9 6 Jacks Or Better Online Casino
The Game
Playing a five-credit 9/6 Jacks or Better game has an expectation of losing only $0.46 per $100 played through it. This is much better then $1.63 per $100 played. If I could not build a large enough bankroll to sustain play at a $5 per credit 9/6 game, I would not play VP at this casino at all. Simple Strategy Table For 9/6 Jacks or Better 1. Royal Flush 2. Straight Flush 3. 4 of a kind 4. 4 card Royal Flush 5. Full House 6. 3 of a kind 8. 4 card Straight Flush 10. Courtesy of AmericanCasinoGuide.com ©2010 Casino Vacations Press, Inc. 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker machines have a return of 99.54%. Many 'locals' casinos in Las Vegas will offer these games in denominations as low as five cents. If you go to casinos on the Strip.
Before we take it a step further discussing the strategies for this game, let us see the highlights.
First, it is considered as the ”grandfather” of all video poker games. It is also known under the name ”Draw Poker”, while on multi-hand video poker machines, such as triple-hand, five-hand and ten-hand ones, the game is labeled ”Triple Play”, ”Five Play”, ”Ten Play” Jacks or Better. On 50-hand and 100-hand machines, the game is simply labeled ”Jacks or Better”;
Second, in this game one is paid even money (an amount equal to what has been bet) for a hand such as two Jacks or higher (two Queens, two Kings, two Aces);
Third, in this game one is paid twice the amount bet for a combination such as Two Pair;
Fourth, in this game one is paid the same amount for all possible Four of a Kind hands. It is usually 25 coins for 1 coin placed as a bet.
The draw line between a good and a bad Jacks or Better game is usually the amount of coins paid for combinations such as Full House and Flush. It is the returns of these two winning combinations that are featured in the name of the respective version of the game. Or, in 9/6 Jacks or Better, a player will receive 9 coins for a Full House combination and 6 coins for a Flush. Let us take a look at the pay tables of the different versions of Jacks or Better, where payouts for a 1-coin bet are included.
| Jacks or Better Pay Tables | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | 9 / 6 | 8 / 6 | 9 / 5 | 8 / 5 |
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Flush | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return | 99.54% | 98.39% | 98.45% | 97.30% |
The Strategy
We are going to present the play strategy for Jacks or Better in a table form, where the possible combinations are shown in order, with the highest-ranking hand being on top. The table should be examined from top to bottom, so that one is able to locate the particular hand he/she was dealt. The first column of the table shows the different hands dealt, while the second one points out which cards, if any, one needs to hold.
Sign Up100% up to
€140
Sign Up100% up to
$/£/€200
+ 200 Spins
Sign Up100% up to
$/£/€100
Sign Up
100% up to
$/£/€/C$200
+ 50 Spins
After a player has found the specific combination, he/she needs to conform with the instructions in the second column, unless, of course, his/her situation matches one of the exceptions in the third column. If the latter is true, the player needs to conform with the instructions in the third column, where exceptions are presented in order of relevance. If number one exception matches one's situation, he/she needs to follow it. If not, he/she will need to move further to the number two exception and etc. The fourth column features actions one should never take when dealt that particular hand. It includes useful information, which could prevent costly mistakes.
Jacks or Better
8/5 Bonus Poker
9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe
Full Pay Deuces Wild
Not So Ugly Deuces Wild
| Dealt Hand (What is available) | What needs to be done | Exceptions | Actions one should avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | Hold Royal Flush | None | 1. One should abstain from selecting the Double Down option, which may be available. |
| Straight Flush | Hold Straight Flush | None | 1. One should never hold four to a Royal Flush over a Straight Flush. Instead, he/she should keep the Straight Flush. |
| Four of a Kind | Hold Four of a Kind | None | None |
| Full House | Hold Full House | None | 1.One should never keep three Aces over a Full House. Instead, he/she should always hold the Full House. 2. One should never keep Three of a Kind over a Full House. Instead, he/she should always hold the Full House. |
| Flush | Hold Flush | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Flush over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only four to a Royal Flush. |
| Straight | Hold Straight | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Straight over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only four to a Royal Flush. |
| Three of a Kind | Hold Three of a Kind | None | None |
| Two Pair | Hold both Pairs | None | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Pair of Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours when dealt a hand such as Two Pair. Instead, he/she should always hold the Two Pair. |
| Jacks or Better | Hold high Pair | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. 2. Hold four to a Straight Flush. 3. In progressive 9/6 Jacks or Better, one should keep three to a progressive Royal, when Royal pays out more than 4 780 coins without a Flush Penalty. If there is a Flush Penalty, one should keep three to a progressive Royal, when Royal pays out more than 5 050 coins. 4. In progressive 9/6 Jacks or Better, with Ace-Ten-any card combination, one should keep three to a progressive Royal, when Royal pays out more than 5 335 coins without a Flush Penalty. If there is a Flush Penalty, one should keep three to a progressive Royal, when Royal pays out more than 5 605 coins. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a high Pair over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only four to a Royal. 2. One should abstain from keeping a high Pair over four to a Straight Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only four to a Straight Flush. 3. One should abstain from keeping a high Pair when playing a high-paying Jacks or Better progressive. In case one holds three to a progressive Royal, and an Ace is not one of the three, he/she should hold three to a Royal, if the Royal pays out over 4 780 coins without a Flush Penalty, or over 5 050 with a Flush Penalty. In case an Ace is not one of the three, one should keep three to a progressive Royal, if the Royal pays out over 5 335 coins without a Flush Penalty, or over 5 605 coins with a Flush Penalty. /td> |
| Four Flush | Hold Four Flush | 1. Hold three to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Four Flush over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only the three to a Royal. |
| Low Pair | Hold this Pair | 1.Hold three to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a low Pair over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold three to a Royal. |
| Open-Ended-Four-Straight | Hold Four-Straight | 1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping Open-Ended-Four-Straight over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, he/she should hold only three to a Royal. |
| Inside Four-Straight | Hold nothing | 1. One should keep Inside Four-Straight with three or four high cards. | 1. One should never discard an Inside Four-Straight with three or four high cards. Instead, he/she should hold the four cards. |
| High Cards | Hold high cards | 1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should keep two to a Royal Flush, unless Ace and Ten, King and Ten, or Queen and Ten. Then, he/she should keep high cards. 3. In case one is dealt three high cards, including an Ace, he/she should keep the two non-Ace high cards. 4. One should keep three to any 0-gap or one-gap Straight Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping high cards over three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep suited Ace and Ten, King and Ten, or Queen and Ten in order to go for a Royal. Instead, he/she should hold the high cards. 3. One should never keep an Ace when dealt three high cards. Instead, he/she should hold the two non-Ace high cards. 4. One should never keep high cards when dealt three to a 0-gap or one-gap Straight Flush. Instead, he/she should hold the cards to the Straight Flush. |
| No Pairs or High Cards | Hold nothing | 1. One should keep three to a Straight Flush. | 1. One should never discard three to a Straight Flush. 2. One should never keep three to a Straight or three to a Flush. |
Jacks or Better video poker offers some of the best odds in the casino. The best version of Jacks or Better, the 9/6 variant, has a payback percentage of 99.5%, which is better for the player than just about any other game in the casino. Even 8/5 Jacks or Better has a payout percentage of 97.3%, which is far worse than a full pay but still far better than most bets on most other casino games.
But in order to enjoy the high payback percentage, you have to play using expert strategy. The casinos and the manufacturers estimate that players who don’t use an expert strategy are giving up between 2% and 4%, which is a significant amount of money.
How significant?
Consider the average hourly loss of an expert player who’s running true to the mathematical expectation of a game. She’s making 600 wagers per hour at $1.25 per wager, so she’s putting $750 per hour into action. With a house edge of 0.5%, she can expect to lose $3.75 per hour. Assuming she gamblers for ten hours on her trip, she’s got lots of entertainment for just $37.50.
Then let’s take a look at her husband, who ignores expert strategy and just follows his hunches. (We’ll also assume that his hunches aren’t very good.) He’s losing 4.5% of his bets, which means that he’s losing nine times as much as his wife. At the end of the trip, he’s lost $337.50.
That’s a significant difference.
How an Expert Jacks or Better Strategy Is Developed
Computer programs can determine the expected value of any given hand. There are 32 different ways to play any given hand, but only one way has the best expectation for the player. The more often the player chooses to play her hand in that way, the lower the house edge becomes.
But since there are 2.5 million different possible starting hands in video poker, expert strategy groups hands according to types in order to make the process easier to learn. After all, memorizing 2.5 million different potential decisions is probably impossible, but memorizing several types of hands isn’t as hard.
When you consider that 55% of your hands will lose no matter what, you can see that strategy decisions can be narrowed down pretty fast. In fact, a pair of jacks or better will make up 21% of the number of winning hands you get. The small hands, including three of a kind, two pair, and a pair of jacks, make up 70% of the total return on the game.
How to Use a Jacks or Better Strategy
All Jacks or Better strategy tables consist of a list of hands. The player starts at the top, which is the best possible hand, and then moves down until she finds the hand that she actually has. She then plays it according to the strategy instructions.
Online Jacks Or Better Games
Different strategy charts offer somewhat different instructions. Below I’ve provided one Jacks or Better strategy that’s easy to learn. The house edge against someone using this strategy is only 0.8%, which isn’t as kind to the player as 0.5%, but it’s still considerably better than just about every other game in the casino. And of course, this assumes that you’re playing a full pay, 9/6 Jacks or Better game.
The Strategy Chart
Online Jacks Or Better Poker
- Keep any 2 pair or better paying combination, UNLESS you also have a 4 card royal flush. If you have a 4 card royal flush, then you’ll always draw to the royal flush.
- Keep any 4 card straight flush.
- Keep any pair of jacks or better.
- Keep any 3 cards to a royal flush.
- Keep any 4 cards to a flush.
- Keep any pair lower than jacks or better.
- Keep any four card open straight draw.
- Keep any unsuited AKQJ.
- Keep any two suited high cards.
- Keep any three cards to a straight flush.
- Keep any unsuited KQJ.
- Keep any two unsuited high cards.
- Keep any K, Q, or J if you have a 10 of the same suit.
- Keep any single high card.
- Discard all 5 cards and draw a new hand.
One of the main principles behind most video poker strategies is that you want the machine to deal you a winning hand. If you’re dealt a winning hand, you will very rarely discard any of those cards to draw to something else. The only exception is four cards to a royal flush, and that exception is only there because the payout on that hand is so large compared to the other hands.
Jacks Or Better Casino Jacksonville
In fact, you’ll notice that a lot of the strategy focuses on the royal flush. You’ll only see a royal flush once in every 40,000 or so hands, but the payout makes for a big part of your overall expectation. If you have four cards to a royal flush, you’ll always draw to it. If you have three cards to a royal flush, you’ll always draw to it UNLESS you have a winning combination, in which case you’ll keep the winning cards instead.
Jacks Or Better Casino
A four card flush draw is better than a low pair, but both of them are better than a straight draw. The reason, again, has to do with the differences in the payouts as compared to the possibility of finishing your hand.
Jacks Or Better Casino Florida
This strategy requires memorizing 15 lines of rules/guidelines, but it’s far easier than a more advanced strategy. Once you’ve mastered this, you can easily move up to a more advanced strategy with about 21 lines or rules/guidelines, and then you can gain back that additional 0.3%.