- Poker Jacks Or Better Rules
- Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Strategy
- Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Free
- Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Free Poker Slots Deuces Wild
Jacks or Better. Also referred to as “draw poker,” this game doesn’t deliver a payout unless the player gets a pair of jacks or higher. Using a simple strategy on this game delivers an expected return of 99.46 percent, while employing a more advanced optimal strategy yields 99.54 percent. Jacks or Better, Trips to Win. This variation of Draw Poker can be played with up to seven players but no less than three for an optimal playing atmosphere. The game is played just how it sounds. The draw poker game that this variation most closely resembles is 5-card draw. Let’s go into some simple instructions on how this game is played. Jacks or better is a five card draw poker game. Jacks or better video poker is a one player card game. Playing Jacks or better is fun, easy and free at video poker free. To get started simply download the software, or click on the visit link to use the no-download version, and get your Download Play Now. Jacks or Better 'Jacks or Better,' sometimes simply called 'Draw Poker,' is the most common variation of video poker. Payoffs begin at a pair of jacks. Full pay Jacks or Better is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better since the payoff for a full house is 9 times the bet, and the payoff for a flush is 6 times the bet. Jacks and Back If no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, then the game is played as Lowball, with a draw and final betting round. A less popular version of this game states that on the first hand, if no player can open with a pair of Jacks or better, than the game is re-dealt as Queens or Better, Trips to Win.
A video poker machine at Seven Feathers Casino.
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card drawpoker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History[edit]
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a solid statecentral processing unit. The earliest models appeared at the same time as the first personal computers were produced, in the mid-1970s, although they were primitive by today's standards.
Video poker became more firmly established when SIRCOMA, which stood for Si Redd's Coin Machines (and which evolved over time to become International Game Technology), introduced Draw Poker in 1979. Throughout the 1980s video poker became increasingly popular in casinos, as people found the devices less intimidating than playing table games. Today video poker enjoys a prominent place on the gaming floors of many casinos. The game is especially popular with Las Vegas locals, who tend to patronize locals casinos off the Las Vegas Strip. These local casinos often offer lower denomination machines or better odds.
A few people that are skilled in calculating odds have made money playing video poker.[1]
The game[edit]
After inserting money (or a bar-coded paper ticket with credit) into the machine, play begins by placing a bet of one or more credits and pressing the 'deal' button. The player is then given 5 cards (like five-card draw) and has the opportunity to discard one or more of them in exchange for new ones drawn from the same virtual deck. After the draw, the machine pays out if the hand or hands played match one of the winning combinations, which are posted in the pay table. Unlike the table version, the player may discard all 5 of their original cards if they so choose.[2]
Pay tables allocate the payouts for hands and are based on how rare they are, the game variation, and the decision of the game operator. A typical pay table starts with a minimum hand of a pair of jacks, which pays even money. All the other hand combinations in video poker are the same as in table poker, including such hands as two pair, three of a kind, straight (a sequence of 5 cards of consecutive value), flush (any 5 cards of the same suit), full house (a pair and a three of a kind), four of a kind (four cards of the same value), straight flush (5 consecutive cards of the same suit) and royal flush (a Ten, a Jack, a Queen, a King and an Ace of the same suit).[3]
Some machines offer progressive jackpots or other unique bonuses, spurring players to both play more coins and to play more frequently.
Regulation[edit]
Video poker machines in casinos in the United States are regulated by state or Indian gaming agencies. These agencies typically require that the machines deal random card sequences using a virtual deck of cards. This is based on a Nevada Gaming Commission regulation later adopted by other states with a gaming authority. Video poker machines are tested to ensure compliance with this requirement before they are offered to the public.
Variations[edit]
There are many variations of video poker. They include Deuces Wild, where a two serves as a wild card; Joker's Wild, where a joker serves as a wild card; Anything's Wild, where the player selects any card (by rank) to act as the wild card before the hand is dealt; pay schedule modification, where four aces with a four or smaller kicker pays an enhanced amount (these games usually have some adjective in the title such as 'bonus', 'double', or 'triple'); and multi-play poker, where the player starts with a base hand, and each additional played hand draws from a different set of cards with the base hand. (Multi-play games are offered in 'Triple Play', 'Five Play', 'Ten Play', 'Fifty Play' and 'One Hundred Play' versions.)
In games which do not have a wild card, a player on average will receive the rare four-of-a-kind hand approximately once every 500 hands, while a player may play tens of thousands of hands before a royal flush, which usually has the highest payout.
Video poker games online are now available in the US in 3 different states: New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. Players in all three states are able to enjoy fully regulated online video poker games provided that they are physically present in the respective state, of legal age to gamble, and can validate their identity.
Full pay games[edit]
When modern video poker games first appeared, the highest-paying common variant of a particular game was called 'full-pay'. Game variants that returned a lower payback percentage were termed 'Short-Pay'. Though the term full-pay is still in use, today, there are many game variants that return more. Payback percentage expresses the long-term expected value of the player's wager as a percentage if the game is played perfectly. A payback percentage of 99 percent, for example, indicates that for each $100 wagered, in the long run, the player would expect to lose $1 if they played every hand in the optimal way. Full-pay Jacks or Better, for example, offers a payback percentage of 99.54%. Some payback percentages on full-pay games are often close to or even in excess of 100 percent.
Casinos do not usually advertise payback percentages, leaving it up to the player to identify which video poker machines offer the best schedules.
The payoff schedules for most video poker machines are configured with a pay schedule that pays proportionally more for certain hands (such as a royal flush) when the maximum number of credits (typically 5 coins) is bet. Therefore, players who do not play with the maximum number of credits at a time are playing with a smaller theoretical return.
Jacks or Better[edit]
'Jacks or Better,' sometimes simply called 'Draw Poker,' is the most common variation of video poker. Payoffs begin at a pair of jacks. Full pay Jacks or Better is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better since the payoff for a full house is 9 times the bet, and the payoff for a flush is 6 times the bet.[4] Sometimes, 10/6 and 9/7 versions of Jacks or Better can be found as promotions.[5]
Hand | Prize | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 | 41,126,022 | 0.000025 | 1.9807% |
Straight Flush | 50 | 181,573,608 | 0.000109 | 0.5465% |
Four of a kind | 25 | 3,924,430,647 | 0.002363 | 5.9064% |
Full House | 9 | 19,122,956,883 | 0.011512 | 10.3610% |
Flush | 6 | 18,296,232,180 | 0.011015 | 6.6087% |
Straight | 4 | 18,653,130,482 | 0.011229 | 4.4918% |
Three of a kind | 3 | 123,666,922,527 | 0.074449 | 22.3346% |
Two Pair | 2 | 214,745,513,679 | 0.129279 | 25.8558% |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 356,447,740,914 | 0.214585 | 21.4585% |
All Other | 0 | 906,022,916,158 | 0.545435 | 0.0000% |
Totals | - | 1,661,102,543,100 | 1.000000 | 99.5439% |
Bally's All American[edit]
Bally TechnologiesAll American video poker is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flushes, but reduced payout for full houses and two pairs (8-8-8-3-1 versus 9-6-4-3-2). The full pay version (quads return 50 bets), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few. IGT's version of the game is called USA Poker.
Tens or Better[edit]
'Tens or Better' is a variation of 6/5 Jacks or Better. Winaday casino instant play. The minimum paying hand is a pair of tens, rather than a pair of Jacks. Strategy is similar between the two games, in spite of the very different full house and flush payouts.
Joker's Wild[edit]
'Joker's Wild', as the name implies, adds a joker to the mix. The joker is fully wild and substitutes to make stronger hands. The inclusion of the wild joker also adds another winning hand in 5-of-a-kind. The game's name inspired a game show of the same name. The full pay version of Joker Two Pair or better (6-7-8), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered, but the play strategy is very complex and mastered by few.
Deuces Wild[edit]
'Deuces Wild' is a variation of video poker in which all twos are wild. (Wild cards substitute for any other card in the deck in order to make a better poker hand). In Deuces Wild, the payout for a four of a kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payback percentage of the game, and a four of a kind occurs on average approximately every fifteen hands. Deuces Wild can be found with pay schedules that offer a theoretical return as high as 100.8 percent, when played with perfect strategy. This full-pay version is found only in Nevada. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:
Hand | 1 credit | 2 credits | 3 credits | 4 credits | 5 credits |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Natural Royal Flush | 300 | 600 | 900 | 1200 | 4000 |
Four Deuces | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
Wild Royal Flush | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
Five of a Kind | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 75 |
Straight Flush | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Four of a Kind | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Full House | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Flush | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Straight | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Three of a Kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Theoretical Return | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 100.8% |
Variations are available that pay different amounts for the quad 'deuces', such as Double Deuces (2000), Loose Deuces (2500), Triple Deuces (3000), and Royal Deuces (4000). Full pay Loose Deuces (25-17-10), once common but now rare, is one of the highest return versions of video poker offered.
Sigma Flush Attack[edit]
Sigma Flush Attack is a combination of video poker and a banking slot, in this case what is being banked is flushes.[6] After 3,4, or 5 flushes (varies by machine), the machine switches into 'flush attack mode' in which the next flush pays 100 or 125 credits instead of the more usual 30 credits of 9-6 Jacks or Better. Some of these machines are linked, which means players can simply wait for someone else to put the bank in flush attack mode, or alternately with non-linked machines a player can play after observing a previous player hit flushes but not enough to trigger the flush attack, a practice called 'vulturing'. The higher payoff of the flush attack represents one of the higher overlays of video poker. These machines, once common, are now relatively rare.
Bonus Poker[edit]
'Bonus Poker' is a video poker game based on Jacks or Better, but Bonus Poker offers a higher payout percentage for four of a kind. The full-pay version of this game returns 99.2%. (3)The game has multiple versions featuring different bonus payouts based on the ranking of the four of a kind.
Double Bonus[edit]
'Double Bonus' video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better with a bonus payout for four aces. This variation offers up to a theoretical return of 100.2 percent, when played with perfect strategy — however, this % is only on a '10/7' version video poker game (10/7 being the payouts for a full house and a flush). There are many other video poker varieties of 10/6, 9/6, etc. that have slightly lower than the most generous 10/7 version payout. Although the full-pay version has a theoretically-positive return, few play well enough to capitalize on it. Double Bonus is a complex game.(4)
It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:
Hand | 1 credit | 2 credits | 3 credits | 4 credits | 5 credits |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four Aces | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
Four 2, 3, or 4 | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
Four 5-K | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Full House | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
Flush | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 |
Straight | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Three of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two Pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Theoretical Return | 99.1% | 99.1% | 99.1% | 99.1% | 100.2% |
Double Double Bonus[edit]
'Double Double Bonus' video poker is a variation of Jacks or Better which offers bonus payoffs for different four of a kinds, as seen in the payout table below. Full pay Double Double Bonus can be found with pay schedules that offer up to a theoretical return of 100.1 percent, when played with perfect strategy. It is also available with other pay schedules that have lesser theoretical returns:
Hand | 1 credit | 2 credits | 3 credits | 4 credits | 5 credits |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four Aces w/2, 3, or 4 | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 |
Four 2, 3, or 4 w/A-4 | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
Four Aces | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
Four 2, 3, or 4 | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
Four 5-K | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Full House | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two Pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Theoretical Return | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 98.9% | 100.1% |
Low pay video poker games[edit]
Often casinos choose to use pay tables which reduce the maximum payout percentage as compared to other commonly available game variants. This increases the house edge, but generally reduces net revenue for the casino as players experience less 'play time' on the machine, busting out of their buy-in at an earlier point. Casinos that reduce paytables generally have to increase promotions to compensate and attract customers.
9/5 Jacks or Better[edit]
9/5 Jacks or Better is a low pay version of the game. The payout for making a Flush is cut from 6x your bet to 5x your bet, but all other payouts remain the same. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.45% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.
8/6 Jacks or Better[edit]
8/6 Jacks or Better is another often used pay table for Jacks or Better games. The payout for making a Full House is cut from 9x your bet to 8x your bet, while all other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. Bally technologies website. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 98.39% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.
8/5 Jacks or Better[edit]
8/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 8x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. How to play jaxs. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 97.30% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus. A common promotion used by casinos to encourage play on this tight paytable was to add a 2% progressive meter to the royal flush.
7/5 Jacks or Better[edit]
7/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 7x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 96.15% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.
6/5 Jacks or Better[edit]
6/5 Jacks or Better cuts the Full House payout from 9x your bet to 6x your bet, and also cuts the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in a full pay game. This reduces the maximum payout percentage to 95.00% for players betting five coins per hand to receive the Royal Flush bonus.
Progressive jackpot games[edit]
Other kinds of video poker only have positive theoretical returns when the progressive jackpot is high enough. Many establishments advertise with a billboard when the progressive jackpot is high enough. Otherwise sub-optimal games like 8/5 jacks or better can become positive expectation when the jackpot is large enough.
Terminology[edit]
As with regular poker, there are many different terms and phrases that are associated with playing video poker. Not knowing these terms may cause a disadvantage to anyone playing the game. The most important video poker terms [7] have been added to the table below.
Video Poker Term | Explanation |
---|---|
Full Pay | The highest paying variant of a video poker game. Typically with high return-to-player game percentages. |
Low Pay | Refers to video poker games which increase the house edge and reduce the return-to-player percentage. |
Natural Royal Flush | A unique case when the highest possible hand, a Royal Flush, is dealt to the player. |
Power Poker | Theoretically the most profitable poker strategy. |
Multi-Play | A feature that allows participants to play with more than one hand. |
Hold | When a player chooses to keep the cards in their hand. |
Auto Hold | A feature available in certain video poker games. If turned on, the game automatically chooses which cards to hold. |
Not So Ugly Ducks (NSUD) | A game most well-known for paying 16 for a 5 of a kind and 10 for a straight flush. |
Game Denomination | Refers to the value of the cards or the coin size in a video poker game. |
Flush | A five-card hand that contains cards of the same suit. |
Discard | The cards you decide to throw away after the initial deal. |
Draw | The second deal of the cards, after you have decided which cards to hold and which to discard. |
Hand | The five cards (or less) dealt on the screen are known as a hand. |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Montero, David; Winton, Richard; Vives, Ruben (2017-10-09). 'In the solitary world of video poker, Stephen Paddock knew how to win. Until he didn't'. Los Angeles Times. ISSN0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
- ^'Video Poker Rules & Gameplay'.
- ^'Learn Video Poker Rules and Video Poker Hand Values'. OnlineCasinosDoc.com. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^'Video Poker Analyzer - Wizard of Odds'. wizardofodds.com.
- ^Video Poker Optimum Play, Dan Paymar, Table 9: Attractiveness Quotient of Selected Games, page 175, ISBN1-886070-11-3
- ^Robbing the One-Armed Bandits, Charles Lund, 1999, ISBN091057510X, page 37ff
- ^'Video Poker Online Guide'. online-gambling.com. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Video poker. |
- Video Poker Guides at Curlie
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Video_poker&oldid=988494063'
Video poker is one of the most successful and popular games ever invented. After 30 years, the original Jacks or Better variety is still a favorite, probably because the house edge is less than half of a percent! Video poker came about in the 1970s when Si Redd’s little company in Sparks, Nevada, introduced Draw Poker. The original game was slow and clunky, but as technology grew, so did SIRCOMA, and his company became today’s International Game Technology. Much of the company’s early success was due to video poker’s popularity.
In the late 1980s, the game became a cultural phenomenon, with players spending hours mesmerized by their video screens. Most of that early interaction and addiction centered on the first real game, Jacks or Better. The name signifies that winning payoffs start with a five-card draw hand of at least a pair of jacks. Higher hands offer higher payoffs, and unlike the first poker machines that offered just 1,000-coin jackpots, today’s machines pay 4,000 coins for a royal flush.
Also, some video poker games are linked together and offer a progressive jackpot. A 25-cent machine pays $1,000 for a royal flush, but in the 1980s, with many machines linked together in bars and other locations, jackpots often rose to more than $2500. Popularity was sky-high. Over time, new variations of video poker like Joker Poker, Deuces Wild, and Double Bonus were introduced. Triple Play came along later with a player option to play three simultaneous hands on the same machine.
Through all the changes and competition, Jacks or Better has remained the original and most popular game. And there are good reasons for the player loyalty. To begin with, it’s a game that can offer a return of 99.5% to the player. That’s terrific. To get that pay-off, you’ll have to follow the optimal strategy I’ll show you later. Another advantage of Jacks or Better is that it offers lower volatility in payoffs than other video poker games. That makes a difference in your cash flow or bankroll. Games with other high payoffs like Deuces Wild and Double Double Bonus have sneaky ways of making those payoffs.
When you play Deuces Wild, payoffs start with three of a kind, not a pair of jacks. Similarly, at Double Double Bonus, payoffs do start at a pair of jacks, but the payoff for two pair isn’t 2 to 1; it’s the same as for a pair of jacks. Hmm, that’s not bad. It’s just tougher on your bankroll and causes more variance. If you are rich, the variance won’t make any difference to you. That would be nice! For myself, I’m not rich. I gamble for fun and excitement, and I try my best to get a fair shake as often as possible.
Video poker is based on the poker game of five-card draw, but it is unlike the card game, where there is a pot to strive for, and the best hand wins. In video poker, a player makes a wager, usually five coins, and is dealt five cards. They may hold any or all cards or discard as many as five cards and draw new ones. To win, the player must make a final hand of at least a pair of jacks. Payoffs are shown at the top of the video screen and following this introduction.
If you bet five coins and make a high pair (jacks or better), you’ll get five coins back. Not exactly a win, but it’s better than nothing. The hands listed are the same as in a standard poker game with a deck of 52 cards and no jokers. Two pair pays 2 for 1 and is designated by any two pairs, such as K-K-8-4-4. If you are dealt that hand, you would hold the K-K-4-4 and discard the 8, trying to improve to a full house.
Any hand with three of a kind pays 3 for 1, regardless of whether you start with that hand or draw cards to make the final combination. A straight is any five cards in sequence, such as A-2-3-4-5 or 7-8-9-10-J. They can be of any mixed suit, and the payoff is 4 for 1. A hand such as 3-4-5-6 is called an open-ended straight since you can make your hand by catching a card on either end with a 2 or a 7.
Poker Jacks Or Better Rules
A gut-shot or close-ended straight draw is a starting hand like 5-6-7-9. To make the straight, you’ll need to catch an 8. A flush is any five final cards of the same suit, such as 3-6-8-9-Q of clubs. Making a flush pays 6 for 1. The next-best hand is a full house. You’ll be paid 9 for 1 when you get three of a kind and a pair, such as 2-2-7-7-7. If you make a hand like 2-7-7-7-7, you’ll have quads. You’ll get paid 25 for 1 when you make four of a kind.
The next biggest payout is for a straight flush. To win the 50 for 1 payoff, you’ll need to make a straight and a flush at the same time! That means your hand will have to be similar to 2-3-4-5-6 in a single suit. The biggest payout in video poker is for a royal flush, which is also the highest straight flush. You’ll only win the 4,000-coin payoff when you hold A-K-Q-J-10, all in a single suit.
It doesn’t matter what the order of the cards is on a video poker screen. You’ll be paid the same, even if they are mixed up. However, occasionally you’ll find a casino that offers a bonus for a sequential royal flush. The payoff for a sequential royal flush is usually 10,000 for 1. I’ve seen super jackpots or 10k on machines at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, the Atlantis in Reno, and in the past at online sites like Bovada and Jackpot City. You may have to search around, but the added payoff sounds fun.
What you can expect for payout hands on a Jacks or Better 9/6 video poker machine:
Hand | Payoff | Combination | Probability | Return |
Royal Flush | 800 | 41,126,022 | 0.000025 | 1.9807% |
Straight Flush | 50 | 181,573,608 | 0.000109 | 0.5465% |
Four of a Kind | 25 | 3,924,430,647 | 0.002363 | 5.9064% |
Full House | 9 | 19,122,956,883 | 0.011512 | 10.3610% |
Flush | 6 | 18,296,232,180 | 0.011015 | 6.6087% |
Straight | 4 | 18,653,130,482 | 0.011229 | 4.4918% |
Three of a Kind | 3 | 123,666,922,527 | 0.074449 | 22.3346% |
Two Pair | 2 | 214,745,513,679 | 0.129279 | 25.8558% |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 356,447,740,914 | 0.214585 | 21.4585% |
All Other | 0 | 906,022,916,158 | 0.545435 | 0.0000% |
Total | 1,661,102,543,100 | 1.000000 | 99.5439% |
This payoff table shows all the possible combinations of video poker. The table is based on 9/6 payout, meaning that you receive 9 coins back for each wagered on a full house and six coins back for each wagered on a flush. You’ll hit two pairs a huge amount of the time. And your payout for that hand will be nearly 26% of your total returned while playing. That helps reduce variance, as you will get a small winning amount back quite often, as compared to getting just even money on two pairs at other games.
This full-pay table is treasured by players. Because gaming jurisdictions usually only require an 80% payback on video and slot machines, it may be hard to find. So, note it in your gaming journal, a pack of smokes, or store it somewhere in the back of your mind so that you can return to the good life from time to time. Online, I’ve found this full-pay game at some Playtech sites, as well as some that use Microgaming software. In Las Vegas, it’s hard to find on the Strip, but there are games at other places in the city.
Station Casinos has this pay table at many of their casinos, including Palms, Red Rock, Boulder Station, Palace Station, Sunset Station, Texas Station, and Santa Fe Station. They are out there! Keep in mind that although the game has a great payback, your “luck” will have a lot to do with your results. That doesn’t mean varying from the best strategy; it means that when you are playing any gambling game, especially one that has a high payoff jackpot like video poker at 4,000 coins, it can be a long time between big hits.
If you look back at the payback table, you’ll see that the amount you receive over hours and hours of play is dictated greatly by the pair and two-pair hands. And while the royal flush is only about 2% of your total return, it will be your savior and catch you up for a lot of losses along the way. That’s what creates a variance, so you will still have times when you seem to be running bad because you can’t make any decent payoffs.
Gambling is a funny animal. I have friends who played video poker for a living when progressive jackpots were more plentiful, and one year, a single player hit 55 royal flushes, while most of us hit only a couple dozen. Did he have a trick? You could call it good luck, which it was, but it all comes down to variance. Over the next few years of play, I’m sure his results came back closer to the norm. That’s gaming.
My first piece of advice is to always look for the best pay tables. When you play Jacks or Better, you’ll find plenty of machines, from IGT Game King to Bally Game Maker, and other suppliers. But what you’ll find most of the time is a payoff that is lower than 9/6. That wouldn’t keep me from playing, but I’d play more often with the best odds, wouldn’t you? Most of these odds are better than playing a game like roulette or Three Card Poker, so video poker isn’t bad. Just keep in mind that you’ll get a lot more hands at the slots and video poker than at a table game.
In fact, you can play quickly and get as many as 300 hands per hour at video poker. Because of this, the game can be as expensive to play per hour as games like roulette with a slower pace and a higher house edge.
9/5 Jacks or Better
In this game, the payoff for a flush is reduced from 6 to 5. The reduction results in a maximum payout to the player of 98.45%.
8/6 Jacks or Better
At 8/6 Jacks or Better, the payoff for a full house is reduced from 9 to 8. That takes the maximum payout to the player down to 98.39%.
8/5 Jacks or Better
This game reduces both the full house and the flush payoff. You’ll get 8 for a full house and just 5 for a flush. Your maximum payout then becomes 97.30%.
7/5 Jacks or Better
At 7/5 Jacks or Better, a full house pays 7 credits, and a flush pays 5 credits per coin wagered. The maximum payout to the player falls to 96.15%.
6/5 Jacks or Better
The 6/5 Jacks or Better payout is found in many casinos these days. It is even found at many online casinos where I think the payouts should be much higher. The maximum payout to players with this configuration is 95%.
Personally, I try to avoid both the 7/5 and 6/5 Jacks or Better games. I will play these games when they are attached to a progressive jackpot, which increases my percentage payback over the long term. The higher the jackpot, the better the payback. And the more likely I’ll vary my strategy to hit that royal flush. My second piece of advice is always to play the maximum number of coins it takes to hit either the 4,000-coin payoff for a royal flush or the maximum number of coins it takes to hit a progressive jackpot.
Now, you have to take that with a grain of salt. Some machines allow as many as 100 credits per hand. If you are playing a penny machine, perhaps that fits your budget. If you are on a 25-cent machine, that would be $25 per hand. Yikes. Play what you can afford, not what looks best! I only mention the maximum credits because if you are playing a progressive, it might take more than five. It’s your call.
Also, that royal flush payoff is only 2% of the overall payoff a machine makes, but you’ll need it to keep your payback percentage high. If you don’t, you can expect to take that 2% off the overall payback. That’s on you.
There is a very good, easy strategy you can use in video poker in the beginner’s guide to video poker. However, if you want to get serious and follow the optimal strategy, it is listed below. Regardless of which strategy you follow, keep in mind that even full-pay Jacks or Better video poker machines hold a lot higher percentage than the .5% the optimal strategy offers. Why is that?
The answer lies again in the murky world of variance and what gamblers believe about luck and skill. Well, that and the fact that most players don’t play anywhere near the best they can. Bad play is costly. That’s the bottom line. Play on hunches, and you can expect Jacks or Better video poker to return about 92% to you. Play less than maximum coins, and the house edge comes closer to 10%. It’s fun, but winning is much better!
Here are a few examples where players make mistakes. The first has to do with a low pair below Jacks and a straight draw.
A Low Pair and a Straight Draw
Suppose you are dealt 4-4-5-6-7. Your pair of threes won’t pay a dime if you don’t improve, and you’ve got an open-ended straight draw. What should you do? According to our optimal strategy, a non-paying low pair (twos through tens) has a higher overall return than an open-ended straight. How can that be, you might ask?
The answer lies in the fact that while the straight will pay 4 coins (20 total) when it hits, you’ll only draw the card you need eight times out of the remaining 47 unseen cards. On the other hand, if you dump the 5-6-7 and draw to your pair of fours, you’ll make two pairs quite often. And you’ll be able to make trips, a full house, and the occasional four of a kind. When all those possible hands are averaged out, the correct decision of keeping the small pair will pay you almost 25% more than drawing at the straight.
This example is shown below by comparing #16, the low pair, to #21, the straight draw.
A Low Pair and a Flush Draw
Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Strategy
Now suppose you are dealt that same pair of fours with a four-card flush draw. Now, what’s the best strategy? To start with, a flush pays better than a straight, 6 coins to just 4. Plus, you’ll make a flush more often in the 47 tries outlined above. Instead of making your hand eight times, you’ll make it nine times.
With those improved odds and payoffs, you’ll want to keep the flush draw and toss those measly fours. Check the list below, and you’ll see the flush draw is listed higher, at #14, compared to the low pair at #16.
Guaranteed Payoff Versus a Big Draw
Sometimes the payoff is more dramatic than making a straight. Suppose you get a guaranteed winner in the form of a pair of jacks. However, your total hand is the jack of hearts with a ten, jack, queen, and king of spades. Now you’ve got a four-card draw at a royal flush. Should you toss the guaranteed payoff of the pair of jacks or toss the jack of hearts and go for the big payoff?
In this case, you’ll want to draw to the royal flush and the 4,000-coin payoff. Along the way, you’ll have a chance to make a straight flush if you catch a nine of spades, a flush if you catch any other flush, and a straight if you catch a different nine or a non-spade ace. You’ll also get paid if you pair your jack, king, or queen. With all those payoffs, it is always best to toss a high pair when you have a one-card draw at a royal flush.
If you have three cards to a royal flush with a high pair, you should go ahead and draw three to the pair. On the other hand, if you have a low pair and a royal flush draw, toss the little pair and draw to the big bucks. If these examples make sense to you, the optimal strategy shown below will too. You will always draw to the biggest hand possible from the highest listed hand on the list.
Rank | Combination |
1 | Royal flush |
2 | Straight flush |
3 | 4 of a kind |
4 | 4 cards to royal flush |
5 | Full house |
6 | Flush |
7 | 3 of a kind |
8 | Straight |
9 | 4 to straight flush open ended (queen high) |
10 | Two pair |
11 | 4 to straight flush inside draw |
12 | High pair (jacks, queens, kings, or aces) |
13 | 3 cards to royal flush |
14 | 4 cards to flush |
15 | 10 J Q K |
16 | Low pair (two through tens) |
17 | 9 10 J Q |
18 | 8 9 10 J |
19 | 9 J Q suited |
20 | 9 10 J suited |
21 | Open-ended straight draw (highest card a ten) |
22 | 8 J Q suited |
23 | 3 to straight flush – open ended (highest card a ten) |
24 | 9 Q K suited, 9 J K suited |
25 | 9 10 Q , 8 10 J , 8 9 J suited |
26 | J Q suited |
27 | J Q K A |
28 | J K suited, Q K suited |
29 | J A, Q A, K A suited |
30 | 4 to straight inside (three high cards) |
31 | 3 to straight flush – two gaps and one high card |
32 | 3 to straight flush – one gap and no high card |
33 | JQK |
34 | JQ |
35 | 10 J suited |
36 | JQ, JK |
37 | 10 Q suited |
38 | JA, QA, KA |
39 | 10 K suited |
40 | One high card – jack, queen, king, or ace |
41 | 3 to straight flush two gaps and no high card |
42 | Five low cards, no straight or flush draw – redraw all five cards |
Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Free
What the strategy above insists is that you see what you are dealt, find the highest part of it on the list, and play from there. In other words, if all you have is five unsuited, unconnected low cards, you discard them all and draw five new cards. The next-worst starting hand is three cards to a straight flush with two gaps (a double gut shot) and no high cards. That would be something like 2-4-6 of diamonds with an 8 and a 9. It’s not much better than a single high card and no straight or flush draw.
If all you have is two small cards and J-Q-K (#33 on the list), you discard the two small cards. But if you also have a small pair, you discard the J-Q-K since the small pair is a higher start (#16 on the list). This list might sound tough to memorize, but after playing a bit and consulting your list from time to time, it will become second nature, and you’ll do great.
Draw Poker Jacks Or Better Free Poker Slots Deuces Wild
The final note is that although you might not be able to find the perfect 9/6 machine, you can always enhance your return by joining the casino players club. Most large casinos in the US and Canada offer complimentary rooms, food, and beverages for players. In Las Vegas, most casinos comp at 1 point per $1 in action. 1,000 points equals $10. If you are playing 25-cent video poker, your comp total for an hour of play with 300 hands played will be about $3.75. If you find a good 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker machine with the standard 99.5% payback, you’ll get more than 100% payback with your comps. It doesn’t get much better than that!