Jacks or Better Video Poker
It doesn't get any simpler or more basic than Jacks or Better. Whether you decide to play video poker on the Internet or in a live casino, Jacks or Better will almost always be an option. Because of its success and popularity, this is also one video poker game where you'll never have trouble finding strategy information. Read on as we go over the rules of the game and then we'll talk briefly about some basic winning strategies
This five-card draw video poker game is the model upon which most other video poker games are based. To get the game rolling, choose your coin size and make a wager. Then, click the deal button and the game will instantly deal you five cards (facing up). From these, you have to decide which cards you want to hang on to and which ones need to be replaced in hopes of making a stronger hand. Click on the ones you want to keep and leave the rest alone. With a simple click of the Draw button, you will get new cards substituted for the ones that you didn't decide to keep. After this one and only draw, your Jacks or Better video poker hand is finalized and it will be automatically compared to a pay table like the one displayed below. This is called a "full pay" table because it has the best payouts possible for the player; most casinos make use of slightly less generous versions of this same table.
| 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins | |
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four Of A Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three Of A Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Pair of Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
In terms of Jacks or Better strategy, you can find tables that lay out the ideal strategy for you, but these can be cumbersome and might distract you from enjoying the game. Instead, here are a couple of easy tips to keep in mind. First of all, when you get a hand with one or two face cards but nothing else, just hold these high cards in hopes of a winning pair. On the other hand, there are some situations where the "safe" play isn't necessarily a smart one. If, for instance, you have four to a Flush and a Pair (of Jacks or better), you should always break up the pair in hopes of hitting the flush because there is such a large difference between the payouts of these two winning hands.
