VIDEO POKER TRAINERS COMPARED
The best app to learn video poker strategy
Updated October 20, 2026
SmartHold publishes this page, so weigh it accordingly. Every fact about another app below comes from that app’s own store listing or website as of October 2026, and each entry links to its source.
Which video poker app is best for learning strategy?
It depends on what you want from it. To learn why a hold is right, not just which hold it is, and to keep practicing the hands you miss, SmartHold is built for that: it explains each best hold in words, brings your mistakes back on a review schedule, and is free in a web browser or on any phone, tablet or Mac. For the widest choice of games and pay tables, pick Play Perfect Video Poker Pro+. For pay-table and bankroll math on an iPhone, Video Poker Wizard. For casino-style play, Original Video Poker.
The trainers, one by one
SmartHold
Ours — by the publisher of this page
Best for: Learning why a hold is right, and remembering it
Price: Free, with no ads. Every game plays on 200 free credits a day, and Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker are unlimited. Optional purchases make the other games unlimited and add custom pay tables.
Platforms: Any web browser, with nothing to install, and iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android (Google Play), Fire tablets (Amazon Appstore) and Samsung Galaxy devices. Progress syncs between them when you sign in.
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Grades every hold against the exact optimal play for the pay table you are playing.
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Explains in words why the best hold wins, not just which hold it is.
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Brings the hands you miss back in a spaced-repetition review queue until you stop missing them.
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A hand analyzer, a written strategy guide for each of its 12 games, and 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-hand play.
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Quick to play: hold several cards at once with a multi-finger tap, swipe across the cards to hold a run, or play from the keyboard on a computer, iPad or Mac, with the card and deal keys rebindable in Settings.
Not the pick for: Players who want hundreds of games (it has 12), or bankroll tools such as a risk-of-ruin calculator.
Play Perfect Video Poker Pro+
By Play Perfect, LLC
Best for: The widest choice of games and pay tables
Price: $19.99 on the App Store, with a free Lite edition (15 games).
Platforms: iPhone and iPad (iOS 26 or later), Apple-silicon Macs, and Android.
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More than 400 video poker games and 2,000 pay tables, plus custom pay tables.
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Perfect Hold Advice for any five cards, Scored Practice, and a play mode that shows the perfect hold after each hand.
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Shows the expected value lost on a mistake, and can put hands you missed back into practice.
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Its "explanation" of a perfect play is the list of possible holds with the expected value of each. In our own use (October 2026) it did not say in words why the best hold wins.
Not the pick for: Players who want a reason in words, or who play on the web.
Video Poker Wizard
By Wizard of Odds
Best for: Pay-table and bankroll math on an iPhone
Price: $9.99 on the App Store.
Platforms: iPhone and iPad. Its maker says the Android version is no longer available.
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33 games. Ranks all 32 ways to play a hand, best to worst.
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A game analyzer for long-term return, hit frequency and variance, and a risk-of-ruin calculator.
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A practice mode that warns when you miss the best play, with an optional auto-hold.
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Its page does not mention explanations in words or a review of missed hands.
Not the pick for: Android players, and anyone after a guided way to learn.
WinPoker
By Kaffer Enterprises
Best for: A long-standing iPhone drill with error statistics
Price: $9.99 on the App Store.
Platforms: iPhone, and Apple-silicon Macs.
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31 games, played one to ten hands at a time.
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Auto-hold, Warn and No modes, and statistics on how often you err and what the errors cost.
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Analyzes any hand you enter, and custom pay tables.
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Its listing does not mention explanations in words. Last updated November 2023.
Not the pick for: Android and web players, and newer games.
Best Hold
By VideoPoker.com
Best for: Looking up one hand quickly
Price: Free with ads; $4.99 removes them on the App Store.
Platforms: iPhone, iPad and Android.
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Pick a game, tap five cards, and it shows the hold with the highest expected value.
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Its listing does not mention a practice mode, explanations, or a review of mistakes.
Not the pick for: Practicing, as opposed to looking a hand up.
Original Video Poker (Video Poker ™ - Classic Games)
By VideoPoker.com
Best for: Casino-style play: Game King and 3-, 5- and 10-play
Price: Free with ads and coin packs. Its trainer comes with the VP Club subscription, $9.99 a month on the App Store.
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android and Amazon.
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Authentic casino machines and multi-hand formats, with free credits every two hours.
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Its listing does not describe what the trainer shows.
Not the pick for: Learning strategy without a subscription.
