Jacks or Better Video Poker |
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Jacks or Better is the most popular
variation of video poker and happens to be my favorite video poker
game as well. Jacks or Better video poker comes in many different
pay table variations, and each has a large effect on the expected
return of the game. The most common pay table found in casinos is an
8 / 5, paying 8 coins for a full house and 5 for a flush. Sadly, the
expected return on an 8/5 Jacks or Better machine with perfect
strategy is only roughly 97.3%. While this is much better than many
games found in a casino, it pales in comparison to a full pay Jacks
or Better game. I will take a look at the full pay further down the
page. Here is the 8/5 Jacks or Better video poker pay table.8/5 Jacks or Better Pay Table
The much better pay table is a 9 / 6, which returns over 99.5% with perfect strategy. The playing strategy is almost exactly the same between the two variations, but I almost never play an 8/5 machine, as I can't stand the thought of giving the casino an extra 2% edge on my play. 9/6 Jacks or Better machines are available in most casinos, but you have to look to find them. They are much more readily available in online casinos offering video poker. Here is a 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker pay table. 9/6 Jacks or Better Pay Table
There are many other Jacks or Better pay tables both in land based casinos and in online casinos, but with the exception of one particular type, I would never recommend playing one that offers worse than the 8/5 pay table listed above. As for the exception, you can occasionally find a Jacks or Better video poker machine tied to a progressive jackpot. Once the jackpot reaches a certain level, the expected return percentage can actually exceed 100%. While this does require some mathematics to determine when this is the case, it is well worth keeping an eye on these progressive machines as they can offer a chance to play a casino game offering a positive return. Jacks or Better Video Poker StrategyTo reach the expected returns listed above, you must play correct video poker strategy for the Jacks or Better game. There are numerous strategy levels, ranging from simplified or basic to advanced. I have two pages dedicated to Jacks or Better strategy. Both of these pages are designed using the 9/6 pay table, but you can use the exact same strategy while playing an 8/5 game. The Jacks or Better basic or simplified strategy is very easy to learn and use and will offer you an expected return of around 99.3%. This is acceptable for most players as they don't want to waste time memorizing advanced strategy. The advanced strategy is a bit more complicated, but it will offer an expected return of much closer to the 99.54% maximum. The actual percentage of the advanced strategy is just a hair over 99.5%. While the small difference between 99.3% and 99.5% may seem miniscule, bear in mind that only playing a quarter video poker machine at maximum coin is $1.25 per hand. Multiplied by only 300 hands an hour and a 3 hour playing session means that you will put $1,125 dollars through a machine. This makes a difference of $2.25 expected return on your single session. If you play much video poker, you can see that over many sessions, or even playing a dollar machine or higher, can quickly magnify the difference in return.
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