JACKS OR BETTER VIDEO POKER

Jacks or Better is a casino poker game where players try to make the best five-card poker hand possible. Players are rewarded based on the quality of their hand; the higher their hand value, the more they win. The Jacks or Better variant, as the name suggests, uses a unique ruleset where the minimum qualifying hand is a pair of jacks. It's one of the most popular video poker games thanks to its high return to player rate of 99.54 percent and frequent payouts.

While video poker is a casino game, it's often compared to five-card draw poker, as players must discard and draw cards to try and make the best possible hand.

If you want to try out Jacks or Better to see what all the fuss is about, you're in the right place; we've summarised everything you need to know about the game, including the basic rules, strategy tips, hand rankings, and more.

HOW TO PLAY JACKS OR BETTER

Each variant of video poker comes with its own unique set of rules and gameplay features - and Jacks or Better poker is no different. The qualifying hand is one of the lowest compared to other video poker variants; players only need to make a pair of jacks to receive a payout.

Whether you're familiar with video poker or a newcomer to the game, you'll find that the game play of Jacks or Better is incredibly simple. To help you learn how to play Jacks or Better video poker, we've created a step-by-step guide that will walk you through your first experience with the game.

1. Log in to your online casino account.

2. Choose one of the Jacks or Better video poker titles from the list of options

3. Select how much you'd like each credit to be worth by clicking the plus or minus buttons at the bottom of the page

4. Choose how many credits you'd like to bet per hand

5. Click the Deal button to receive your first five cards

6. Select which cards you'd like to hold by clicking on the appropriate buttons.

7. Click the Draw button to discard all non-held cards.

After clicking the Draw button, you'll receive new cards to replace the ones you discarded. If you have a five-card poker hand of jacks or better, you'll automatically receive a payout.

HANDS IN JACKS OR BETTER

Before you start playing Jacks or Better video poker, it's important to familiarise yourself with the hand rankings. Knowing the hand rankings is an essential part of learning jacks or better strategy; without a clear understanding of what hands beat what, you won't know how to make the best decision.

Below, we've listed each possible winning hand in five-card poker, starting with the strongest and ending with the weakest.

• Royal Flush: The cards ace through ten all of the same suit (e.g. AhKhQhJhTh).
• Straight Flush: Five cards in sequential order all of the same suit (e.g. 4d5d6d7d8d).
• Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank (e.g. AdAsAhAc8d).
• Full House: Three cards of the same rank with two other cards of the same rank (e.g. 5h5d5s2h2c).
• Flush: Five cards of the same suit (e.g. QcJc7c5c2c).
• Straight: Five cards in sequential order, not of the same suit (e.g. 3h4c5d6s7d).
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g. 6d6s6h9dJc).
• Two Pair: Two sets of two cards of the same rank (e.g. KcKhJsJc5d).
• High Pair (Jacks or Better): A pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces (e.g. QdQh9s7d4h).

There are two additional hand rankings that are available in Jacks or Better video poker:

• Low Pair (Tens or Lower): A pair of tens through deuces (e.g. 7d7c6dJdAc).
• High Card: Five cards of different ranks and suits, not in sequential order (e.g. Ad9d8cJs3h).

Neither of these hands are paying hands, so they're often ignored when people play Jacks or Better video poker for real money.

Payout Tables

Each version of Jacks or Better has its own paytable that dictates how much you win every time you make a qualifying hand. Remember, each game has different payouts, so check the table before you play. Here's an example of a paytable for the 9/6 full pay version of Jacks or Better:

JACKS OR BETTER VIDEO POKER STRATEGY

Despite the simple gameplay, Jacks or Better optimal strategy is quite complex, with many rules to remember. However, we're here to help simplify things by boiling down the various rules to 10 simple tips that you can use while you play video poker. When you're dealt your hand, simply run through the table until you find your hand and follow the instructions:

For example, if you have AcQc7d8d9d, you would keep the queen and ace and draw three cards

By following this table, you can increase your chances of winning over a player who is playing randomly.

JACKS OR BETTER TIPS