Flush Fever Video Poker: Strategy, Odds & Pay Table (2026)

Picture this: you're sitting at an IGT Game King machine in an Oregon bar, three hearts staring back at you from the screen. You toss in that sixth coin, and suddenly the word FEVER flashes across the display. Five bonus hands. A deck stacked with hearts. And your next flush is about to pay like it has a fever of its own.

That's the hook of Flush Fever video poker — a Jacks or Better variant where flushes aren't just another hand. They're the entire point.

But here's what most players don't know: there are two completely different versions of this game. Oregon and Nevada play by different rules, different coin structures, and different bonus triggers. Mix them up and your strategy falls apart.

This guide breaks down both variants with exact pay tables, real RTP numbers (95.39–95.70%), and a strategy framework that no competitor covers properly. By the end, you'll know exactly how the Fever mechanic works, when to chase flush draws, and whether this game is worth your bankroll in 2026.

TL;DR — Quick Flush Fever Reference

Golden rule: Always bet the max coin (6th in Oregon, 8th in Nevada) to activate the Fever bonus. Playing without it drops your RTP by ~0.31% and removes the only feature that makes this game interesting.

For a deeper dive into how video poker RTP actually works, check our dedicated tool — it applies to every VP variant including Flush Fever.

What Is Flush Fever Video Poker?

Flush Fever is a video poker variant built on the Jacks or Better foundation with one major twist: a bonus round that supercharges your flush-completing potential. Developed by IGT for the Game King multi-game platform, it's most commonly found in Oregon Lottery locations and select Nevada casinos.

The core concept is simple. You play standard 5-card draw poker with one addition — when you bet the maximum coins and get dealt 3 or more cards of a randomly chosen "Fever Suit," you trigger 5 bonus hands called Fever Games. During these bonus hands, the deck is manipulated in your favor.

Oregon Variant vs. Nevada Variant — Key Differences

This is the part every other guide gets wrong. There are two distinct versions of Flush Fever, and they play differently:

The key difference is the coin structure. Oregon machines max at 6 coins, with the 6th coin activating Fever mode. Nevada machines use 8 coins total, with the 8th coin as the Fever trigger. The base pay tables are nearly identical, but the per-coin economics differ because you're wagering different amounts to reach the bonus threshold.

Bottom line: If you're in Oregon, you need 6 coins. Nevada, you need 8. Everything else is essentially the same game with the same math.

Who Makes Flush Fever? (IGT Game King Platform)

Flush Fever runs on IGT's Game King platform — the same multi-game terminal that hosts dozens of video poker variants. You'll typically find Flush Fever alongside Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and Double Double Bonus on the same physical cabinet.

IGT (International Game Technology) is one of the largest slot and video poker manufacturers globally. The Game King platform has been the industry standard since the late 1990s, and Flush Fever was added as a proprietary variant exclusive to specific markets.

How to Play Flush Fever — Step-by-Step

If you've played any Jacks or Better game, you already know 90% of Flush Fever. Here's the complete walkthrough for the remaining 10%.

Basic Rules of the Game

1. Insert credits and select your coin denomination
2. Bet the maximum coins (6 in Oregon, 8 in Nevada) — this is critical
3. Press DEAL to receive 5 cards
4. Choose which cards to HOLD and which to discard
5. Press DRAW to replace discarded cards
6. If your final hand qualifies (Jacks or Better minimum), you win

The minimum paying hand is a pair of Jacks or better — same as standard Jacks or Better. Everything from Two Pair up through Royal Flush pays according to the pay table posted on the machine.

How Betting Works (1–8 Coins)

Coins 1 through 5 (Oregon) or 1 through 7 (Nevada) multiply your base payouts linearly. The critical coin — the 6th (Oregon) or 8th (Nevada) — doesn't increase regular payouts proportionally. Instead, it activates the Flush Fever bonus feature.

Think of it like a side bet bundled into the main wager. That extra coin buys you access to the Fever mechanic. Without it, you're playing a standard (and slightly underpaying) Jacks or Better game.

Use the House Edge Calculator to see exactly how much that missing bonus coin costs you over time. Spoiler: it's the difference between 4.30% and 4.61% house edge — small per hand, massive over a session.

What Is the Flush Fever Bonus Mode?

When you've bet the maximum coins, a random "Fever Suit" is selected for each hand (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades — 25% each). If your initial 5-card deal contains 3 or more cards of that Fever Suit, you trigger the bonus.

You're awarded 5 Fever Games — five consecutive bonus hands where the deck mechanics change in your favor.

How the Card Burning Mechanic Works

During a Fever Game, any cards that are not of the Fever Suit get "burned" — removed and replaced with cards drawn from a subset deck that contains only cards of the Fever Suit. This is the game's key mechanic and the reason flushes hit far more frequently during the bonus.

Here's a concrete example:

You're in a Fever Game. The Fever Suit is hearts. You're dealt:

7♥ J♥ 4♥ K♠ 2♦

The K♠ and 2♦ are not hearts. They get burned and replaced with random hearts from the remaining suited cards. Your final hand might become:

7♥ J♥ 4♥ 10♥ A♥ — Flush!

Without the Fever mechanic, you'd need to draw two hearts from a standard deck — roughly a 10% chance. With the burn mechanic, you're drawing from a hearts-only pool, making the flush nearly guaranteed when you already hold 3+ suited cards.

What Triggers Fever Games?

The trigger conditions are straightforward:

The probability of getting 3+ cards of any specific suit from a 52-card deck is roughly 23.5% per hand. Since the Fever Suit is randomly chosen, you can expect to trigger the bonus roughly once every 4–5 hands on average.

Important: Fever Games cannot retrigger. Once you're in the bonus round, those 5 hands play out and you return to normal mode. Think of it as a fixed bonus, not a retriggerable free spins feature.

Flush Fever Pay Table (Oregon & Nevada)

The pay table is your contract with the machine. Know it before you play.

Full Pay Table — Oregon Variant

Oregon's Flush Fever uses the following pay schedule (per coin, max 6 coins):

Some Oregon machines feature a progressive jackpot for a natural Royal Flush on max bet. The progressive meter starts at 4,800 coins and can climb to 99,999 coins. Always check the meter before you play — a high progressive can actually push the RTP above 100%, making the game temporarily +EV.

Full Pay Table — Nevada Variant

Nevada's version uses an 8-coin structure with the same base payouts:

The payouts per coin are identical to Oregon. The difference is purely in the number of coins required to reach the Fever activation threshold. Nevada players invest 8 coins per hand instead of 6, which changes bankroll requirements proportionally.

Flush Fever Video Poker Odds & RTP in 2026

Let's get into the real numbers. This is where Wizard of Odds excels but writes for mathematicians — here's the same data in plain English.

Overall Return to Player: 95.39–95.70%

The RTP depends on whether you're activating the Fever bonus:

Compare that to other video poker games using our Equity Calculator:

Reality check: Flush Fever is not a competitive RTP compared to other video poker games. It's closer to a slot machine than to full-pay Jacks or Better. The appeal isn't mathematical — it's the Fever bonus excitement. If you want pure value, play Jacks or Better. If you want the bonus mechanic, Flush Fever delivers a more exciting experience at the cost of ~4% higher edge.

Probability of Each Hand

Here are the expected hand frequencies in normal Flush Fever play (not during Fever Games):

You'll lose more than half your hands. That's normal for any Jacks or Better variant — check our analysis of how losing streaks work mathematically for perspective. The Fever bonus and occasional big hands make up the difference.

How Fever Spins Affect Your RTP

The Fever bonus contributes approximately 0.31% to the overall RTP. That's the difference between the 95.39% base game and the 95.70% combined return.

During Fever Games, the burn mechanic significantly shifts probabilities:

The Fever Suit mechanic creates a biased draw where non-suited cards are replaced from a suited subset. If you hold 3 hearts and draw 2, both replacement cards are guaranteed hearts in a Fever Game — giving you a 100% chance of 5 suited cards (flush or better).

Optimal Strategy for Flush Fever Video Poker

The base game strategy is nearly identical to Jacks or Better with one critical modification: flush draws are worth more in Flush Fever because the Fever mechanic amplifies their frequency during bonus rounds.

Always Prioritize Flush Draws (4-to-a-Flush Rule)

In standard Jacks or Better, a 4-to-a-flush draw (4 suited cards, needing 1 more) has an EV of about 1.22 per coin. In Flush Fever, the same draw carries additional implied value because suited cards increase your Fever trigger probability on subsequent hands.

The rule: When you hold 4 cards of the same suit, always go for the flush — even if it means breaking a low pair (5s through 10s). The EV of the flush draw exceeds the low pair in this game.

The exception: high pairs (Jacks or better) still beat a 4-to-a-flush draw because their guaranteed minimum payout (1 coin) outweighs the speculative flush value. Use the Pot Odds Calculator to internalize these EV comparisons — the math transfers directly.

When to Hold High Pairs vs. Flush Draws

Here's the complete priority chart for the most common dilemmas:

This is where Flush Fever strategy diverges from standard Jacks or Better. In JoB, you'd often keep a low pair over a 4-to-a-flush. In Flush Fever, the flush draw wins because of the amplified flush value.

Strategy During Fever Spins

Once you're inside the Fever bonus, the strategy shifts dramatically:

1. Always hold cards of the Fever Suit — they can't be improved by the burn mechanic, and every suited card you keep gets you closer to a flush
2. Discard non-suited cards aggressively — they'll be replaced from a suited deck, dramatically improving your hand
3. Don't break suited combinations for straight draws — a partial flush with suited replacements beats a speculative straight every time during Fever
4. Royal Flush draws take priority — if you have 3-to-a-Royal in the Fever Suit, hold them and let the mechanic fill in

Example Fever hand (Fever Suit: hearts):

Dealt: Q♥ 10♥ 7♥ K♠ 3♦

Correct play: Hold Q♥ 10♥ 7♥, discard K♠ 3♦. The replacement cards come from a hearts-only subset, guaranteeing you 5 hearts (flush). If the replacements happen to be J♥ and A♥, that's a Royal Flush.

Wrong play: Hold Q♥ 10♥ K♠ hoping for a straight. The K♠ won't benefit from the burn mechanic and you've broken your flush guarantee.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Playing less than max coins — This is the #1 mistake. Without the Fever coin, you're playing a bad Jacks or Better game at 95.39% RTP
2. Keeping non-suited high cards during Fever — That Ace of spades is worthless when the Fever Suit is hearts. Discard it.
3. Chasing straights during Fever Games — The burn mechanic favors flushes, not straights. Go with the mechanic, not against it.
4. Not checking the progressive meter — A high progressive (>8,000 coins on a 6-coin machine) can push the RTP significantly higher

Flush Fever vs. Other Video Poker Games

How does Flush Fever stack up against the games you probably already know? Here's an honest comparison.

Flush Fever vs. Jacks or Better

Verdict: If you care about math, play Jacks or Better — it's not even close. Flush Fever gives back almost 4% less per dollar wagered. But if you want the thrill of a bonus mechanic and you're playing recreationally, Flush Fever delivers more exciting sessions.

For bankroll planning across any variant, use our Bankroll Management tool.

Flush Fever vs. Triple Double Bonus

Verdict: Triple Double Bonus is the better mathematical play by a wide margin. But TDB demands deep strategy knowledge — see the full 50-position priority chart — and much higher bankroll tolerance for its extreme variance. Flush Fever is the simpler, more casual option.

Simulate different session outcomes with our Session Simulator to see how the volatility differences play out over 500+ hands.

Tips for Winning at Flush Fever Video Poker

Bet the 6th Coin to Unlock Fever Mode

This bears repeating because it's the single most impactful decision you'll make. The Fever bonus adds ~0.31% to your RTP. Over 1,000 hands at $1 per coin, that's roughly $18.60 in expected value you're leaving on the table by not betting max.

If 6 coins per hand is too expensive at your denomination, move to a lower denomination machine and bet 6 coins there. Playing 3 coins at $0.50 is always worse than playing 6 coins at $0.25. Use the Loss Calculator to see the hourly difference.

Manage Your Bankroll for Long Sessions

Flush Fever's moderate-high volatility means you need more cushion than Jacks or Better. Here's a bankroll guide by denomination:

Session rules:

1. Stop-loss: Quit when you've lost 50% of your session bankroll
2. Win lock: When you're up 50%+, pocket half your profits and play with the rest
3. Time limit: 2 hours max — fatigue leads to strategy errors

These principles apply to any casino game. For a structured approach to session management, check the Fibonacci betting system or use our Variance Simulator to model specific bankroll scenarios before you sit down.

FAQ

The answers to the 15 most common Flush Fever questions are structured in this article's metadata and rendered as an interactive FAQ block above. Each answer includes specific numbers and actionable advice based on the Oregon and Nevada variant data covered in this guide.

Related tools and guides:

• House Edge Calculator — Compare Flush Fever's edge to other games
• RTP Calculator — Calculate your expected return per session
• Equity Calculator — Analyze hand equity and EV decisions
• Session Simulator — Model Flush Fever session swings
• Bankroll Management — Plan your bankroll by denomination
• Loss Calculator — See the hourly cost of different games
• Pot Odds Calculator — Master EV concepts for any card game
• Outs Calculator — Understand drawing probabilities
• Variance Simulator — Simulate long-term variance
• Triple Double Bonus Strategy — The best-RTP video poker variant guide
• Quad Aces vs Royal Flush — Royal Flush probability deep dive
• Mississippi Stud Strategy — Another casino poker variant
• Cajun Stud Poker — Stud poker with side bets
• Fibonacci Betting System — Structured session management
• Blackjack Losing Streak Odds — Probability math for losing runs
• HUD Stats Guide — Understanding poker statistics