Video poker is a fairly recent addition to casinos in the grand scheme of things. The game first came about in the early 1980’s as developers figured out ways to make the game work alongside video slot machines, essentially using the same technology found in a variety of arcade games. Casinos adopted video poker very quickly, and today the game can be found in casinos all throughout the world. The games offer decent odds to the players if proper strategy is used, and has proven to be interesting to players due to the potential big wins and variations of video poker offered to players.
Speaking of variations, Jacks or Better is a variety of straight video poker, offering up a few wrinkles into the game to make it different from straight poker. Jacks or Better is one of the more simple video poker variations, and is also known by the moniker Draw Poker, as cards can be discharged and then replaced with new cards.
In Jacks or Better, players can play 1 or more credits, and are dealt out five cards in a hand. These cards are then analyzed by the player, who can decide to keep all of the cards, some of the cards, or none of the cards. Players hold onto the cards they like and then hit the deal button again, wherein cards that were not held are able then replaced by new cards. The computer then analyzes the poker hand that the player has and pays out winnings accordingly.
Jacks or Better Pays out beginning with a pair of Jacks, moving all the way up to a Royal of Flush, which pays out 250:1 for 1-3 credits.
Hand Rankings on Jacks or Better going from High to Low with a 1 credit pay rate are:
- Royal Flush 250:1
- Straight Flush 50:1
- Four of a Kind 25:1
- Full House 9:1
- Flush 6:1
- Straight 4:1
- Three of a Kind 3:1
- Two Pair 2:1
- Jacks or Better 1:1
The theoretical return for 1-4 credits is 98.4% for players using perfect strategy, while playing 5 credits has a theoretical return of 99.5% (as well as a Royal Flush payout of 800:1).