- From studying the Jacks or Better payout odds table, you may notice an inequality between the true odds and payouts of certain hands. Despite the fact that a full house is more likely to happen (1 in 86) than a flush or a straight, it has a larger payout.
- Video poker payout odds can be different depending on the game, but a Jacks or Better game played with a perfect strategy can give the player a 99.54 percent return on their money. Even if you don’t know perfect video poker strategy and you only make the occasional mistake, that average return will only drop down to 99.52 percent.
- With Jacks or Better, the pay table I used as an example is the best possible example. When manufacturers want to create a Jacks or Better game with better odds for the house, they have smaller payouts for the full house and the flush. Changing those payouts from 9 and 6 to 8 and 5 reduces the payback percentage from 99.5% to 97%.
- A pairs of Jacks or better is all you need for a win. And as your hand improves, your payout increases. But not every Jacks or Better Full Pay machine has the same payout table. For example, full pay Jacks or Better asks the player to wager between one and five credits, with maximum payouts available only to players who wager the maximum 5 credits.
Jacks or Better Strategy. Understand all combinations and see how close your hand is to winning them. If you require more than 2 cards to achieve the combination, it is better to try for other options. When you have a pair of cards, calculate the odds and decide to hold or break them.
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Jacks or Better is one of the most popular video poker formats. This has been the go-to version of the game since video poker terminals hit casinos and bars. It is based on draw poker, when you get a single draw and aim to hit jack-jack or better to win.
You’ll get to choose whether to hold or discard any or all of your five cards. The best payout in Jacks or Better is for a Royal Flush, which pays 800 coins (or in some casinos, a progressive jackpot prize).
Jacks or Better can be played in regulated states both at online and live casinos. This page details exactly how the game works, the best payouts you should look for and the optimal strategies behind playing the game.
Jacks or Better – Look for a full pay table, otherwise known as 9/6
There are two important considerations when you first play Jacks or Better. The first is the pay table, to ensure you are gaining the best odds possible. The second is the number of coins in play, which also has a large effect on the odds.
The first thing you should look at in the pay table are the prizes for a full house and a flush. You’ll want to ensure that the payout for the full house is 9 coins and that the payoff for a flush is 6 coins.
In some variations of the game, these payouts can be lowered to 8 and 5 coins respectively. While these differences might seem minor, the house edge increases from around 0.5% to 2.5% in the lower paid version. This is a 5x difference in the house edge. Take a quick glance at the pay table, and ensure you are playing the higher paying games (there are plenty of variations to choose from, especially online).
Number of Coins in Play
This is another serious consideration, as you should always opt for the 5-coin option. The payout for a Royal Flush betting one coin is 250 coins. If you bet 2, 3 or 4 coins, the payout increases to 500, 750 and 1,000 coins respectively.
However, if you play for the maximum 5 coins, the Royal Flush payout jumps to 2,000 coins (instead of the expected 1,250 coins).
Therefore, if you were to play a game with a total stake of $5 for example, you should always play 5 coins for $1, instead of 1 coin for $5. If you don’t play for 5 coins you are missing out on expected value.
How Jacks or Better Works
To start the game, you’ll hit the ‘Deal’ button which will deal you five cards. You’ll now get to choose how many of those 5 cards you want to hold or discard. Any of the cards you discard (which when playing the best strategy will usually be most of them) will now be replaced by new cards. You now have your final hand and you’ll be paid if you do indeed have Jacks or Better.
Here is an example payout for Jacks or Better (with the 9/6 pays for the full house and flush).
- Royal Flush: 800
- Straight Flush: 50
- 4 of a Kind: 25
- Full House: 9
- Flush: 6
- Straight: 4
- 3 of a kind: 3
- 2 Pair: 2
- Jacks or Better: 1
Strategy for Playing Jacks or Better
Much of the strategy around playing Jacks or Better is seemingly common sense, especially if you are dealt a series of big cards. However, things can get a little tricky when you have two potential ways to go (such as five cards that include a pair and the potential of a straight).
Here are some key pointers you can use in your strategy:
If you are dealt a royal flush, a straight flush, four of a kind, a full house and a flush, these hands play themselves and you should hold all cards. If you have four to a Royal Flush, hold those above a full house and a flush.
Pairs are all-important in Jacks or Better. If you receive a single high pair (Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces) within your five cards, these should be held instead of four cards of the same suit or even three of the five cards that make up a Royal Flush.
Even holding a low pair is deemed the best strategy over a number of deals. For example, if you are dealt a pair of 3’s in a hand that includes 7, 8 and 9 that are suited, you should hold those 3’s and discard the straight flush opportunity.
If you have a hand with just two high cards (with no other possibilities such as flushes and straights), or even just a single high card, you should simply hold them and discard the others. You’ll hold those high cards to give you a better possibility of hitting those high pairs.
Remember, when you are playing Jacks or Better, a high card is considered to be any picture card or an ace.
Jacks or Better Cheat Sheet
This strategy chart (cheat sheet) outlines what you should do in the event you are met with the following conditions.
- 2 Pairs: Unless you’re drawing to a four card royal flush, you should always keep any two pair combination.
- 4 card straight flush: You’ll want to keep any 4 card straight flush.
- Jacks or better: Hold if you have a pair of jacks or better (any).
- 3 cards to a royal flush: Hold if you have three cards to a royal flush.
- 4 cards to a flush: Hold if you have four cards to a flush
- Pair lower than J’s: Hold if you have a pair lower than J’s.
- Open straight draw: Hold if you have any four card open straight draw.
- AKQJ: Hold if you have unsuited AKQJ in your hand.
- 2 suited high cards: Hold if you have any two high cards (suited).
- 3 cards to a straight flush: Hold if you have three cards drawing to a straight flush.
- KQJ: Hold if you have any KQJ (unsuited).
- Unsuited high cards: Hold if you have any two high cards (unsuited).
- K, Q, J + 10 of same suit: Hold if you have any K, Q, or J, but only if you’re holding a 10 of the same suit.
- High card: Hold if you have any single high card.
- None of the above: Draw five new cards
Jackpot Variations of Jacks or Better
Occasionally, you can come across jackpot versions of this popular game, with the maximum prize for the Royal Flush awarding you a progressive jackpot. If the jackpot prize is much larger than the standard payout for the Royal Flush, this can change your strategy slightly, especially in situations where you have three cards to the hand (at this point you should prioritize the Royal Flush more).
Wrapping Up – Is there a ‘Better’ Video Poker Variation than Jacks or Better?
Jacks or Better can be considered one of the classic video poker games. With no wilds thrown into the mix, the big hands can be hard to land. While this sounds like a bad thing, it’s actually the opposite – due to that difficulty, the payouts are that much bigger in Jacks or Better.
Likewise, if you can find a full pay table, you can decrease the house edge significantly. Correct play,
The game can now be enjoyed online, as well as in the live casinos. Online casinos in NJ, Pennsylvania, MI and WV are regulating online casinos, giving you the chance to play the game if you are located within the state lines. Check out Jacks or Better and many other video poker formats online.
Jacks or Better is one of the most popular video poker variations available in both land based casinos and in online casinos.
It’s also often listed as one of the best games to play if you want to play a low house edge game. But Jacks or Better games are found with a wide variety of pay tables.
In this post, I show you the most popular pay tables, how to read them, and what all of the numbers mean, and how they change the payback percentage.
With this information, you can make sure you’re playing on a machine that offers the best possible pay table.
It’s important to compare several different Jacks or Better pay tables side by side to see how one small change can alter the payback percentage. I’ve done this in the chart below. But before getting to the chart let’s cover a few other important things.
Payback Percentage
Before moving on, I want to make sure you understand exactly what payback percentage means and how it relates to the house edge.
The payback percentage is the average amount the machine returns for every dollar wagered. This percentage is based on hundreds of thousands of hands and also includes the elusive royal flush.
This means that in the short term, which can consist of thousands of hands, your return may be higher or lower than the numbers listed below.
To get the house edge simply subtract the payback percentage from 100.
Here’s an example:
The 9 / 6 game in the chart below shows a payback percentage of 99.54%. This means the house edge is .46%.
Most Jacks or Better players show a larger house edge because remember the payback percentage includes the large pay out for a royal flush. According to the mathematical calculations done on Jacks or Better you hit a royal flush on average one out of every 40,391 hands.
What this means is to achieve the actual payback percentages listed in the chart below you’re going to need to play 40,391 hands on average.
And worse than the thought of playing that many hands to reach the payback percentage is that it’s entirely possible to play that many hands and still not hit a royal flush.
Of course, it’s also possible to hit two or three royal flushes in that many hands.
Every hand of Jacks or Better you play has a one in 40,391 chances to hit a royal. So, a machine is never due to hit a royal, even if it hasn’t hit one in years. And if a machine has just hit a royal flush it has the same chances of hitting another one the net hand as it did the previous hand.
Video Poker Machine Memory
Video poker machines have no memory so each hand has the same odds and chances as any other hand played.
Unlike slot machines, video poker machines are specifically based on a deck of playing cards so the chances of getting any particular card is one in 52. This is specific to Jacks or Better and other video poker machines that don’t use jokers.
This information is useful in determining the exact payback percentages listed in the chart and is also useful when making strategy decisions.
Here’s an example:
If you get four to a flush on your starting five card hand you know the deck still has nine cards to complete your flush. You’ve seen five cards so the rest of the deck consists of 47 cards. This means that if you play this hand 47 times discarding your non-flush card and drawing one, on average you’ll win nine times and lose 38.
Here’s another example:
If you have four cards to a royal flush you know that only one card will complete it. This means that one time out of 47 you’re going to get the card you need on average.
I keep saying on average because you can’t actually play the exact same situation 47 times at once. But over time the correct percentages work out.
The Chart
I’ve put together a chart listing the six pay tables you’re most likely to find in a casino and three special pay tables that offer higher returns. The most common ones are the first six and the special ones are the last three.
Best Jacks Or Better Odds
The best pay table I’ve played on is the regular 9 / 6, but if you ever run across one of the last three in the chart you should jump at the opportunity to play.
The chart lists the payout numbers you see in the first column to the left on most Jacks or Better machines. The only exception is for the royal flush. The number in the royal flush column in my chart is the top jackpot amount divided by five.
You only qualify for the top jackpot amount by playing five coins per line. If you play fewer than five coins the payout for a royal flush is less, which in turn reduces the overall payback percentage.
On the pay tables that list 800 for the royal flush it shows 4,000 in the five coin payout spot on the actual machine. The 940 machine listed below shows 4,700 and the 976 machine shows 4,880.
The payback percentages listed in the chart are all based on you playing perfect strategy.
Key:
Jacks Or Better Free Casino
- RF – Royal flush
- SF – Straight flush
- 4K – Four of a kind
- FH – Full house
- FL – Flush
- ST – Straight
- 3K – Three of a kind
- 2P – Two pair
- JoB – Pair of jacks or better
- % – Payback percentage
Common Tables
The most common tables are the first six in the chart. The 9 / 6 is the hardest to find, but you can still find them in many land based casinos and in most online casinos.
The other five common machines are found everywhere, with the worst ones usually in bars and illegal gambling houses. Any machine using less than the 8 / 6 pay table should be avoided, and many people won’t play on anything less than a 9 / 6.
One thing you need to watch for is on machines that offer single hand and multi hand play. Multiple hand play is the ability to play five, 10, or even 52 hands at the same time.
The way it works is you receive a five card starting hand and decide what to hold. The same cards are held for all of the hands and each hand uses its own deck to complete your draws. Each of the decks removes the same five cards you start with and then randomly draws a card or cards to replace your draws.
The thing to watch for is many of these machines offer the 9 / 6 pay table if you only play one hand but switch to a lower paying table if you play more than one hand at a time.
Many players assume all of the games are at 9 / 6 and end up playing with a higher house edge for a long time without realizing it.
Best Tables
The three best pay tables are rare. I only include them in the chart so you can see what a pay table needs to look like to be better than the 9 / 6 that’s commonly the best you can find.
Notice that in order for a machine to offer a 100% payback percentage the royal flush payout has to be 976 per coin compared to 800. And even if you find one of these machines to play, in order to achieve a break-even level of play you have to eventually hit a royal flush.
Also notice that with payback percentages of 99.9% and higher, if you get any kind of comps through a player’s club while playing these machines you’re basically playing with an edge against the casino.
Conclusion
When you see a Jacks or Better video poker machine use the chart above to determine the payback percentage. You’re fairly safe playing a 9 / 6 machine, but be wary of any other pay tables without checking their exact payback percentages.