Different video poker games offer different odds on their paytables. On this page of Online-Casinos.com you can find more information about online video poker paytables.
The video poker paytables are always visible on the front of the video poker machines, so it's very easy to determine if it's a good or a short pay machine you are standing in front of if you know what to look for. Many casino players don't know what to look for so they end up playing a game that is ripping them off compared to full pay machines. I guess that is why the casinos put these short pay machines up all over the place.
On this page of Online-Casinos.com, I will try to teach you how to spot the good paytables - known as the full pay video poker games. Below is a screenshot of a paytable taken from a Jacks or Better machine. After having studied this page you should be able to determine if the screenshot is taken from a full pay video poker game or if this one is from a short pay machines. You can hover your mouse pointer over the picture to get the correct answer to this question - but you should try to figure our the correct answer yourself before looking.

| Full Pay - 9/6 | Short Pay - 8/5 | 7/5 | 6/5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 4 of a Kind | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Flush | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 Pairs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Pair of Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return* | 99.50% | 97.30% | 96.15% | 95.00% |
| Full Pay | Short Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 250 |
| 4 Deuces | 200 | 200 |
| Wild Royal | 25 | 25 |
| 5 of a Kind | 15 | 15 |
| Straight Flush | 9 | 9 |
| 4 of a Kind | 5 | 4 |
| Full House | 3 | 3 |
| Flush | 2 | 2 |
| Straight | 2 | 2 |
| 3 of a Kind | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return* | 100.17% | 94.30% |
| Full Pay - 10/7 | Short Pay - 9/7 | Short Pay - 9/6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 250 | 250 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 4 Aces | 160 | 160 | 160 |
| 4 (2 3 4's) | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| 4 (5-K's) | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Full House | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Flush | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Straight | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 pairs | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pair of Jacks or better | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return* | 100.70% | 99.10% | 97.80% |