If you enjoy your gaming action with a side of math and method, then video poker, especially Jacks or Better, is one of the best places to start. It’s not random chaos like slots; it’s not just luck-based.
Unlike slots, your choices directly affect the return. Unlike poker tables, there’s no pressure. This is a thinking person’s game, and the more correct decisions you make, the higher your return.
Betting Basics
Before we jump feet first into strategy and gameplay, let’s brush up on some of the basics: Firstly, what is video poker?
Video poker is basically a 5-card draw with fixed payouts.
- You Bet
- Receive 5 cards
- Choose which cards to hold
- Draw replacements
- Get paid using a pay table
Jacks or Better: The Basics
Jacks or Better (JOB) is the most beginner-friendly version of video poker. As the name suggests, you get paid for any pair of Jacks or higher, and the strategy is extremely logical.
You get five cards and must choose the ones you want to keep for the next round. So, how do you know which cards to hold? Well, just follow the beginner’s strategy below.
First, a list of possible winning hands
- Royal Flush. The best hand! Includes A, K, Q, J,10 from the same suit.
- Straight Flush. Five consecutive cards from the same suit. Example: 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 of hearts
- Four of a Kind. Four cards of the same value of any suit. Example: K(H)+ K(S) + K(D) + 8+ K(C).
- Full House. 5 cards that are one pair and three of a kind. Example: 2 Queens of any suit + 3 Fours of any suit.
- Flush. Five cards of the same suit. Example: A, 10, 3, 4, 8, of spades
- Straight. Five cards that form a consecutive sequence. For example: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of any suit.
- Three of a Kind. Three cards of the same value. Example: 3 Eights for any suit.
- Two Pair. Two pairs of two cards of the same value could be of mixed suits, such as 2 Kings + 2 Tens + 8
- Jacks or Better. The easiest one to collect, this combination includes only one pair of jacks or a higher value.
Basic Strategy
- When you have four cards to a Straight or a Flush, hold all four of them and draw only one additional card.
- When you have three cards to a Royal Flush, draw two additional cards only.
- If you need two cards for a Straight Flush. Hold them and draw two more.
- When you get a pair of cards, usually you would be best served to hold them and draw three additional cards.
- When nothing strong is available, keep one high card, keep two high cards if they’re suited or connected, or keep all high cards when you have 3–4 (e.g., K-Q-J-10) – These give you the most “money-back” outcomes.
Find the Best Games
Pay tables for Jacks or Better vary wildly. If you play Jacks or Better video poker, your single biggest edge (i.e., lowest house-edge, highest return to player) comes from picking machines with the right pay table. Here are the pay tables widely regarded as the “best” (or worst) — and what you should try to find (or avoid). Finding the best paytables means checking out what the game pays for one coin or credit on the full house and the flush. So when you see 9/6, that means it pays 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush.
- 9/6 (Full-Pay 9/6 Jacks or Better). This is the best game you can find and returns 99.54%/ Widely considered the “gold standard” —best long-term return if you use the correct optimal strategy.
- 9/5 Jacks or Better. At 98.45%, still a very good payout. The flush payout is reduced, but it’s still playable, as the house edge only increases by ~1%.
- 8/6 Jacks or Better. At 98.39%, the full-house pay is reduced. It’s still playable but somewhat worse than 9/5.
Avoid these games, because you should always be able to find the above three games at any online casino. At land-based casinos, you often don’t have a choice unless you want to bet much higher than you’re comfortable with. At online casinos, you can play as little as a penny a game.
- 8/5 Jacks or Better—97.30% house edge
- /5 Jacks or Better— 96.15%
- /5 Jacks or Better—95.00%
Extra Tips for Beginners
- Ignoring pairs: Beginners lose the most money by skipping past pairs because they get excited by suited connectors or straight possibilities. But in Jacks or Better, a low pair usually beats everything except a 4-card flush.
- 3-Card Straight Flush: This is the #1 beginner mistake. A 3-card straight-flush draw looks exciting but often has lower value than a boring low pair. Only hold it when you have no pair, no open-ended straight, no 4-card flush, or no strong high-card combo.
- Know the Pay Table: Familiarize yourself with the specific pay table and identify which hands give the best payout.
- Play Maximum Coins: When playing online, it’s good practice to play the maximum number of coins allowed on a machine. This often unlocks the highest Royal Flush payout, boosting your overall return.
- Don’t Skip the Practice Games: Use simulation software to hone your skills without risking your money.
- Set a budget: Before you play, decide your maximum limit and stick to it.
Bonus Poker: Jacks or Better With a Twist
Bonus Poker is a variation of Jacks or Better, the only difference being that it gives higher payouts for four-of-a-kind hands, such as 4 Aces, 4 2s, 3s, 4s, etc. (4 Aces is the best hand and usually unlocks a big payout). It makes the game more exciting and less predictable. However, finding the best pay tables is more complicated. We’ll get into that in a later article.
Strategy Differences: JOB vs Bonus Poker
Mostly, the strategy remains identical. The key exception is that low pairs are worth more in Bonus Poker. In Jacks or Better, you sometimes break low pairs for 4-to-a-straight/flush. However, in Bonus Poker, it’s not a good idea to break a pair for draws.
As Bonus Poker prioritizes four-of-a-kind (for example: Four Aces could get you 800 coins, four 2s through 4s, 400 coins, and all other four-of-a-kinds, 250 coins. It also changes the player’s strategy.
A perfect way to learn the game!
Jacks or Better builds your fundamentals while Bonus Poker sharpens your ability to think in terms of expected value and high-paying hands. Together, they prepare you for Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, or Ultimate X & multiplier games, all of which increase the payout in your games. Again, the best pay tables are harder to determine, so stick to Jacks or Better for now.
If your goal is to step into online gambling with confidence, this is the smartest path.
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