How to Play Jacks or Better Video Poker

You need at least two jacks to win at jacks or better.

Jacks or better is a popular casino poker game. It gets its name from the fact that you must have at least a pair of jacks in your hand to receive a payout. You get paid more for better hands.

Things You'll Need

• Money
• Video Poker Machine

Instructions

1. Choose a full pay machine to get the maximum payout percentage. A full pay machine also is known as a 9/6 payout. To find out if the machine you want to play is full pay, click the payout table button on the machine. Look at the payout table. If the payout for a full house is nine coins for every one played and the payout for a flush is six coins for every one played, you have a full pay machine.

2. Play the maximum amount of coins to maximize your chance of receiving the best payoff. If you can only afford to play 25 cents a hand, stick to the nickel machines and bet five coins per hand. Five always is the top wager regardless of the denomination.

3. Print a strategy chart and use it to help you decide which cards to keep (see Resources). There are many jacks or better strategy charts available online, and you can even download an application for some phones. The chart lists all possible card combinations and tells you which cards to keep and which to discard based on odds of payout. You start at the top of the chart and proceed down until you see the combination of cards that you have. The combination of cards highest on the list will be the cards you keep. You discard the rest. This will give you the best odds at a paying hand.

4. insert your coins or tokens and hit the "Max Bet" button to get your first hand. This will play five times the denomination of the machine. If you are at a quarter machine, you will be betting $1.25. After you hit "Max Bet," you will see your five-card hand.

5. Select which cards you want to keep by using the "Hold" buttons below each card or touching the card you want to keep on the screen, depending which machine you are using. You might need to look at the strategy chart to help you determine which cards to keep.You will see a mark on the cards you have decided to keep.

6. Hit the "Draw" button when ready, but always look at the screen to double check your choices first. The cards you did not choose to keep will be replaced with new cards. This will decide whether you won or lost and, if you won, how much your payout is.

Tips & Warnings

• Have fun and be responsible.

• If you feel you have a gambling problem get help!

• Gambling is not a way to make money. It is for fun. Only play with money you can afford to lose.

References

• Wizard of Odds: Jacks of Better

Resources

• Strategy
• Video Poker Trainer