full paytable.
InOut Joker Poker Demo
This demo is supplied by InOut and is a different game implementation from the PokerStars paytable discussed above. Read its rules and payouts inside the game. The PokerStars RTP range and the expected returns calculated in this guide do not apply to this demo.
Why Joker Poker RTP Changes
| Paytable Example | Published Theoretical RTP |
|---|---|
| 20/7/5 Kings or Better schedule | 100.6463% |
| PokerStars configurations referenced in this guide | 98.26%–98.94% |
At five coins, the awards for Four of a Kind, Full House and Flush are equivalent to 18, 7 and 6 per coin wagered. RTP also depends on every other award and the lowest paying hand. A return quoted for another paytable cannot be transferred to this configuration.
These are long-run theoretical returns with optimal play for each complete paytable, not guaranteed results for a session. Ethier, Kim & Lee — Table 7 (20/7/5)
Five-Coin Strategy Examples
The calculations below use only the five-coin column of the paytable above.
EV means expected value: the average award in credits before subtracting the five-credit wager. It is calculated over every possible replacement combination from the remaining 48 cards. Discarded cards do not return to the deck during that draw.
Hands Containing the Joker
| Starting Hand | Best Hold | EV (credits) | Compared Alternative | Alternative EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JokerK♠K♥K♦K♣ | Hold all five | 1,000.000 | Joker plus three Kings | 90.000 |
| Joker10♠J♠Q♠K♠ | Hold all five | 500.000 | 10, J, Q and K of spades, without the Joker | 95.104 |
| Joker7♠7♥7♦2♣ | Joker plus three 7s | 108.958 | Hold all five | 90.000 |
| Joker7♠7♥2♣K♦ | Joker plus both 7s | 18.865 | Joker, both 7s and either side card | 14.896 |
| Joker2♠5♥8♦Q♣ | Joker plus 8♦ | 7.365 | Joker plus 5♥ | 7.292 |
“Always hold only the Joker” is not a reliable strategy rule. On this exact hand, Joker plus 8♦ edges out every other hold.
Hands Without the Joker
| Starting Hand | Best Hold | EV (credits) | Compared Alternative | Alternative EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10♠J♠Q♠K♠3♦ | 10, J, Q and K of spades | 105.521 | 10♠J♠Q♠ | 3.196 |
| K♥K♠3♣7♦10♥ | Both Kings | 6.920 | Both Kings plus one side card | 6.104 |
| 9♠9♥9♦9♣2♠ | Four 9s and draw one | 108.958 | Hold all five | 90.000 |
With four Nines, holding all five cards pays 90 credits. Replacing the fifth card keeps that award on 47 of the 48 possible draws; drawing the Joker raises it to 1,000. The expected award is (47 × 90 + 1,000) / 48 = 108.958 credits.
Joker Poker vs Deuces Wild
| Feature | Joker Poker | Deuces Wild |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | 53 cards | Standard 52 cards |
| Wild cards | One Joker | Four 2s |
| Special top hand | Five of a Kind below Natural Royal in common versions | Four Deuces and Wild Royal categories |
| Common minimum payout | Kings or Better or Aces or Better | Usually Three of a Kind |
| Wild-card frequency | Lower | Higher |
| Balatro overlap | Literal Joker changes hand construction | Several rank-based wild cards |
Deuces Wild has four wild cards, so they appear more often. Joker Poker has only one Joker in its 53-card deck.
Joker Poker vs Balatro
| Mechanic | Joker Poker | Balatro |
|---|---|---|
| Joker | One wild card inside the deck | Multiple collectible passive modifiers |
| Card decisions | Hold and replace once | Play and discard repeatedly within a round |
| Scoring | Fixed cash paytable | Chips × Mult to reach a target score |
| Special hands | Five of a Kind and wild Royal | Standard and secret hands altered by the build |
| Progression | Every deal resets | Deck, hands and Jokers evolve across a run |
| Real-money casino play | Yes | No |
Joker Poker shares Balatro’s idea of changing the hands that cards can form. The version described here does not accumulate effects between deals or award next-hand multipliers like Ultimate X. See also: Deal With Death
Casino games closest to BalatroUltimate X next-hand multipliersBalatro-like video poker
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards are used?
Joker Poker uses 53 cards: a standard 52-card deck plus one Joker.
How often does the Joker appear?
The chance of receiving the Joker among the five initial cards is 5/53, or about 9.43%. That is once every 10.6 initial hands on average, not a fixed interval.
Is the Joker fully wild?
In this 53-card format, yes. It substitutes for the card that creates the strongest valid hand.
What is a Royal with Joker?
It is a Royal Flush completed with the wild Joker. It usually pays less than a Natural Royal made without the Joker.
What is the lowest paying hand?
Kings or Better in the paytable shown on this page. Other versions may use Aces or Better.
Which version does the quoted RTP describe?
The 98.26%–98.94% range refers to the configurations documented by PokerStars, with optimal play. It is not a verified RTP for the InOut demo.
Can Jacks or Better strategy be used?
No. The extra Joker, Five of a Kind, wild Royal and different paytable values change the expected value of many holds.
Can Joker Poker be played in Ultimate X?
Some Ultimate X versions include Joker Poker as a base game and add multipliers for later hands. Available variants depend on the machine or online version.
Which cards should you keep with the Joker?
It depends on the other four cards and the paytable. In the Joker–2♠–5♥–8♦–Q♣ example, keeping the Joker and 8♦ has a higher expected return than keeping the Joker alone.
Play Joker Poker
One wild card changes the possible hands and the decisions you make when drawing. Always check the paytable of the version you choose.