{"id":1277,"date":"2017-10-11T13:22:20","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T13:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2024-02-07T10:57:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T10:57:22","slug":"jacks-or-better-strategy-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"The best Jacks or Better strategy tips to win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Jacks or Better video poker offers some of the best odds in the casino. The best version of Jacks or Better video poker<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t use an expert strategy are giving up between 2% and 4%, which is a significant amount of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How significant?<\/h4>\n\n\n
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\"how<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Consider the average hourly loss of an expert player who\u2019s running true to the mathematical expectation of a game. She\u2019s making 600 wagers per hour at $1.25 per wager, so she\u2019s 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\u2019s got lots of entertainment for just $37.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then let\u2019s take a look at her husband, who ignores expert Jacks or Better video poker strategy and just follows his hunches. (We\u2019ll also assume that his hunches aren\u2019t very good.) He\u2019s losing 4.5% of his bets, which means that he\u2019s losing nine times as much as his wife. At the end of the trip, he\u2019s lost $337.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a significant difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to develop an expert Jacks or Better strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019re a machine<\/a>, but memorizing several types of hands isn\u2019t as hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to use a Jacks or Better strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"jacks<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different Jacks or Better strategy charts offer somewhat different instructions. Below I\u2019ve provided one Jacks or Better video poker strategy that\u2019s easy to learn. The house edge against someone using this strategy is only 0.8%, which isn\u2019t as kind to the player as 0.5%, but it\u2019s still considerably better than just about every other game in the casino. And of course, this assumes that you\u2019re playing a full pay, 9\/6 Jacks or Better game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jacks or Better Strategy Chart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep any 2 pair or better paying combination, UNLESS you also have a 4 card royal flush. If you have a 4 card royal flush, then you\u2019ll always draw to the royal flush.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 4 card straight flush.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any pair of jacks or better.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 3 cards to a royal flush.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 4 cards to a flush.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any pair lower than jacks or better.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 4 card open straight draw.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any unsuited AKQJ.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 2 suited high cards.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 3 cards to a straight flush.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any unsuited KQJ.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any 2 unsuited high cards.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any K, Q, or J if you have a 10 of the same suit.<\/td><\/tr>
Keep any single high card.<\/td><\/tr>
Discard all 5 cards and draw a new hand.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the main principles behind most video poker strategies is that you want the machine to deal you a winning hand. If you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royal Flush<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In fact, you\u2019ll notice that most of the Jacks or Better strategy focuses on the royal flush. You\u2019ll 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\u2019ll always draw to it. If you have three cards to a royal flush, you\u2019ll always draw to it UNLESS you have a winning combination, in which case you\u2019ll keep the winning cards instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Jacks or Better strategy requires memorizing 15 lines of rules\/guidelines, but it\u2019s far easier than a more advanced strategy. Once you\u2019ve 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<\/a> today! Put this Jacks or Better video poker strategy into practice and watch your winnings grow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Jacks or Better Strategy & Tips| Planet 7 Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jacks or Better video poker has some of the best odds if you're smart enough to develop an effective Jacks or Better strategy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best Jacks or Better strategy tips to win\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jacks or Better video poker has some of the best odds if you're smart enough to develop an effective Jacks or Better strategy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Planet 7 Casino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-11T13:22:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T10:57:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Video-Poker-Machine-with-a-player-hand-pushing-a-button.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nick Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@planet7_casino\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@planet7_casino\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nick Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/\",\"name\":\"The Best Jacks or Better Strategy & Tips| Planet 7 Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-11T13:22:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T10:57:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f29d1de42a93723bde43f7b8e37e35c7\"},\"description\":\"Jacks or Better video poker has some of the best odds if you're smart enough to develop an effective Jacks or Better strategy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/planet-strategy\/jacks-or-better-strategy-tips\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The best Jacks or Better strategy tips to win\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/\",\"name\":\"Planet 7 Casino\",\"description\":\"Planet 7 Casino\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f29d1de42a93723bde43f7b8e37e35c7\",\"name\":\"Nick Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95a0350a3136c61bbed038e739c726a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95a0350a3136c61bbed038e739c726a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nick Johnson\"},\"description\":\"Nick Johnson is a lover of game theory and mathematics. 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