Quick Navigation
- Understanding Jacks or Better Video Poker Basics
- How to Play Jacks or Better Video Poker (Rules & Mechanics)
- Pay Tables and Their Impact on Strategy
- Jacks or Better Strategy Fundamentals for Beginners
- Advanced Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy
- Jacks or Better Video Poker Cheat Sheet: Quick Reference Guide
- How to Use the Jacks or Better Video Poker Cheat Sheet
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Jacks or Better video poker is an interactive casino game loved by many players as it allows them to influence the game outcome and control the gameplay.
Interestingly, the game also pays well. Playing casually with a simple strategy can fetch you a decent 99.46% RTP, which increases to 99.54% with perfect play.
But, here’s a fair warning: Jacks and Better requires lots of strategy and practice to master.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to play Jacks or Better video poker, the optimal strategy to boost your winning chances, and the best online casinos to play video poker.
- Jacks or Better Video Poker offers a 99.54% RTP wth perfect play, and friendly rules, making it one of the best games for winning money.
- Various video poker Jacks or Better games have different pay tables, which affect your returns and playing strategy.
- You can’t guess your way to big wins in Jacks or Better. So you need Jacks or Better strategy for different pay tables to navigate your hand correctly in every situation.
- To enjoy and win in Jacks or Better video poker, familiarize yourself with the strategy charts and winning hands, choose the right pay table, and manage your money effectively.
If you already know how to play Jacks or Better, dive straight into the game by registering at any of our best sites for video poker. But keep reading to discover detailed strategies for navigating the tricky world of video poker Jacks or Better.
Understanding Jacks or Better Video Poker Basics
Jacks or Better video poker is a 52-card game played online or on a poker machine, not with real humans. The objective is to have the best five-card poker combination.
Video poker Jacks or Better follows the same gameplay as other video poker games like Deuces Wild and is just as profitable. However, it gets even better with its fairer rules. For example, a payoff starts with a pair of Jacks or high hands, which are easy to obtain. And you can get up to 4000x returns when you bet the maximum and land a royal flush.
✅ Hand Rankings in Jacks or Better
Different winning hands or final card combinations in Jacks or Better have different hierarchies. The higher the hand, the rarer it is to obtain, and the better your return when you have it.
The winning hands in Jacks or Better video poker are listed below from highest to lowest.
| Winning Hand | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | Five royal cards of the same suit
e.g J❤️-K❤️-Q❤️-A❤️-10❤️ |
| Straight Flush | Five consecutive low cards of the same suit
2♠️-3 ♠️- 4 ♠️-5♠️-6♠️ |
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same rank
7❤️-7♠️-7♦️-7♣️ |
| Full House | A pair and three of a kind
e.g 2❤️-2♠️ and 6♣️-6♦️-6♠️ |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit
e.g 8❤️-9❤️-J❤️-7❤️-2❤️ |
| Straight | Five consecutive cards
e.g 4❤️-5♠️- 6 ♠️-7♠️-8❤️ |
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank, e.g, 3❤️ -3♠️-3♦️ |
| Two Pairs | Double pairs, e.g, 22 + 44 |
| Jacks or Better Pairs | A pair of Jacks or a high card
e. g J♣️-J♠️, Q❤️-Q♦️ |
How to Play Jacks or Better Video Poker (Rules & Mechanics)
Jacks or Better video poker has simple gameplay that’s easy to master even by absolute beginners.
Here are four quick steps for playing your first Jack or Better video poker game:
1️⃣ Betting
Insert chips into the live video poker machine or fund your online casino account to get credits. Next, choose your bet size and the amount of coin you want to stake per hand.
Credit: Slots Empire
Usually, you can bet between 1 and 5 coins depending on your bankroll size. However, it’s best to bet the maximum coinage (5 coins) to unlock the highest payoff of 800x your bet on Royal Flush.
2️⃣ Card Dealing
Press the Deal button on the paytable after placing bets to get five poker cards.
3️⃣ Holding and Drawing
You can keep or discard all or some of your first five cards. Select the cards you like and press “Draw” to discard those you don’t want. The machine replaces the unselected cards with new ones, which combine with the ones you hold to form your final hand.
4️⃣ Receive Payment
Our best payout casinos pay you instantly if you have a winning hand. Your earnings depend on the paytable of the game you play. For example, you’ll get 9x and 6x your initial stake on Full House and Flush when you play a full-pay game.
Pay Tables and Their Impact on Strategy
The pay table shows how much each winning hand pays in Jacks or Better video poker.
Different Jacks or Better games offer different pay tables, which determine your returns and playing strategy. Hence, you need to pay attention to your game’s paytable.
Below are the 9/6 and 8/5 Jacks or Better video poker pay tables. The table assumes 5-coin bets but only displays the payout for 1-coin.
| Hand Type | 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54% RTP) | 8/5 Jacks or Better (97.30% RTP) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 9 | 8 |
| Flush | 6 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 |
The good news is you don’t need to memorize the paytable for each game, as you can easily look it up in the game’s “Help” or “paytable” section. However, you should know how to determine the paytable for different games.
Below are the two most common Jacks or Better pay tables and their features:
- Full Pay or 9/6 Paytable: The 9/6 paytable offers 9x return on Full House and 6x on Flush. Its RTP stands at 99.54% for perfect play. Risk-taking is often rewarding in this game as it pays well for rare hands.
- 8/5 Paytable: This offers 8x and 5x returns on Full House and Flush. Its RTP is only 97.30% and has a higher house edge. A conservative betting approach is most suitable when playing this game, i.e, you want to hold on to a natural winning hand instead of chasing bigger wins.
Jacks or Better Strategy Fundamentals for Beginners
The crux of playing Jacks or Better video poker is knowing which hand to keep or discard.
To put you off to a great start, here are some common hands and frameworks for handling them in Jacks or Better video poker:
Premium-made hands are straight winners on the first draws and give good returns. Examples include:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a kind
- Full House
You should never break a pat premium or strong hand.
Pairs
Pairs are two cards of the same kind. They can either be in the form of low pairs (2-2, 10-10) or high pairs (J, J – AA), both of which require different handling strategies as seen below:
✅ Low pair (Keep a low pair)
Usually, you should keep low pairs, but never hesitate to break them for high-potential draws. The table below shows the correct strategy for various hand types involving low cards.
| Hand Type | Correct Strategy | Draw |
|---|---|---|
| Low pair with 4-to a straight
(2h, 2s, 3d, 4c, 5h) |
Hold the low pair | Three new cards |
| Low pair with 4-to a Flush
(2d, 2h,3d,7d,10d) |
Break the low pair and discard the offsuit card | One new card |
| Low pair with 4 to a Straight Flush
(3h, 4h, 5h, 3d, 6h) |
Break the low pair | One new card |
| Low pair with 4 to a Royal Flush
(10h, 10s, Kh, Qh, Jh) |
Break the low pair | One new card |
| Low pair with three to a Royal Flush
(9d, 9h, Kd, Jd, Qd) |
Break the low pair | Two new cards |
✅ High Pair (Break low pair sparingly)
The basic rule of thumb is always holding on to a high pair. But there are a few exceptions. The table below shows the correct strategy for handling hand types involving high pairs.
| Hand Type | Correct Strategy | Draw |
|---|---|---|
| High pair with 4 to a Straight
(Jd, Js, 10h, Qc, Ks) |
Hold the high pair | Three new cards |
| High pair with 4 to a Flush
(Kd, Kh, 2d, 3d, 6d) |
Hold the high pair | Three new cards |
| High pair with 4 to a straight flush
(9d,10d, Jd, Jh, Kd) |
Break high pair and discard off-suit card | One new card |
| High Pair with 4 to a Royal Flush
(Ks, Kc, 10c, Qc, Jc) |
Break the high pair | One new card |
| High pair with 3 to a Royal Flush
(Qs, Qc, Jc, Kc, 9c) |
Hold the high pair | Draw three new cards |
Three Unsuited High Cards
If you have Jh, Qd, Ac, 7h, 4s, this looks useless at first glance. But you have three unsuited high cards, so you should hold the lowest two (e.g, JQ) and discard the remaining three cards.
Advanced Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy
The dilemma of which hand to hold or discard gets even trickier when there are multiple ways to play a hand or you have to break a weak made hand.
In this situation, you must use Jacks or Better optimal strategy chart to navigate your hand.
The optimal Jacks or Better video poker strategy shows you the mathematically best way to play a hand to obtain optimum return.
Below is the complete optimal strategy chart for the full-pay Jacks or Better video poker game:
| Rank | Hand Type | What to Hold (if dealt) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | All 5 cards |
| 2 | Straight Flush | All 5 cards |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | All 4 cards |
| 4 | 4 to a Royal Flush | A-K-Q-J of the same suit |
| 5 | Full House | All 5 cards |
| 6 | Flush | All 5 suited cards |
| 7 | Straight | All 5 cards in sequence |
| 8 | Three of a Kind | All three cards are of the same rank |
| 9 | 4 to a Straight Flush | Four suited cards in sequence |
| 10 | Two Pair | Both pairs |
| 11 | High Pair | Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces |
| 12 | 3 to a Royal Flush | Suited A-K-Q, A-K-J, K-Q-J, etc. |
| 13 | 4 to a Flush | Any 4 suited cards |
| 14 | Low Pair | 2s–10s |
| 15 | 4 to an Outside Straight | e.g. 6-7-8-9 |
| 16 | Two Suited High Cards | e.g. Q-K suited |
| 17 | 3 to a Straight Flush | e.g. 4-5-6 suited |
| 18 | Two Unsuited High Cards | Keep the two lowest (e.g., Q + J) |
| 19 | Suited J-10 or Q-10 | Keep both cards |
| 20 | One High Card | J, Q, K, or A |
| 21 | Nothing | Discard all five cards |
Every Jacks or Better video poker strategy chart decision is ranked hierarchically (from strongest to weakest) based on its winning probability and expected value (EV). Therefore, if multiple playing options exist, the highest-ranked decision is prioritized to obtain optimum returns.
At first glance, this hand is a made flush, which pays 16.0 coins for a full pay table. However, it also has a suited pair which offers 1.54 EV that jumps up to 18.36 EV when you hold a 4-card to Royal Flush.
A novice will quickly lock in the flush to get a 6x return. However, the 4 to royal flush has a higher rank and EV than flush, so you should keep it and draw one card. You can walk away with up to 4000x returns for a 5-coin maximum bet if you win.
This example reveals that the optimal strategy chart doesn’t guarantee automatic winnings (you will lose if you don’t draw an Ace in our example). Instead, it ensures you get the maximum possible return for your hand and only takes worthwhile risks. But if you stick with the chart and apply the best video poker strategies, you’ll eventually get a good return in the long run.
Jacks or Better Video Poker Cheat Sheet: Quick Reference Guide
The Jacks or Better Strategy Cheat Sheet visually represents the strategy chart. It displays the best hands to hold in order of priority and expected return. So, no matter the hand you may be dealt, our Jacks or Better video poker cheat sheet anticipates every scenario and shows you how to navigate it.
Feel free to review the Jack or Better strategy chart when playing. It may look perplexing initially, but you’ll soon get the hang of it with constant practice. You can play free video poker at our poker casino sites or practice with poker training apps.
How to Use the Jacks or Better Video Poker Cheat Sheet
Below is a step-by-step process for using and applying the Jacks or Better Strategy Chart
- First, check if you have a made hand, e.g, Straight, Flush, Full house.
- If yes, hold it if it’s a strong hand.
- Consider breaking a weak hand if there is a high potential draw
- Next, check if your hand corresponds with any other hand (s) on the chart.
- Where there are multiple playing options, choose the highest ranked decision.
- Discard all cards if none of them are on the strategy chart.
Example 1: Say you’re dealt 3♦️, J ♠️, 7♠️, K♣️, and 3♠️.
- First, check if you have a natural winning hand: ❌
- Next, check if your hand correlates with anything on the chart: ✅ ( A pair (3,3) and unsuited high (J, K)
Decision: Hold the pair and discard the other three cards since the low pair has a higher hierarchy than two unsuited highs (11th vs 18th). With a low pair, you can draw three of a kind, four of a kind, or a Full House.
Example 2: Say you have J♠️, Q♠️, J♠️, A♠️, and J♣️
- Check if you have made a hand: ✅ (Three of a kind)
- Check if you have other hands on the table: ✅ (3 to Royal Flush, and 4 to a flush)
Decision: Hold the three Jacks and draw another two cards for a chance to get four of a kind.
Conclusion
Jacks or Better video poker is up there with the other online casino games with the best odds and payout. But you need to play strategically to win. To start applying the Jacks or Better video poker strategy, you need to know how to handle the commonly occurring hands like pairs, high cards, suited cards, unsuited cards, straights, flushes, etc.
Credit: El Royale Casino
Once you master how to play your hands, you’re ready for a real money adventure. Play games with a good paytable, set a reasonable bankroll size, avoid chasing losses, and take profits when you win. Finally, use credible online video poker casinos like Slots Empire and El Royale Casino, which have a fantastic video poker collection and mouthwatering welcome bonuses, to get the best deal for your money.
FAQs
What Is the Best Strategy for Jacks or Better Video Poker?
Here is a quick summary of the optimal strategy for playing and winning in Jacks or Better video poker:
- Hold strong hands such as Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a kind
- Hold high pairs except when you have four cards of Royal Flush or Straight Flush
- Keep low pairs except when you have a straight flush, and cards of royal or straight flush, etc
- Prioritize the two lowest high cards when you have three high cards
- Choose the high cards when you have a high card and a 10.
Check out our Jacks or Better video poker strategy guide to learn how to play the game and strategies for navigating each hand.
How Can I Win Video Poker Jacks or Better?
The key to winning Jacks or Better video poker is using optimal strategy, choosing well-paying pay tables, managing your bankroll wisely, and remaining disciplined to your betting strategy during long, cold streaks.
Which Casino Game Has The Best Odds?
Video poker like Jacks or Better boasts an RTP of 99% or more when you play optimally, making it one of the best casino games. The fact that you can also influence the game outcome makes it a better choice than slots, blackjack, and other luck-based games.
Can You Make Money on Jacks or Better Video Poker?
Yes, Jacks or Better pays your original bet when you land a pair of Jacks. Interestingly, a pair of Jacks, Queen, or King occurs frequently (1 in 4.66 hands). You can win as much as 4000x of your stake with a royal flush, but this is extremely rare (1 in 40,390 hands with perfect strategy).
What Are The Best Jacks or Better Video Poker Apps?
The best apps for playing and improving your video poker skill are DTO, SnapShove, and Tournament Cruncher, as you can see the odds and probabilities of each hand you’re playing. Once you master the basics, head to our best online video poker sites to enjoy casino poker for free.
What Are Common Errors to Avoid in Jacks or Better?
Some common mistakes people make in Jacks or Better are relying on guesswork, playing hands not on the strategy chart, and not using a loss limit. To excel in Jacks or Better, avoid inside straights and other hands not on the strategy chart, practice consistently, and manage your funds wisely. Don’t hesitate to set aside some profit during lucky runs so you have something to take home.
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