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Jacks or Better Strategy Card. Once you've mastered playing Jacks or Better using those strategy tips, give our big strategy card a try. Start at the top and move down. When you get to your hand, stop. This is a solid Jacks or Better Strategy: Royal flush; Straight flush; Four of a kind; Four cards to a royal flush; Full house; Flush; Three of a kind; Straight; Four cards to a straight flush; Two pair Pair of jack or better; Three cards to a royal flush; Four cards. The typical version of this video poker variety is 9/6 Jacks or Better, which is named after the payouts for a Full House and a Flush. The table below represents a standard payout schedule for 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker. Jacks or Better strategy can be found on our video poker page. There you will find a comprehensive list of which cards. That such strategy exists, they think that having strategy cards in casino is illegal, or they do not know how to use strategy cards. Tamburin a rmed that pocketsize strategy cards for various types of video poker are now commercially available for di erent levels of players. Secondly, the use of strategy cards is legal in all gambling. Jacks or Better is a video poker game which offers an even payout on a pair of jacks or any hand better than that.
Video poker is one of the few casino games where strategy can drastically influence the outcome. Players can lower the house edge and improve their odds of winning by correctly holding or discarding their initial five cards. In some versions, such as Deuces Wild, players can even gain a slight advantage over the casino.
In order to achieve the maximum return, players should bet the full number of credits each hand. Payout percentages are highest and the house edge is lowest when the maximum credits are wagered. Otherwise, the entire outcome relies on holding and discarding strategy, which must be followed exactly.
There several versions of video poker, each with their own strategy. We start with Deuces Wild, since this version is one of the easiest to gain an advantage over the casino. The appropriate strategy guide is listed, followed by advice on Jacks or Better, the most popular video poker game.
Deuces Wild
One of the highest paying is 'Deuces Wild.' This is played exactly as it sounds: all twos are wild. When the correct strategy is applied, Deuces Wild has a return as high as 100.8%.
The payout schedule for Deuces Wild video poker is very unique due to the frequency of high-ranking hands caused by the introduction of wild cards. In fact, about one-third of all payouts are rewarded for a four of a kind, which occurs approximately every fifteen hands. Below is a typical Deuces Wild payout table found at various casinos and online gambling sites.
Deuces Wild video poker strategy is based on making the right choice of which cards to hold and which to discard. The difference from other forms of video poker is that the strategy is dependent on how many twos you are dealt.
The following recommendations should be followed from top to bottom. Move down the list until you locate your hand and follow the corresponding discard strategy.
Deuces Wild strategy seems tricky at first glance, but the recommendations follow a basic pattern. Never discard a deuce, and never keep two pairs. If you look at the payout table above you will notice that these video poker machines only pay for hands ranked three of a kind or better. Discarding one of the pairs and drawing three cards is mathematically more profitable than keeping both pairs and only drawing one card.
Jacks or Better
The most popular version of video poker is Jacks or Better. This is played the same way as five card draw, but players are only awarded money for a pair or Jacks or higher. The typical version of this video poker variety is 9/6 Jacks or Better, which is named after the payouts for a Full House and a Flush.
Video poker is one of the few casino games where strategy can drastically influence the outcome. Players can lower the house edge and improve their odds of winning by correctly holding or discarding their initial five cards. In some versions, such as Deuces Wild, players can even gain a slight advantage over the casino.
In order to achieve the maximum return, players should bet the full number of credits each hand. Payout percentages are highest and the house edge is lowest when the maximum credits are wagered. Otherwise, the entire outcome relies on holding and discarding strategy, which must be followed exactly.
There several versions of video poker, each with their own strategy. We start with Deuces Wild, since this version is one of the easiest to gain an advantage over the casino. The appropriate strategy guide is listed, followed by advice on Jacks or Better, the most popular video poker game.
Deuces Wild
One of the highest paying is 'Deuces Wild.' This is played exactly as it sounds: all twos are wild. When the correct strategy is applied, Deuces Wild has a return as high as 100.8%.
The payout schedule for Deuces Wild video poker is very unique due to the frequency of high-ranking hands caused by the introduction of wild cards. In fact, about one-third of all payouts are rewarded for a four of a kind, which occurs approximately every fifteen hands. Below is a typical Deuces Wild payout table found at various casinos and online gambling sites.
Deuces Wild video poker strategy is based on making the right choice of which cards to hold and which to discard. The difference from other forms of video poker is that the strategy is dependent on how many twos you are dealt.
The following recommendations should be followed from top to bottom. Move down the list until you locate your hand and follow the corresponding discard strategy.
Deuces Wild strategy seems tricky at first glance, but the recommendations follow a basic pattern. Never discard a deuce, and never keep two pairs. If you look at the payout table above you will notice that these video poker machines only pay for hands ranked three of a kind or better. Discarding one of the pairs and drawing three cards is mathematically more profitable than keeping both pairs and only drawing one card.
Jacks or Better
The most popular version of video poker is Jacks or Better. This is played the same way as five card draw, but players are only awarded money for a pair or Jacks or higher. The typical version of this video poker variety is 9/6 Jacks or Better, which is named after the payouts for a Full House and a Flush.
The table below represents a standard payout schedule for 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker.
Jacks or Better strategy can be found on our video poker page. There you will find a comprehensive list of which cards to hold and which to discard no matter what hand you are dealt.
Another way to ensure the lowest house edge is to pick the right games. Not all online gambling sites and land-based casinos offer the same payouts for Jacks or Better video poker. Refer to the next section for which games to avoid when gambling.
Avoid Low Pay Variations
Jacks Or Better Strategy Chart
There are many Jacks or Better variations with altered pay tables that reduce the amount players receive for a win. This raises the house edge and ultimately leads to more income for the casinos. Obviously, these variations are best avoided if you want to achieve the maximum return on your money. Stick with 9/6 Jacks or Better and stay away from the following video poker games.
9/5 Jacks or Better
Flush payout cut from 6 times your bet to 5 times your bet.
8/6 Jacks or Better
Full House payout cut from 9 times your bet to 8 times your bet.
8/5 Jacks or Better
Full House payout cut from 9 times your bet to 8 times your bet.
Flush payout cut from 6 times your bet to 5 times your bet.
7/5 Jacks or Better
Full House payout cut from 9 times your bet to 7 times your bet.
Flush payout cut from 6 times your bet to 5 times your bet.
6/5 Jacks or Better
Full House payout cut from 9 times your bet to 6 times your bet.
Flush payout cut from 6 times your bet to 5 times your bet.
The general concept behind video poker strategy is fairly simple. You want to find the highest paying machines and follow the recommendations for holding and discarding your cards. The goal is to get at least the minimum required poker hand to win your money back and score the occasional big win. Play at the right online casino sites and use the advice above, but always remember to gamble responsibly.
More Casino Game Strategy
Video poker is the umbrella used for dozens of different gambling machines that all feature almost identical game-play. The most basic version of both casino and online video poker today is Jacks or Better, so called because the lowest-paying hand in the game is a pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces.
These games all work the same way, but the way to get good at any of them is to master Jacks or Better first. If you get the hang of Jacks or Better, you can play a casino game where the house edge is less than 0.5%.
And that's something worth doing.
Here are some tips and strategies for Jacks or Better to get you started.
Understanding the Bets and the Sizing of Those Bets
If you're completely new to the game, you might not understand the importance of betting 5 coins per hand.
That's the first decision you'll make at any Jacks or Better game, but it's a no-brainer, because there's only one correct decision:
Always play the max coin bet, which is 5 coins.
The reason you always make the max coin bet in Jacks or Better – or any other video poker game, for that matter – is because you trigger a bigger payoff by doing so.
You can bet 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 coins per hand in video poker. If you bet anything other than 5 coins, the best possible payout is 200 for 1. That's for the jackpot hand – a royal flush.
But…
If you bet 5 coins, that hand pays off at 800 for 1.
And even though that hand only comes up once in every 40,000 hands on average, it's a big enough difference in the payout percentage that playing for fewer coins will lower the payback percentage by 2%.
Some More Specifics About the Jacks or Better Pay Table
It's become customary to use an abbreviated pay table when discussing video poker games like Jacks or Better. Here's an example of the so-called 'full pay' Jacks or Better pay table:
1-2-3-4-6-9-25-50-800
These are the payouts that correspond to the hands in this order:
- A pair of jacks or better
- 2 pairs
- 3 of a kind
- A straight
- A flush
- A full house
- 4 of a kind
- Straight flush
- Royal flush
A pair of jacks or better pays off at even money, 1 for 1. 2 pairs pays off at 2 for 1. 3 of a kind pays off at 3 for 1. And so on.
The important numbers on a Jacks or Better table, though, are the payouts for the full house and the flush. On a full pay Jacks or Better game, the full house pays off at 9 for 1, and the flush pays off at 6 for 1.
These are the 2 hands where the casinos change the payouts if they want to offer a game with better odds for them.
If you play with the optimal strategy on a Jacks or Better game with the pay table above, the casino house edge is only 0.46%, and the payback percentage is 99.54%.
But if the casino only pays 8 for 1 for a full house and 5 for 1 for a flush, that payback percentage drops to 97.3%. The house edge skyrockets to 2.70%.
Jackpot party casino slots on facebook. And that's assuming you're playing with perfect strategy.
If you're making mistakes, you might be giving up another 1% or 2% to the casino.
The beginning of wisdom in Jacks or Better video poker is to recognize the best pay tables and play only the machines with those pay tables.
Where to Find the Best Jacks or Better Pay Tables
If you play Jacks or Better online, it's relatively easy to find full pay Jacks or Better games. The best online casinos offer this as a matter of course.
Be careful of multi-hand games, though. Most online casinos do NOT offer 9/6 Jacks or Better games in multi-hand format.
As my uncle used to say, that's how they get you!
You can also find full pay Jacks or Better games in traditional casinos, but that often requires doing your own scouting. You're more likely to find full pay Jacks or Better in smaller casinos that cater more to locals.
If you're in Las Vegas, forget all about the video poker machines at the airport. You're lucky to find 7/5 Jacks or Better there. Some of the games there are 6/5 Jacks or Better, which is awful. You might as well play roulette.
The big casinos on the Strip MIGHT offer full pay Jacks or Better in the high limit slots room. You can pretty much forget about finding those games on the regular casino floor, though.
If you're not wanting to do your own scouting, one of the best things you can do is join a community of gamblers or video poker players on the internet and share information with them. You can find multiple such sites with little effort using Bing or Google.
Learning How to Play Your Hands
That 99.54% payback percentage assumes you know how to play each hand perfectly – in other words, you know which cards to hold and which ones to discard, and in which situations.
That's probably an easier strategy to learn in Jacks or Better video poker than in any other video poker game.
I'll provide some of the basics of Jacks or Better strategy here, but keep in mind that this isn't a full strategy. You're still giving up a couple of tenths of a percentage by following the strategy.
But it's a good place to start to learn video poker strategy.
Start with the understanding that some pat hands should require no thought on your part. If you're dealt any of these 3 hands, just keep ‘em and take your payout:
- Royal flush
- Straight flush
- 4 of a kind
The only tricky hand in that lot is the straight flush, because sometimes you'll get a straight flush that's also a draw to the royal flush.
Don't break up your straight flush to try to hit the royal flush. It's not worth it.
After those 3 hands, the best possible hand you can have is 4 cards to a royal flush. Any time you get 4 cards to a royal flush, it's always appropriate to hold onto those cards and draw to the royal flush. This can mean discarding a hand that might be a sure thing.
With that in mind, you have a couple of other hands which you should always hold onto (unless you also have the 4-to-a-royal-flush.) These hands are:
- Full house
- Flush
- 3 of a kind
- Straight
The lesson you should be taking away from this discussion of Jacks or Better strategy is this:
Jacks Or Better Strategy Cards
You should try to let the machine deal you a winning hand or a royal flush draw.
Jacks or Better strategy starts getting slightly more complicated after this.
If you don't have that, then you should hold onto 2 pairs or a pair of jacks or better
As you can see, there are only 2 hands worth breaking up a winning hand to draw to:
- 4 to a royal flush, which you should almost always draw to.
- 4 to a straight flush, which you should be willing to break up a pair to draw to.
That's it. If you have a paying hand, those are the cards to keep.
After that, you start thinking about drawing hands. If you have 3 cards to a royal flush, you'll keep that even if it means throwing away a small pair. You'll also prefer 4 cards to a flush to a small pair.
But after that, you'll want to draw to your small pairs in the hopes of getting 3 of a kind.
After that, focus on higher ranked cards that have straight flush or royal flush possibilities.
Conclusion
Mastering Jacks or Better video poker is the first step in mastering every other video poker variation. If you can play it well, you can usually adjust your strategy for the other games based on the changes in the pay tables.
In fact, that's the main difference between Jacks or Better and other video poker variations – the pay table. Some games use wild cards, too, but it's all about maximizing your expected value from each hand.
