The internet has caused a lot of things to change since its inception, one of the most striking is in the world of Video Poker. Although the first versions were released back in the 1970s, the look, feel and variations that are now available compared to when the internet was first launched are vastly different. The rules for each are very simple and only very slightly from one game to another, the easiest to play and one of the oldest and most popular is Jack or Better, which we outline below.
Before you read this strategy, ensure you know poker hand rankings.
- Video Poker Optimal Strategy
- Video Poker Strategy Training
- Video Poker Optimal Strategy Game
- Video Poker Strategy Card Printable
- Video Poker Optimal Strategy Fanduel
- Video Poker Optimal Strategy Examples
Once you have mastered this, you are ready to consider the best way to play the Jacks or Better Video Slot.
How to Play Jacks or Better
There are lots of versions of video poker and although some differences between versions are fairly minor, the version does affect the best strategy.
All versions share the same basic rules, however, which involve you choosing your stake, receiving 5 cards from a standard 52 card deck (some versions have an extra Joker – not Jacks or Better though) after which you can discard as few or as many as you want. Any cards you discard are replaced using the remaining cards in the deck, at which point winnings are paid depending on the strength of your hand. You don’t need to worry about what the dealer or other players get as there are none, it is just you against the machine.
![Poker Poker](https://46ej48mtoih19noij34d8gp3-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/vsmin.png)
This article concentrates on the most popular version of Video Poker, Jacks or Better which pays out on any hand that has a pair of Jacks or better all the way up to a Royal Flush. A screenshot of a typical Jacks or Better Video Poker game is below.
Video poker is the ONLY game where the casino actually tells you the 'price', or the exact theoretical payback. Learn to recognize the best game returns, which are prominently displayed on the game's glass or in the game's help screens and get the most for your gambling dollar. Best Strategy for Video Poker The main conflict in a game of video poker is whether to hold on to a made hand or break it up and draw for a stronger one. The answer is: it depends on what you have and what you can improve too. What do you do in the example shown here? Video Poker Strategy with overall return percentage of 99.5%. (Some machines over 100%.) Here is a simple video poker strategy you can take advantage of which has an overall return percentage of around 99,5%. On some of the video poker machines, the overall return is actually over 100%. The following strategy is my 'simple strategy' for deuces wild video poker. Using the strategy on a full pay machine will result in an expected return of 100.71%. Compared to the optimal strategy return of 100.76%, mistakes in the simple strategy will cost 0.05%, or one total bet every 1869 hands. Although it is important to have a game-specific strategy, there are some universal strategies that you can use on all video poker games, and they are as follows; Always play the max bet that is using all five coins. This ensures that you will always get the highest payout possible when you win. Make sure you know your poker hands hierarchy.
Jacks-or-Better gives you a 99.54% expected rate of return when played correctly. On the front of the machine, you can check the payouts and pick the ones with the best odds.
Here are payouts for a Full House and a Flush respectively on various machines.
The best odds when you play Jacks or better Are best on a 9 / 6 machine, it simply pays out more money to go with this machine.
Jacks or Better Paytables
Paytables can vary a small amount when playing Jacks or Better at different casinos, generally speaking though, the following is fairly standard:
Video Poker Optimal Strategy
Hand | Payoff |
---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 |
Straight Flush | 50 |
Four of a Kind | 25 |
Full House | 9 |
Flush | 6 |
Straight | 4 |
Three of a Kind | 3 |
2 Pair | 2 |
Pair of Jacks or Better | 1 |
As you can see, the difference between a Royal Flush and all other hands is huge, in order to win we, therefore, need to maximize the chances of getting a Royal Flush whilst banking as many smaller wins as we can to keep us ticking over until the Royal Flush arrives.
Another thing to realize when playing Jacks or Better is that around 79% of hands will be losing hands, so don’t feel despondent if you go several hands without a win. Perseverance is the key to playing any form of Video Poker, what you need to do is keep plugging away picking up small wins wherever possible to keep your funds ticking over until the big one arrives.
When you decide on the stake to play, ensure you play the maximum coins if you can, this will give the biggest possible payout when the Royal Flush does arrive and ensures you get a nice return. It is much better to reduce the value of a coin and play maximum coins than play a higher value coin but only bet 1 coin per go.
Patience is key, so take your time to study the strategies and make the right move, there is no time limit on Video Poker unlike some games as you are playing by yourself and others won’t be waiting on your move like you will get in some forms of Roulette and Blackjack. Make the most of this and get the decision correct to maximize your chances of a payout.
We have listed 2 strategies below, get used to the simple version if you are new to Video Poker, feel free to jump straight to the advanced version if you are more experienced.
Jacks Or Better Strategy
Using this strategy should increase the return over time to around 99.45% if played correctly. Reducing the House Edge in any casino game is important and although this may not seem like much, over a long period of time, it can make a big difference.
As with all Video Poker, patience is key. The only real way to make money is by hitting a Royal Flush, and due to the low odds of this happening, it can take a long time.
Start from the top of the table below, and hold the first set of cards that are applicable to the hand you are dealt:
Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind |
4 cards to a Royal Flush |
Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind |
4 cards to a Straight Flush |
2 Pair |
High Pair |
3 to a Royal Flush |
4 to a Flush |
Low Pair |
4 to an Outside Straight |
2 Suited High Cards |
3 to a Straight Flush |
2 Unsuited High Cards – Choose just 2 if more than 2 |
Suited 10/J, 10/Q, 10/K |
One High Card |
Discard All |
Terminology
In the above table, the following applies:
High Card – Jack, Queen, King or Ace. A Pair of these returns your stake, so it is worth holding.
Outside Straight – 4 Cards that are consecutive and where a card at either end can provide you with a Straight – EG. 5,6,7,8
Inside Straight – 4 Cards where there is one number missing that would complete a Straight. EG 5,6,8,9
Advanced Strategy
Video Poker Strategy Training
Once you have mastered the above, take a look at our more in-depth Advanced Strategy. This will increase the payout percentage to around 99.54%, one of the highest returns of any casino game. If you are lucky enough to hit a Royal Flush early, a nice return is on offer…
Video Poker Optimal Strategy Game
As with the Simple Strategy, start at the top of the below table and work your way down until you find the cards applicable to your hand.
Dealt Royal Flush |
Dealt Straight Flush |
Dealt 4 of a Kind |
4 to a Royal Flush |
Dealt Full House |
Dealt Flush |
3 of a Kind |
Dealt Straight |
4 to a Straight Flush |
Two Pair |
High Pair |
3 to a Royal Flush |
4 to a Flush |
Unsuited 10, J, Q K, A |
Low Pair |
4 to an Outside Straight that includes 2 High Cards |
3 to a Straight Flush |
Suited JQ |
4 to an Inside Straight, all High Cards |
Suited QK or JK |
Suited AK, AQ or AJ |
4 to an Inside Straight, 3 High Cards |
Unsuited JQK |
Unsuited JQ |
Suited 10J |
2 Unsuited High Cards with K s the highest |
J |
Suited 10 K |
Q |
K |
A |
Discard Everything |
Borderline Hands
The below are hands that very nearly make it into the above list, but an optimal play would be to make a different decision.
Suited 10 A – Hold the A only
3 Unsuited High Cards with A as the highest – Keep the lowest 2 High Cards as the chances of a Straight are higher when open-ended
4 to an Inside Straight with 2 High Cards – Keep the 2 High Cards
4 to an Inside Straight with 1 High Card – Keep the 1 High Card
4 to an Inside Straight with 0 High Cards – Discard all Jackpot slots mail.
The below are hands that very nearly make it into the above list, but an optimal play would be to make a different decision.
Suited 10 A – Hold the A only
3 Unsuited High Cards with A as the highest – Keep the lowest 2 High Cards as the chances of a Straight are higher when open-ended
4 to an Inside Straight with 2 High Cards – Keep the 2 High Cards
4 to an Inside Straight with 1 High Card – Keep the 1 High Card
4 to an Inside Straight with 0 High Cards – Discard all Jackpot slots mail.
Jacks or Better Tips
The jacks or better tips are the same for any video poker game, the only thing that’s different is the strategy card. I will go over some of the basic tips as part of our jacks or better strategy.
- Always play the maximum number of coins in order to be eligible for the bonus payout for a royal flush. You can’t win without hitting it in any video poker game so this is the hand that is vital. To do this you need to be able to play for a long time banking smaller wins until you hit it.
- Take your time to study every hand and play correctly. The machines at casinos are in no hurry when you play Jacks or Better and neither should you be.
- Only 21% of the hands dealt are winning ones in Jacks or Better, meaning 79% are losing hands. The difference between success and failure for players is the ability to convert the 79% of losing hands to potential winners and this involves using strategy. If you follow the rules below you will convert a good number of losing hands to winners in Jacks or Better video poker
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About Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is the most common video poker game. The name “Jacks or Better” means that the lowest winning hand is a pair of Jacks.
Optimal Strategy and Rule Variations
With optimal strategy standard 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54% (0.46% house edge).
Net Entertainment Jacks or Better
Other common 9/6 Jacks or better is the version offered by Net Entertainment casinos. This version pays 5x bet for straights, 20x for 4-of-a-kind and 40x for straight flushes. With optimal strategy the NetEnt Jacks or Better pays 99.56%.
Video Poker Strategy Card Printable
House Edge
As mentioned above the house edge of standard Jacks or Better is 0.46%, Net Entertainment JoB 0.44%. Remember though that about 2% of the payout is within the Royal Flush. This means that for every session when you will not get a Royal flush, you will get an average return of 97.5% – 98%. This means that your balance tends to drop slowly until you get a high paying hand. The following picture shows a simulation of 2000 hands session on Jacks or Better:
Variance and Results Over Bonus Wagering Requirement
While Jacks or Better has a low house edge, it also has a quite high variance which means that there is a good chance of losing while completing the bonus play-through. However if you get a high paying hand like Royal Flush, you will end up much over the expected value. If you prefer to complete the bonus play-through with low risk of losing, blackjack is a better option if it can be played.
Video Poker Optimal Strategy Fanduel
The standard deviation per hand in Jacks or Better (single hand version) is 4.42.
Video Poker Optimal Strategy Examples
The following graph shows the probability distribution of the end result when wagering 50xB on Jacks or Better with 1.25€ bet size (bolded in the above table). The percentages in the graph show the cumulative probabilities for the end result. The graph shows that the end result distribution has two humps – those sessions where the player didn’t get a Royal Flush and those sessions where he did.