When certain pay schedules are offered by a video poker machine, players using perfect or near perfect strategy can obtain greater than 100% payback over a sufficiently long period of play. These machines are referred to as "full pay" machines.

Video poker machines operated in state-regulated jurisdictions are programmed to deal random card sequences. A series of cards is generated for each play; five dealt straight to the hand, the other five dealt in order if requested by player. This is due to a Nevada regulation, adopted by every other state with a gaming authority, that if dice or cards are used for an electronic game, the electronic versions must be as random as the real thing, within computational limits set by certain tests that are performed by gaming authority agents.

Video poker is a casino game which is based loosely on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console which is a similar size to a slot machine.