- Jacks Or Better Payout
- Jacks Or Better Video Poker Payout
- Jacks Or Better Video Poker Payout
- Jacks Or Better Payout Table
- Jacks Or Better Payout
A video poker machine at Seven Feathers Casino.
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%. Jacks or Better Jacks or Better is the classic video poker game. You need to form the best five-card poker hand possible and as long as it contains a pair of Jacks or better then you win. Better yet, the game offers a gamble feature giving you the chance to double your payout. Easy no-download video poker! Jacks or Better, Bonus, Double Double, Deuces, Joker Poker, total of 17 variations plus perfect play trainer. As you probably know, “Jacks or Better” is the most common video poker game which is played as a five-card draw format. As the name suggests, you need to make a pair of Jacks or a better hand to qualify for the payout. The good news is that video poker has one of the highest payout percentages, so it is one of the best games for the players in the 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. 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]
Jacks Or Better Payout
'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. Sverige automaten casino. 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]
![Better Better](https://online.worldcasinodirectory.com/onlinecasinoimages/games/large/7405-sukclkvixv.jpg)
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. 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. 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. |
Jacks Or Better Video Poker Payout
- Video Poker Guides at Curlie
Jacks Or Better Video Poker Payout
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If you’ve made it through the wilds of the internet to find your way here, you probably know all about basic strategy for Jacks or Better video poker already.
With basic strategy guidelines out of the way, many Jacks or Better players mistakenly believe that their tutelage on video poker’s foundational game has come to an end. While it is true that learning basic strategy is an essential first step in a quality Jacks or Better education, it is just that – a first step.
Once you’ve mastered the ins and outs of playing your five-card draws with optimal precision, you’re definitely in business and there’s no doubt about that.
Nonetheless, the best Jacks or Better players out there – world-renowned professionals like Bob Dancer who consistently beat the house by playing at an expert level – never rest on their laurels.
I don’t believe Jacks or Better enthusiasts should ever limit themselves to the confines of basic strategy. Learn it, by all means, but always follow through by enhancing your basic strategy knowledge with supplementary skills and strategies designed to extract every possible edge from Jacks or Better’s basic rules and gameplay.
To that end, the list below highlights four rules and strategies for Jacks or Better video poker that most players simply don’t know enough about.
1 – Betting the Maximum of 5 Coins Is the Only Way to Score Premium Payouts on a Royal
If you’ve been spending time in video poker parlors or you’ve gambled on online video poker sites, you’ve probably heard regulars admonishing rookies who don’t bet all five coins:
“Hey, whaddya doin’ there guy? You’re only helpin’ the casino out by bettin’ less than the max.”
Unfortunately, while these self-styled mentors are quick to dole advice like that out, they seldom back it up with a real explanation as to exactly why maximum bets are the best play.
I’ve got you covered though, so scan at the standard 9/6 full pay Jacks or Better pay table show below:
Jacks or Better Full Pay Table (by Coins Bets)
HAND | 1 COIN | 2 COINS | 3 COINS | 4 COINS | 5 COINS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
4 of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
3 of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Payback | 98.3% | 98.3% | 98.3% | 98.3% | 99.54% |
This pay table can be fund flashing in yellow print from hundreds of thousands of Game King machines found in casinos all over the world.
I want you to focus on how the payouts for each hand, except the best hand, escalate according to a steady pattern. No matter the size of your bet, making two pair is always good for a 2 to 1 payout in terms of coins. In other words, bet 1 coin and get 2 back for two pair; bet 2 coins and get 4 back, etc.
This pattern holds up even for a straight flush, which pays out at 50 to 1 for each coin wagered. You can bet 4 coins and get 200 back for a straight flush, or 5 coins for 250 back, but it all boils down to the same 50 to 1 payout.
But get a load of that Royal Flush payout, which starts at 250 to 1 for a 1-coin bet. Royal payouts climb according to the same pattern for 1-4 coins bet, until you hit that 5-coin max bet level. There, landing a Royal Flush is good for a whopping 4,000 to 1 payout.
This “jackpot” element is crucial to Jacks or Better strategy, because as the table’s bottom column clearly shows, even a 9/6 full pay game won’t offer the 99.54 percent payback rate that makes this game so great for players.
Simply put, when you bet anything less than 5 coins per hand, you’re doing the casino a massive favor. Not only does the house’s liability drop severely on Royal Flushes, but every hand you play suddenly changes from 99.54 percent payback to 98.30 percent.
Fortunately, the Game King machine – and the top-rated online casinos offering Jacks or Better – lets players choose their coin denomination. So if betting 5 coins at $1 per is too rich for your blood (and bankroll), just dial it back to the $0.25 coin denomination and max-bet for $1.25 per hand.
2 – Hunting for the 9/6 Full Pay Machines and Never Settling for Less
That 99.54 percent payback rate is what brings so many sharp gamblers out of the woodwork to play Jacks or Better.
Expressed in terms of house edge, the game only lends the casino a 0.46 percent advantage, putting Jacks or Better on par with blackjack and other popular casino games.
But that’s only when you play against the 9/6 full pay table shown below:
Jacks or Better Full Pay Table
HAND | PAYOUT |
---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 |
Straight Flush | 50 |
Four of a Kind | 25 |
Full House | 9 |
Flush | 6 |
Straight | 4 |
Three of a Kind | 3 |
Two Pair | 2 |
Jacks or Better | 1 |
All Other | 0 |
As you might have noticed by now, many video poker games out there today don’t actually offer the 9/6 full pay table.
Instead, the casinos try to get one over on players by offering machines that use one of the inferior pay tables shown below:
Inferior Jacks or Better Pay Tables (by Payback Percentage)
HAND | 9/5 | 8/6 | 8/5 | 7/5 | 6/5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Four of a Kind | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Full House | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
Flush | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Two Pair | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Payback Percentage | 98.44% | 98.39% | 97.29% | 96.14% | 94.99% |
![Jacks or better payout table Jacks or better payout table](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dz_XSM8d2RA/maxresdefault.jpg)
These pay tables are, pardon my French, pure B.S. By tweaking just a single payout downward, casinos can turn Jacks or Better into a sucker game on par with slots.
Here’s how Bob Dancer, known in the gambling world as the “King of Video Poker,” described the creeping shift away from 9/6 full pay machines:
“The machines at Station have been getting a lot tighter. Most players think there will be no 100 percent games by the end of the year at Station Casinos.
They have 100 percent machines, but they have more at the middle of the spectrum and a whole lot near the bottom. Station appears to be catering to the less-knowledgeable player.
But no one should play at a machine that pays less than 99 percent. There are too many 99 percent machines around town.”
3 – Knowing the Odds Against Making Every Possible Paying Hand
Everyone knows a full house beats a flush or a straight in poker, so naturally, it pays out more than those hands in Jacks or Better.
But did you know it’s actually slightly more difficult to make a flush or a straight in Jacks or Better than it is a full house?
Well, that’s a fact, as the table below shows off quite clearly:
Probabilities and Odds Against for Paying Hands in Jacks or Better
HAND | PROBABILITY | ODDS |
---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 0.003% | 1 in 40,391 |
Straight Flush | 0.012% | 1 in 9,148 |
Four of a Kind | 0.236% | 1 in 423 |
Full House | 1.151% | 1 in 87 |
Flush | 1.119% | 1 in 91 |
Straight | 1.104% | 1 in 89 |
Three of a Kind | 7.439% | 1 in 13 |
Two Pair | 12.921% | 1 in 7.7 |
Jacks or Better | 21.370% | 1 in 4.7 |
Nothing | 54.647% | 1 in 1.8 |
Total | 100.000% |
As you can see, the odds against making a full house, flush, and straight are almost identical. Knowing this, when you have starting hands that allow for multiple draws to these hands, always opt for the full house and it’s juiced up payout.
4 – Playing Faster to Make Long Odds More Attainable
In that table above, you can see that landing a Royal in Jacks or Better is a huge longshot at 1 in 40,391 odds against.
Playing through more than 40,000 hands to realize those odds may seem like an impossible task, but it doesn’t have to be.
Just ask “Dr. Antonius,” a video poker speed-runner who holds the world record for fastest Jacks or Better session ever recorded. You can watch the good doctor do his thing down below:
Jacks Or Better Payout Table
But here’s the scoop. Using perfect basic strategy, Dr. Antonius completed 2,262 hands in a single hour. Thus, it would only take him 17 hours or so of grinding to reach the 40,391-hand threshold.
Obviously, you don’t have to play at world-record pace to improve your odds of a Royal. But playing faster is the best way to churn out enough hands to realize those longshot odds.
Jacks Or Better Payout
Conclusion
Jacks or Better basic strategy is like a key that opens a treasure chest stuffed with gold and jewels. In theory, when wielded in the right hands, using the hard and fast rules for discard / draw decisions can turn Jacks or Better into one of the best games in the house. But that advantage remains entirely theoretical when players don’t know about the other rules and strategies found above.
The folks who don’t bet all 5 coins per hand, sit down at inferior non-full pay tables, or play too quickly or slowly for their personal bankroll requirements instantly sacrifice all of the extra equity basic strategy provides. Knowing this, you should never put a penny in a Jacks or Better machine until you’ve checked all four rules and strategies found here off your to-do list.