1. Free Jacks Or Better Poker
2. What Is The Best Strategy For Video Poker
3. Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy
4. Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy Trainer
5. Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy Chart

Video Poker is one of the few games at a casino where strategy plays a big role. You can use our trainer to learn the best play for every hand increasing the chance you will have a positive result. To get started, first select the Game that you would like to play. The Video Poker Trainer defaults to Jacks or Better with the 9/6 payout table. Welcome to Video Poker Genius! This is part 1 of a series of videos designed to help you become a better video poker player.In this part, I play 100 practice. Easy no-download video poker! Jacks or Better, Bonus, Double Double, Deuces, Joker Poker, total of 17 variations plus perfect play trainer.

Jacks or Better video poker offers some of the best odds in the casino. The best version of Jacks or Better video poker, the 9/6 variant, has a payback percentage of 99.5%, which is better for the player than just about any other game in the casino. Even 8/5 Jacks or Better has a payout percentage of 97.3%, which is far worse than a full pay but still far better than most bets on most other casino games.

But in order to enjoy the high payback percentage, you have to play using expert Jacks or Better strategy. The casinos and the manufacturers estimate that players who don’t use an expert strategy are giving up between 2% and 4%, which is a significant amount of money.

How significant?

Consider the average hourly loss of an expert player who’s running true to the mathematical expectation of a game. She’s making 600 wagers per hour at $1.25 per wager, so she’s putting $750 per hour into action. With a house edge of 0.5%, she can expect to lose $3.75 per hour. Assuming she gamblers for ten hours on her trip, she’s got lots of entertainment for just $37.50.

Then let’s take a look at her husband, who ignores expert Jacks or Better video poker strategy and just follows his hunches. (We’ll also assume that his hunches aren’t very good.) He’s losing 4.5% of his bets, which means that he’s losing nine times as much as his wife. At the end of the trip, he’s lost $337.50.

That’s a significant difference.

How to develop an expert Jacks or Better strategy

Computer programs can determine the expected value of any given hand. There are 32 different ways to play any given hand, but only one way has the best expectation for the player. The more often the player chooses to play her hand in that way, the lower the house edge becomes.

But since there are 2.5 million different possible starting hands in video poker, expert strategy groups hands according to types, in order to make the process easier to learn. After all, memorizing 2.5 million different potential decisions is probably impossible unless you’re a machine, but memorizing several types of hands isn’t as hard.

When you consider that 55% of your hands will lose no matter what, you can see that strategy decisions can be narrowed down pretty fast. In fact, a pair of jacks or better will make up 21% of the number of winning hands you get. The small hands, including three of a kind, two pair, and a pair of jacks, make up 70% of the total return on the game.

How to use a Jacks or Better strategy

Free Jacks Or Better Poker

All Jacks or Better strategy tables consist of a list of hands. The player starts at the top, which is the best possible hand, and then moves down until she finds the hand that she actually has. She then plays it according to the strategy instructions.

Different Jacks or Better strategy charts offer somewhat different instructions. Below I’ve provided one Jacks or Better video poker strategy that’s easy to learn. The house edge against someone using this strategy is only 0.8%, which isn’t as kind to the player as 0.5%, but it’s still considerably better than just about every other game in the casino. And of course, this assumes that you’re playing a full pay, 9/6 Jacks or Better game.

The Jacks or Better Strategy Chart

One of the main principles behind most video poker strategies is that you want the machine to deal you a winning hand. If you’re dealt a winning hand, you will very rarely discard any of those cards to draw to something else. The only exception is 4 cards to a royal flush, and that exception is only there because the payout on that hand is so large compared to the other hands.

In fact, you’ll notice that a lot of the Jacks or Better strategy focuses on the royal flush. You’ll only see a royal flush once in every 40,000 or so hands, but the payout makes for a big part of your overall expectation. If you have four cards to a royal flush, you’ll always draw to it. If you have three cards to a royal flush, you’ll always draw to it UNLESS you have a winning combination, in which case you’ll keep the winning cards instead.

A four-card flush draw is better than a low pair, but both of them are better than a straight draw. The reason, again, has to do with the differences in the payouts as compared to the possibility of finishing your hand.

What Is The Best Strategy For Video Poker

This Jacks or Better strategy requires memorizing 15 lines of rules/guidelines, but it’s far easier than a more advanced strategy. Once you’ve mastered this, you can easily move up to a more advanced strategy with about 21 lines or rules/guidelines, and then you can gain back that additional 0.3%. Play for free or real money today! Put this Jacks or Better video poker strategy into practice and watch your winnings grow!

Interested in trying your hand at other online video poker games? Check out this article on 7 tips to improve your video poker strategy to ensure you play at the top of your game.

Jacks or Better Short-term Playing Strategy

The following is taken from Power Video Poker,
the Only Video Poker Book You'll Ever Need!

The following chart shows the Simplified Playing Strategy for all versions of Jacks of Better video poker.While this playing strategy was developed for short-term play, you may use it for long-term play as well giving up only a few hundreds of a percent of potential return.

Simplified Playing Strategy for Jacks or Better

Explanation of Simplified Playing Strategy for Jacks or Better

The chart above lists the hierarchy of hands to be played in Jacks or Better video poker games.The higher the hand is in the chart, the greater its value.For example, Three of a Kind is ranked higher than a Straight and Two Pair outranks a High Pair.

Hand to be Held- Refers to the hand dealt to you with the first five cards.You will always keep a hand that is closer to the top of the chart.

Cards Held – the number of cards you will keep of the original cards dealt.

Cards Drawn – the number of card you will draw.For example, if you are dealt a High Pair, keep the pair and draw three cards.

Explanation of terms:

1.The term high refers to any card ranked Jack or higher.The term low refers to cards less than a Jack in value.Ace, King, Queen and Jack are high cards.2 through 10 are low cards.

2.A Royal Flush is refers to five sequential cards of the same suit staring with a 10 and ending with an Ace.For example, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of spades.This is the top hand for Jacks of Better.

3.A Straight Flush refers to five sequential cards of the same suit but not starting with a 10 and ending with an Ace.For example, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack of hearts.

4.Four of a Kind refers to four cards of the same number or picture card.For example, four 2s or four Kings.

5.Full House consists of a hand with three cards of the same number or same picture card and two cards of the same number or same picture card.For example, three 6s and two Queens.

6.Four to a Royal Flush means that you have four of the five cards needed to make a Royal Flush.For example, if you have Jack, Queen, King and Ace of diamonds.In this case you only need one card, the Ten of diamonds to complete the Royal Flush.

7.Flush consists of five card of the same suit.For example 2 4 5 8 9 and Jack of spades.

8.Three of a Kind is three cards of the same number or same picture card.For example, three Jacks or three 7s.

9.Straight is five cards all in sequential order but not of the same suit.For example, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 or mixed suits.

10.Four to a Straight Flush means that you have four of the five cards needed to make a Straight Flush.For example, if you have 4, 5, 6 and 7 of spades.

11.Two Pair refers to two pairs of the card of the same number or card picture.For example, two 4s and two 9s.

12.High Pair is a pair of cards valued Jack or Higher.For example, a pair of Jacks or a pair of Kings

13.Three to a Royal Flush means that you have three of the five cards needed to make a Royal Flush.

14.Four to a Flush consists of four cards of the same suit.For example, 4, 7, 9 and Jack of diamonds.

15.Low Pair is two of the same cards valued ten or lower.For example two 5s or two 9s.

16.Four to a Straight consists of four cards in order but not of the same suit.For example 4,5, 6 and 7 of mixed suits.

17.Three to a Straight Flush means that you have three cards in order and of the same suit to make a Straight Flush.For example, 3, 4, 5 or hearts or 5, 6, 7 of clubs.

18.Two to a Royal Flush means you have two of the cards in order of the same suit to secure a Royal Flush.For example, a Queen and King of hearts or a Jack and Queen of spades.

Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy

19.Two High Cards means two cards which are not a pair valued as Jacks or better.For example, Jack, Ace.

20.One High Card refers to one card ranked Jack or better.For example, if you have one King or just one Ace.

21.Nothing means that none of your cards will make any of the hands mentioned above in the first five cards dealt to you.

Let’s take another look at the playing chart and consider some of the decisions you will have to make when you follow this playing strategy.

1.Whenever you hold Four Cards to a Royal Flush discard the fifth card even if that card gives you a flush or a pair.

2.A High Pair, Three of a Kind, a Straight and a Flush all outrank Three to a Royal Flush.Play the Three to a Royal Flush when you have lesser hands such as Four to a Flush or a Low Pair.

3.With Two Cards to a Royal Flush keep Four to a Straight, Four to a Flush or a High Pair.Otherwise, go for the Royal Flush.

4.Never break up a made Straight or a Flush, unless one card gives you a chance to make a Royal Flush.Another way of saying this is that you will give up a Straight or Flush if you only need only card to make a Royal Flush.

Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy Trainer

5.Keep a High Pair over Four to a Straight or Four to a Flush.

Jacks Or Better Video Poker Strategy Chart

6.You will never break up Four of a Kind, a Full House,Three of a Kind or Two Pair.The worthless cards for the last two hands will be discarded.

7.Always keep a High Pair unless you have Four Cards to a Royal Flush or Four to a Straight Flush.

8.Keep a Low Pair over Four to a Straight or Three to a Straight Flush.However, you will discard them in favor or Four to a Flush or Three or Four to a Royal Flush.

9.If you are dealt an unmade hand you will try to improve them in the following order:
Four to a Royal Flush and Straight Flush, Three to a Royal Flush, Four to a Flush, Four to a Straight, Three to a Straight Flush, Two to a Royal Flush, Two High Cards and one High Card.Any of these nonpaying hands can, with the right draws, turn into winning hands.

10.Lacking any of the above, that is numbered cards 1 to 9, with no card Jack or higher, discard all of the cards and draw five fresh ones.

This strategy can be applied to the
following versions of Jacks or Better:

1.Jacks or Better

2.Bonus Poker

3.Bonus Poker Deluxe

4.White Hot Aces Bonus Poker

5.Double Bonus Poker

6.Double Double Bonus Poker

7.Triple Bonus Bonus Poker

8.Triple Bonus Jacks or Better

9.Super Double Bonus Poker

Instant Access to the Power Video Poker Strategy

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