1. Jacks Or Better Video Poker Pay Table
2. Best Video Poker Pay Tables
3. Poker Jacks Are Better
4. Free Jacks Or Better Poker
5. Jacks Or Better Online Poker
6. Video Poker Pay Tables Charts
7. Jacks Or Better Poker

Jacks or Better was one of the earliest video poker variations created, and it remains very popular today.

One reason for Jacks or Better’s popularity is that it’s among the simplest video poker games to understand. You don’t have to learn multiple hands, wild cards, multipliers or bonus payouts.

Although most amateur video poker players do not realize it, pay tables play a huge role in the profitability of a video poker machine. In fact, when you are comparing two machines that offer identical games/rules, the pay tables (or 'return tables') are the only way that the two machines' payouts can differ. Fortunately for us, all video poker machines display their respective pay table. To Examine The Pay Tables. A true video poker player will never ignore the Pay Table or the Help Screen. If you believe the difference between a video poker machine that pays 30 to 40 credits for a Full House at the max bet, as opposed to 40 credits. You’re making a mistake. To best illustrate our point, we’ll use Jacks or Better. Here are many of the common pay tables available on Jacks or Better machines. The best pay table available in many online and land based casinos is the 9 / 6. It’s called a 9 / 6 because the full house. The full pay version of this online video poker game is called “9/6 jacks or better”. It is called so because you’re paid 9x the bet on a full house and 6x the bet on a flush. This version has a house edge of 99.54%, which means you would expect to lose 46¢ on every $100 you wager on the game. Jacks or Better is almost identical to Tens or Better Video Poker however the pay table for Jacks or Better pays our higher amounts for getting a Full House or a Flush, this is offset by the fact you need to get a pair of Jacks or Better to win. Wild Cards: There are no wild cards in Jacks or Better video poker.

Another reason why people like Jacks or Better is because the full pay (highest paying) version offers 99.54% payback and is found at many land-based and online casinos.

This contrasts other full pay video poker variants, which aren’t commonly found in casinos.

If you want to take advantage of this high payback and simplistic strategy, keep reading as we discuss Jacks or Better’s history, how to play, pay tables and strategy.

Jacks or Better History

Because Jacks or Better is commonly associated with video poker, many think that it didn’t exist until video poker machines entered casinos in the 1970s.

But Jacks or Better can actually be traced back to the nineteenth century when poker became popular on Mississippi riverboats.

The first known reference comes from gambler and writer J.H. Green who, in 1834, compared Jacks or Better to Three Card Monte. Green felt that Jacks or Better was a fair game, while Three Card Monte was a cheating game.

Like many forms of poker that originated on the Mississippi River, there’s no clear date on when people first started playing Jacks or Better. This leaves Green’s reference as the earliest mention of the game.

Jacks or Better remained in gambling circles throughout the years and was introduced as a video poker variant in the late 1970s.

Video poker was a failure when it was first introduced to casinos in 1970, namely because it was nothing more than a television monitor attached to a central processing unit. Players didn’t trust these machines, nor did they see any reason to gravitate away from the more popular slot machines.

By the mid 1970s, Si Redd and his company, SIRCOMA Si Redd’s Coin Machines, began creating better video poker machines and distributing them to more casinos.

SIRCOMA, later IGT, experienced moderate success with their first game Draw Poker, which is 5 card draw poker that starts payouts at a two pair.

SIRCOMA changed the lowest payout to a pair of jacks, which greatly increased video poker’s popularity. Today, Jacks or Better is still one of the most widely played machine based casino games.

Jacks Or Better Video Poker Pay Table

You can bet anywhere from 1 to 5 coins on your hand. Most land based casinos feature a $0.25 coin denomination, making the minimum bet $0.25 and the max wager $1.25.

As we’ll cover later, the royal flush payout has a disproportionate jump when moving from a 4 coin win to a 5 coin win.

If you want to be eligible for this increase and achieve top payback, then you need to bet 5 coins. To quickly wager 5 coins, click the Max Bet button.

Despite Jacks or Better’s high payback, some players don’t feel comfortable betting $1.25 per hand. If you’re a low roller who still wants to achieve max payback, note that online video poker has coin denominations as low as one cent.

Once you’ve selected your betting options, click the Deal button to receive your 5 card hand. You then evaluate your hand and decide what to keep based on Jacks or Better strategy.

When you’ve decided what cards to keep and discard, click Draw to finalize your hand. The software will then determine if your hand qualifies for a payout according to the pay table.

Once the round is over, you can make betting changes. Or, you can just click Deal to use the same wager and get a new hand.

Jacks or Better uses a standard 52 card deck with no wild cards. This game is programmed to make each card appear with the same odds that you’d expect from a real 52 card deck.

Random number generator software ensures that every deal and hand is randomized.

Land based casinos must submit to state audits to ensure that their video poker and other games are random. Online casinos must adhere to the specifications set forth by their licensing jurisdiction(s).

While Jacks or Better is straightforward, IGT has produced some new video poker variants that allow you to play this game in a different format. Here’s a look at games that put a twist on Jacks or Better:

Triple Play Poker

Triple Play sees you play three video poker hands at once, each requiring a separate bet. Any card that you hold in your bottom hand is mirrored in the other two hands. Triple Play Poker forms the basis for the other variants discussed here, which also use a multi hand format.

Good Times Pay

Featured in Triple Play format, Good Times Pay sees you get random multipliers on wins as long as you bet 5 coins per hand.

Hot Roll Video Poker

You can play 3, 5, or 10 hands at once, and you need to bet 10 coins on a hand to make it eligible for the Hot Roller multiplier. This feature randomly sees dice roll across the screen and gives you a multiplier equal to the two dice’s value (2x to 12x).

Hyper Bonus Poker

Hyper Bonus is very similar to Hot Roll with its two 12x multiplier range. The main difference is that no dice are involved in Hyper Bonus.

Multi Strike Poker

This game sees you play up to four hands, which are stacked on top of each other in levels. Every time that you win, you move to a new level/hand. The second level offers a 2x multiplier, the third level has a 4x multiplier and the fourth level has an 8x multiplier.

Multi Strike Poker Super Times Pay

This is the same as Multi Strike Poker, except you can activate the Super Times pay feature on each hand by betting another coin. Super Times Pay gives you a random multiplier on wins worth up to 10x.

Peek and Play Poker

For an extra 2 coin bet, you can activate the Peek and Play feature, which lets you see the first replacement card before you make discards. This can help you avoid making discards or keeping cards that would hurt your hand.

Pick and Pair Poker

This game sees four cards dealt– two on the left and two on the right. You pick one of the two cards to keep on the right hand side and the other card disappears. After this, the final two cards are dealt, and your 5 card hand is complete (no draw round).

Jacks or Better Video Poker Pay Tables and Odds

As mentioned before, Jacks or Better is one of the few video poker games where you can find the full pay version. This is called 9 / 6 Jacks or Better, because a full house pays 9 coins and a flush offers 6 coins.

But even with full pay Jacks or Better available, you’ll commonly find other versions in land based casinos that pay less for a full house and flush.

Let’s look at these pay tables below and discus how the lower full house and flush payouts affect payback:

As you can see, nothing changes between these pay tables except for full house and flush payouts. But, you may be surprised at how these little changes alter the payback:

• 9 / 6 Jacks or Better = 99.54% payback
• 9 / 5 Jacks or Better = 98.45% payback
• 8 / 6 Jacks or Better = 98.39% payback

Considering the drop from 9 / 6 to 9 / 5 Jacks or Better, you can see why it’s good to find the full pay version whenever it’s available.

Earlier, we mentioned the jump between the royal flush payout on a 4 coin and 5 coin win. As the pay table shows, you win 1,000 credits on a 4 coin wager and 4,000 credits on a 5 coin bet.

If you want to attain the highest payback, then you need to bet the max number of coins.

One more thing worth mentioning is that most video poker variants have pay tables that are based on Jacks or Better. Once you learn the Jacks or Better pay table, you’ll have an easier time adjusting to other games.

Video poker strategy is never easy, but Jacks or Better offers simpler strategy than many video poker variants.

This game doesn’t have a lot of winning hands, meaning you have less to look at when reviewing strategy charts.

In fact, you can even use a simplified strategy chart that’ll get you to 99.46% payback, which is very close to the optimal 99.54% pay.

Below, you can see the simplified strategy chart along with the advanced version.

When reading these charts, start from the top and scan down until you find your hand listed. If you don’t find your hand, then discard everything.

• Royal flush, straight flush, 4 of a kind
• 4 cards to a royal flush
• Full house, flush, straight, 3 of a kind
• 4 cards to a straight flush
• 2 pair
• High pair J J to A A
• 3 cards to a royal flush
• 4 cards to a flush
• Low pair (10s or lower)
• 4 cards to an outside straight
• 2 unsuited high cards
• Suited K 10, Q 10, or J 10
• One high card

• Royal flush, straight flush, 4 of a kind
• 4 cards to a royal flush
• Full house, flush, straight, 3 of a kind
• 4 cards to a straight flush
• Two pair
• High pair J J to A A
• 3 cards to a royal flush
• 4 cards to a flush
• Unsuited K Q J T
• Low pair
• 4 cards to an outside straight w/ 0 2 high cards
• 3 cards to a straight flush
• Suited Q J
• 4 cards to an inside straight w/ 4 high cards
• Suited K Q, K J
• Suited A K, A Q, or A J
• 4 cards to an inside straight w/ 3 high cards
• 3 cards to a straight flush
• Unsuited K Q J
• Unsuited Q J
• Suited J T
• 2 unsuited high cards w/ king high card
• Suited Q T
• 2 unsuited high cards w/ ace high card
• Jack only
• Suited K T
• Queen, king, or ace only
• 3 cards to a straight flush

Conclusion

One of the biggest reasons why people choose video poker is because they want to use strategy and have a solid chance to beat the casino. Jacks or Better offers both of these benefits, without forcing you to look at a novel-like strategy chart.

Beyond these parks, another advantage to Jacks or Better is that it offers the perfect introduction to video poker.

This game’s pay table forms the backbone of every video poker variant. If you already know the Jacks or Better pay table, then you can quickly adapt to new payouts offered in games like Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, Deuces Wild and Deuces Wild Bonus.

One more perk to Jacks or Better is that you’ll find its full pay version more often than any other video poker game. When available, full pay Jacks or Better gives you a chance to achieve up to 99.54% payback.

The only problem is that advanced strategy is more complex than the average player wants to deal with. For this reason, we recommend that beginners use the simplified strategy chart and go for 99.46% payback.

In any case, Jacks or Better is definitely worth playing if you’re looking for an alternative to slot machines that actually has strategy.

Some video poker machines are good to play, while others need to be avoided at all times. Knowing which machines to play and which machines to avoid is the best way to start lowering your losses.

Video poker can be the best game in the casino, but it can also be one of the worst. After you locate the best machine, your work isn’t done. You still have to play a certain way or you’re going to lose more money than you should.

Here are six ways you can stop losing so much money when you play video poker.

1 – Stop Guessing

If you’re playing Jacks or Better and have four cards of the same suit and a pair of queens, do you know which play is the most profitable in the long run. Do you know how to run the math to see which play is the most profitable?

I’m going to explain how you run the math to see which play is better, and I’m going to show you an easy way to never have to guess about the best play when you play any video poker game.

To see which play is the best, look at the profit from each of the remaining cards in the deck. Then, add up all of the profits. The hand that you hold that adds up to the highest profit based on each of the 47 cards left in the deck is the best choice.

There’s also another option. Keep a strategy chart with you for every online video poker game that you play. This way, you always have the most profitable play in hand until you learn them by heart.

2 – Narrow Your Focus

If you want to be a master video poker gambler, you only have one choice. You have to pick one version of video poker and focus 100% on it. This means that this is the only version you should study and play.

When I say a version of video poker, I mean a specific variant. For example, you could focus on Jacks or Better or Pick’em Poker. You can pick any version of video poker to focus on, but there are two that are better than others. The reason why these two versions are better than others is because they’re easier to find.

Jacks or Better is the version I recommend most often, but Deuces Wild is also a good choice. The version you pick should be based on whether you like games that have wild cards or not.

Of course, after you master one version of video poker, you can start mastering a second version. But never try to master more than one version of video poker at a time. This leads to mistakes, and every mistake you make playing video poker costs you money.

3 – Risk a Little and a Lot

If there’s a video poker rule that you shouldn’t break, it’s this rule. When you play any video poker version at all, you need to bet the maximum amount of five coins. I know it might seem cheaper to bet one coin, but when you don’t bet five coins, you miss out on a big bonus if you hit the best possible hand.

If you didn’t realize that there’s a bonus involved when you bet five coins, look at the pay table for the royal flush on a Jacks or Better machine. You get 4,000 coins for a five0-coin bet, but only 1,000 for a four-coin bet.

Online and mobile video poker play has pretty much eliminated this issue. But if you prefer to play in a land-based casino, it’s a challenge to find good pay tables combined with low cost wagers.

4 – Become a Pay Table Guru

If you follow my advice and focus 100% of your attention on one version of video poker, this step is going to come naturally.

This step is about becoming a video poker pay table master. You have to know how every available pay table influences your return for every video poker variation you play.

Pay tables are responsible for the range of possible returns that you can get. The range of possible returns will vary quite a bit based on how you play your hands. But since we’ve let you in on the strategy chart, you’re always going to be playing them the best way.

What’s most important is that some pay tables have a higher top return than others. And you need to make sure that you’re always playing on a machine that offers this high return. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and money by limiting your top return number.

5 – Refuse to Play in Bad Situations

Everything that you just learned is going to help lower your video poker losses. But none of it is going to help you if you don’t find a good machine and pay table. We don’t recommend just playing on whatever machine you see first.

Personally, I refuse to play video poker unless I can find the right game and pay table. And you need to start doing the same thing. I play two video poker variations, and I only play them when I can play with a full-pay table. In every other situation, I won’t even go near the machine.

Best Video Poker Pay Tables

When you become a pay table guru, focus 100% of your energy on one or two video poker versions. And don’t forget to always use the best strategy to get the highest return possible.

I know it can be disappointing when you want to play video poker in a casino and you can’t find the right tables. But you can’t afford to give in and play in a bad situation. Instead, learn how to play blackjack with a high return so you have at least one other option in the casino.

Poker Jacks Are Better

6 – Speed Mistakes

When I first started playing video poker as a beginner, I played as fast as I could. Then, I learned how important strategy was, so I slowed down my pace to make sure that I didn’t make any mistakes.

Free Jacks Or Better Poker

If you can’t get a 100% return to player, it means that you’re losing a small amount on each wager on average. This means that the more wagers you make, the more money you lose. Even if the percentage you’re losing is small, like .25%, it still adds up to real money eventually.

I like playing video poker because I can play with a high return, but anytime the return is under 100%, I’m still losing in the long run. Video poker in the right situation can get close to a 100% return, but it’s still designed to make money for the casino.

Jacks Or Better Online Poker

If you want to gamble with a return of 100% or higher, you need to learn how to play regular poker games at a high skill level or learn how to count cards when you play blackjack.

Video Poker Pay Tables Charts

Master Video Poker

Jacks Or Better Poker

The days of needing to guess which play is the most profitable when you play real money video poker are long gone. With a simple strategy card, you always know which play provides the most profit.

When you focus on one video poker variation, you have a better chance to become a master player. This guarantees that you get the highest return possible and minimizes your costly mistakes.

You need to risk the maximum amount on each video poker hand you play, but you want to find the machines with the lowest coin amount that also have a great pay table. This can be challenging to find, but it’s the only way to reduce your losses.