| Updated: September 24, 2025Playtech offers a diverse collection of video poker variations, and one of the most interesting titles is 2 Ways Royal. It is based on the classic Jacks or Better but allows players to form not one but two top-paying poker hands, each awarding 4,000 coins when the maximum wager is placed.
Rules and Gameplay
Playtech’s 2 Ways Royal is easy to play, and anyone familiar with the basics of regular Jacks or Better will quickly understand the rules. The game uses a standard 52-card deck and has no wild cards. Players need to collect five cards that form a winning poker hand to receive a payout.
Before the deal, they must place a wager by selecting both the number of coins (1-5) and the coin value ($/€0.05-$/€1.00) they wish to bet. After hitting the Deal button, they receive five cards and select the ones they want to keep. All unwanted cards are then replaced, and if a winning hand is formed, it is announced immediately. Players can gamble their winnings in a separate round, in which they pick a card and compare it with the dealer’s card. If they win, their payout is doubled.
Paytable and Specific Features
| Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Lo Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| 4 of a Kind | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Full House | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| 3 of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| 2 Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Overall, 2 Ways Royal is a fairly standard video poker game, but it features two types of Royal Flush hands. The so-called Hi Royal Flush is the familiar top-ranked hand of 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit. The Lo Royal Flush, by contrast, consists of the five lowest cards in the deck – that is, 2-3-4-5-6 of the same suit.
These two hands pay the same amount – 250 coins on a 1-coin bet and 4,000 coins when wagering the maximum. The payout for Four of a Kind is higher than usual, paying 40 instead of 25 coins. Full House and Flush, however, pay significantly less at 6:1 and 5:1 rather than the standard payouts of 9:1 and 6:1.
Conclusion
Although this variation of video poker is very similar to Jacks or Better, the specific payout for the Lo Royal Flush calls for a different playing strategy. The theoretical RTP of the game is 99.13% when playing with 5 coins and using optimal strategy.