In any case, we can often find a perfect strategy that's withing a hair's breadth of optimal. My Best Basic strategy for the popular Full Pay (9/6) Jacks or Better game. It's only 0.00097% below optimal strategy in expectation. This is the strategy that appears on my video poker strategy cards, available on my VP page. Video poker payout odds can be different depending on the game, but a Jacks or Better game played with a perfect strategy can give the player a 99.54 percent return on their money. Even if you don’t know perfect video poker strategy and you only make the occasional mistake, that average return will only drop down to 99.52 percent. Jacks or Better restaurant, ad – 7/2/1965. January 9, 2018 Jan. Source: Rockford Morning Star 7/2/1965. Addresses, General, Motels and Restaurants, Music.
Right now, somewhere in the world, an old gambler is patiently leading their grandchild through their first five-card draw poker lesson.
To begin these foundational teachings, youngsters start by sorting through the deck’s 52 cards to see how they size up. Numbers are easy, face cards follow basic royalty rules, and the Ace trumps all. Easy enough…
From there, five-card draw students figure out how to arrange the cards to form actual poker hands. One pair is better than nothing at all, two pair tops it, three of a kind outdoes them both, and so on through to the mother of all poker hands, the elusive Royal Flush.
Finally, to finish their first encounter with a game they’ll play their whole lives, the little ones take their turn dealing out five cards at random before discarding and drawing to see what the deck will deliver.
Jacks Or Better Simulator
This age-old ritual has helped new generations learn to appreciate games of chance and skill for hundreds of years. For some, five-card draw is nothing more than a way to pass the time betting pennies when it’s raining. Others use the game as an entry point through which to discover more advanced strategy games like chess.
And for a select few, five-card draw games at the kitchen table foretell a lifetime enjoying Jacks or Better video poker.
The trunk from which every branch on the video poker family tree extends, Jacks or Better has been a staple of casino gambling since 1979. That was the year William “Si” Redd – a slot machine distributor turned casino owner based in Nevada – had the brainstorm of a lifetime.
Redd realized that recreational players were becoming increasingly interested in automated machine-based gambles, like the 3-reel slots he sold all over the Silver State. But a growing piece of his business included arcade machines which used video screens to display non-gambling games.
Putting two and two together, Redd wondered if the casinos might have room for a machine equipped with a video screen capable of displaying card games. And naturally, he chose the fan favorite five-card draw to build the world’s first video poker machine.
Redd’s novel new game – which originally called for two pair at minimum to trigger a minimum payout – quickly morphed into the video poker known and loved the world over today.
Players couldn’t abide losing 9 out of 10 hands under the original two pair threshold, so Fortune 1 Draw Poker stumbled out of the gate.
But when Redd tweaked the rules two years later – making one pair of Jacks or Better the new bar to clear, and creating payouts on roughly half of all hands – a casino classic was born.
Whether you’re a longtime Jacks or Better fanatic with your fair share of Royal hand pays under your belt, or a beginner just now discovering the game, this page is for you. Below you’ll find four invaluable resources that every Jacks or Better player should know about.
When you’re done here, head out and find a Game King machine – still manufactured by International Game Technology (IGT), the company Redd founded to become the Father of Video Poker four decades ago – to test your Jacks or Better skills in style.
1 – Pay Table Comparisons to See Exactly Why 9/6 Is the Only Game to Play
The first thing a good guide to Jacks or Better will tell you is how the game offers one of the best bets in any casino.
Machine gamblers use a metric known as payback percentage to determine how player-friendly a game or bet really is. Even the very best slot games out there only offer payback rates of 96-98 percent, and most progressive jackpot slot machines dip down to the 88-92 percent range.
In other words, playing the best slots will leave players with $96 to $98 for every $100 they wager (on average and over the long run). And progressive jackpot hunters only bring back $88 to $92 for every $100 put in the machine.
But when you bring your bankroll to a Jacks or Better machine, the payback percentage skyrockets to 99.54 percent. That’s right, for every $100 you wager over the long run, you can expect to lose a measly $0.50 to the house.
Table game players prefer to use another metric called house edge, which is nothing more than the inverse of payback percentage. Thus, a Jacks or Better machine with 99.54 percent payback carries a house edge of 0.46 percent.
That’s right on par with blackjack played with perfect basic strategy, and it ranks right there with the most player-friendly bets in the gambling world.
But here’s the catch… not all Jacks or Better machines are built to offer the same odds.
Just like blackjack games can get worse with subtle rule changes – when the payout for natural 21 drops from 3 to 2 to 6 to 5, your house edge climbs to 2 percent – video poker viability is contingent on the game’s pay table.
Here’s what the 9/6 “full pay” table for Jacks or Better looks like:
Jacks or Better Full Pay Table
HAND | PAYOUT |
---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 |
Straight Flush | 50 |
Four of a Kind | 25 |
Full House | 9 |
Flush | 6 |
Straight | 4 |
Three of a Kind | 3 |
Two Pair | 2 |
Jacks or Better | 1 |
All Other | 0 |
Using this setup, you’ll enjoy that sweet payback percentage of 99.54 percent (when you play according to basic strategy of course).
But whenever you play Jacks or Better machines set up with slightly different pay tables – watch the full house and flush payouts, which should always be set at 9 and 6 respectively – your payback percentage drops considerably.
Check out the commonly encountered counterfeit pay tables found today, and be sure to check the bottom row to see how the payback percentage drops off a cliff:
Inferior Jacks or Better Pay Tables (by Payback Percentage)
HAND | 9/5 | 8/6 | 8/5 | 7/5 | 6/5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Four of a Kind | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Full House | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
Flush | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Two Pair | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Payback Percentage | 98.44 | 98.39 | 97.29 | 96.14 | 94.99 |
As you can see, playing anything less than full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better is a fool’s errand.
Jacks Or Better Split
2 – Searchable Database Showing Where to Find Every Full Pay Machine in America
First, the bad news… modern casinos don’t like spreading full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better like they used to.
Knowing most casual gamblers don’t take the time to read resources like this – or even understand what terms like payback percentage even mean – the corporate casinos owners have flooded the market with reduced pay tables like those listed above.
Now, the great news… you don’t have to waste your time wandering casino floors to find these increasingly rare full pay machines.
Jacks Or Better Strategy
One of the most powerful resources available to any video poker enthusiast is the vpFREE2 searchable database. That link is set to show every full pay Jacks or Better machine in Las Vegas, but don’t hesitate to click around and search for other variants like Deuces Wild or Double Double Bonus Poker.
Coral casino login. And if you don’t make it out to Sin City as often as you’d like, just click the “FILTER” tab to pull up a list of regions all over America.
Simply put, if a casino is offering full pay Jacks or Better, vpFREE2’s search tool will guide you there.
3 – Frugal Video Poker by Acclaimed Gambling Author Jean Scott
Jean Scott is best known as gambling’s “Queen of Comps,” a royal moniker earned in light of her penchant for paying nothing at all while enjoying luxurious trips to Las Vegas.
Scott and her husband / playing partner Brad built their “Frugal Gambler” brand on the back of Jacks or Better, exploiting comp systems to subsidize their relentless pursuit of Royal Flush jackpots.
You can learn how to cut costs on the machines by reading Scott’s eminently useful book “Frugal Video Poker”.
4 – Guide to Playing Jacks or Better on the Best Online Casinos
Jacks or Better is as popular online as it is in land-based gambling halls.
With that in mind, head here to find full reviews for all of the top-rated online casino platforms catering to video poker players.
Conclusion
Along with 3 to 2 blackjack and 100x craps, full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker is part of the sharp gambler’s “Holy Trinity.” You just won’t find very many casino games out there that cater to thinking players like the original version of video poker. While skill and strategy reign supreme, Jacks or Better offers just enough randomization to remain thrilling on every deal – especially in those breathless moments before you draw to a premium hand.
Now that you’ve added these four essential resources to your Jacks or Better arsenal, you’re ready to tackle the casinos and beat them at one of the best games ever invented.
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