Deuces Wild
Every two in the deck — all four of them — is wild and stands in for any card you need. That makes strong hands common enough that a plain pair pays nothing at all: the minimum paying hand on a Deuces Wild table is three of a kind, one full rank above Jacks or Better's floor.
Do not confuse this with Bonus Deuces Wild, a related game with its own base pay table and its own bonus tier on four deuces and a wild royal — the two are different schedules, not two names for one game.
Two Deuces Wild Schedules
Full Pay Deuces Wild is one of the few widely-offered video poker schedules with a return over 100% under perfect play — meaning the game favours the player on paper, before accounting for every hand actually being played perfectly. NSU ("Not So Ugly Ducks") is the common step down from it.
Deuces Wild Video Poker Games
The Strategy Is Not Jacks or Better's, at All
Holding a lone pair, which is the right move on most Jacks or Better hands, is often wrong here — a pair of anything but deuces pays nothing, and a single wild deuce is worth more loose than locked into a pair. The strategy page covers what a wild card changes and why the two charts do not overlap.
Deuces Wild FAQs
Because four wild cards in the deck make three-of-a-kind and better common enough that the pay table starts one rank higher than Jacks or Better's. A pair of anything but deuces is a loss, not a small win.
No. Bonus Deuces Wild runs a different base pay table with an added bonus on four deuces and a wild royal flush — never assume one game's return applies to the other.
Full Pay Deuces Wild is cited at 100.76% under optimal play — over 100% on paper. That figure assumes every hand is held and drawn correctly; a real session's result still varies with the cards actually dealt.