Jacks or Better Video Poker
Jacks or Better Video Poker Tips 2023
Perhaps the most popular video poker game in the world is Jacks or Better video poker. The object of the game is of course to make a pair of Jacks or better to win. The cool thing about Jacks or Better, as with almost all other video poker games, is that you do not have to beat any other player’s hand to win. You only need to make certain predetermined hands to win.
There are a couple of different ways to play Jacks or Better at an online casino. You can play either single hand poker or multi-hand Jacks or Better poker. Single hand Jacks or Better video poker is when one hand is dealt at a time.
You choose which cards to hold and which to release and then draw your cards. Whatever hand you make is the hand that plays, win or lose.
With multi hand Jacks or Better, you can play up to 100 different hands at a time. The Jacks or Better video poker game at Slots Oasis Casino for instance uses 100 different hands. Others let you choose between 1 hand, 3 hands, 10 hands, or 52 hands at a time.
When playing multi-hand, you are dealt one main hand, from which you choose the cards you want to hold and release the others. All 100 hands hold the same cards and then are each dealt a different draw.
You can then make up to 100 completely different hands from whichever cards you originally held, winning up to 100 times! For instance, if right off the bat your hand is a pair of Jacks or better, and you hold those Jacks, then you win on 100 different hands!
It is pretty cool and can make for some interesting decisions, as you basically have 100 chances at a time to make a big hand, like a straight flush.
Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy
Basic strategy is the same no matter which type of Jacks or Better video poker you play. The only way to win is to get a pair of Jacks or better in your hand. In order to take advantage of the game, you should absolutely know the basic rules of poker.
For instance, you should know that the order of poker hands goes – 1 pair, 2 pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, 4 of a kind, straight flush, and the granddaddy of them all, the Royal Straight Flush.
The reason you need to know this is because what you are paid on a hand depends on the strength of the hand. The number of coins you play per spin also has a bearing on how much you are paid.
Strategy says basically that you should keep winning hands over drawing hands, unless you have a major draw with serious potential for a monster. For instance, if you have T, J, Q, K of spades and a K of hearts (pair of Kings), then it may be worth drawing for the straight flush or the Royal.
Even though this means throwing away a sure winner, you would have a great chance at either a straight, a flush, a straight flush, a Royal Straight Flush, and even if you miss all of these, a pair of Jacks or better pays just as well as Kings.
The best way to get better at reading your hands and draws quickly and measuring potential payouts versus made hands is simply to practice. Fortunately Slots Oasis allows you to play for free.
This is a great way to get a feel for the game without costing yourself any money at all. Then, once you are comfortable with the game, you can easily switch to real money.
Most payouts are similar. However, there are definitely some discrepancies, which can make a big difference over the long haul. Let’s look at the two casinos listed above, Rushmore Casino and Slots Oasis Casino, to see the difference. On a 5 coin bet, both have similar payouts.
For Jacks or Better, both pay 5 to 1, two pair pays 10 to 1, 3 of a kind pays 15 to 1, a straight pays 20 to 1 and a flush pays 25 to 1. Then we see a difference. At Slots Oasis, a full house, which is 3 of a kind plus one other pair pays 40 to 1.
If we look at the pay chart for Rushmore Casino, they pay 30 to 1 on a full house. This could be a big deal if you were to play Jacks or Better Video Slots for a long time, especially playing multiple hands at a time. This is why it is important to know the payouts before you start playing at any casino.
The remainder of the payouts are the same, with 4 of a kind paying 125 to 1, a straight flush paying 250 to 1 and a Royal Straight Flush, 10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit, paying a whopping 4000 to 1!
That means for instance, if you were playing single hand Jacks or Better video poker and made a $5 bet and hit a Royal Straight Flush, you would win a cool $20,000.
Jacks or Better Video Poker is a fun game and with some practice and patience, can lead to a big payday. Remember that it is not the same as real poker, in that the house has the advantage here, so it cannot be played like regular poker. However, there are a lot of similarities, and there is nothing like the rush of making a big hand and getting a huge payout playing Jacks or Better video poker!