Video Poker (jacks or Better) Tips
February 8th, 2010
Video poker made its entry in the 1970s. It has proven to be a popular form of gaming. Video poker offers players the opportunity to gamble with anonymity, skill and a relatively low “house” advantage.
The objective of video poker is to achieve a winning combination of cards. The player firstly chooses how much to bet on the game. The machine then presents the player with 5 cards. The player chooses which cards, if any, to keep and discards the remaining cards. The machine then replaces the discarded cards with new ones.
The payout schedule displays the machines winning combinations and the values for each combination. These values vary according to the credit bet.
If the player’s last hand of cards form a winning combination, the player is awarded an amount corresponding with this combination and the number of coins bet.
Some machines give players the opportunity to win even more credit, by allowing them to bet their winnings and original bet using a secondary betting system.
There are various forms of video poker, such as ‘Jacks or better’, ‘Aces Faces’, ‘Deuces Wild’ and ‘Joker Wild’. Each is said to have varying rules and strategies.
Basic video poker winning combinations
Below is a list of common video poker winning combinations. Some video poker games incorporate other combinations also.
Royal Flush
A Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all in the same suite.
Straight Flush
5 cards in sequence and in the same suite.
4 of a Kind
4 cards of the same rank and in any suite + 1 unmatched card.
Full House
3 cards of the same rank and in any suite + 2 cards of the same rank and in any suite.
Flush
5 cards of any rank and in the same suite.
Straight
5 cards in sequence and in any suite.
3 of a Kind
3 cards of the same rank and in any suite + 2 unmatched cards.
2 Pairs
2 cards of the same rank and in any suite + 2 other cards of the same rank and in any suite + 1 unmatched card.
1 Pair
2 cards of the same rank and in any suite + 3 unmatched cards.
‘JACKS OR BETTER’ VIDEO POKER TIPS
This form of video poker generally requires a minimal winning combination of 2 ‘Jacks’. Always check the machine’s payout schedule to confirm this.
Ensure you understand the payout schedule prior to deciding whether to bet and how much to bet on each game. Try to compare different machines and see if any offer a higher payout rate for certain winning combinations, such as for ‘full house’ or ‘flush’.
Generally, it seems more beneficial to bet the maximum amount of credit on each game. The jackpot for a ‘Royal Flush’ combination, for example, is only awarded if the player has bet the maximum number of coins. The problem, however, is that this has the potential to quickly exhaust your wallet. With this in mind, find a machine that best suits your budget. A quarter machine may suit your budget more so than a dollar machine, for example.
If your initial hand of cards does not contain a winning combination but contains a ‘Jack’, ‘Queen’, ‘King’ or ‘Ace’, it may be worthwhile holding onto this card and discarding the other four.
If your initial hand does not contain a winning combination but shows the potential to give you one should you hold certain cards and discard others, consider the probability of obtaining certain combinations versus other combinations.
If your initial hand does not contain a winning combination and seems to hold no promise of one should you hold any cards, consider discarding all 5 cards. The next lot of 5 cards have the potential to give you a winning combination.
If your initial hand contains a winning combination, it is generally less risky to hold on to the cards that form this winning combination than to not do this in the hope of obtaining a higher winning combination. This is probably a question of guaranteed returns versus possibly higher returns that are NOT guaranteed.
If your initial hand contains a ‘4 of a kind’ combination, hold onto all cards as changing the unmatching card will not improve your winning combination.
If your initial hand contains 4 cards needed to achieve a ‘Royal Flush’ or ‘Straight Flush’ but you need one more card to achieve this winning combination, SERIOUSLY CONSIDER holding onto these four cards and discarding the non-matching card. ‘Royal Flush’ and ‘Straight Flush’ combinations are most rewarding.
If your initial hand contains 4 cards needed to achieve a ‘Straight’ or ‘Flush’ but you need one more card to achieve this winning combination, consider holding onto these four cards and discarding the non-matching card. ‘Straight’ and ‘Flush’ combinations are relatively rewarding.
Recognize when a jackpot (large value) has been won. Some machines will ask you to call an attendant who will organize payment to you. Never handle or walk away from a machine that has just produced a jackpot winning. Call the attendant or have someone call him/her for you while you wait at the machine.
Find out if the venue you intend to play at offers other incentives, such as points, meals, accommodation, etc., that goes with your game play. This however doesn’t mean that you should play purely for these secondary benefits.
Practice your strategy for free using a video poker simulator. Many online casinos offer free game play.
Try to recognize when your luck may have changed. There are many examples of people winning significantly then “getting greedy”, so to speak, and losing everything.
Make sure you empty the machine of your credit prior to leaving it. Each year, people accidentally abandon machines that still have their credit inside.
Assign a budget for the day’s play. If the budget is lost, you will know when to leave the casino.
Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose.
Remember to always have fun 
GamingGuide.net Team
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/video-poker-jacks-or-better-tips-94835.html
February 8th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Video poker advice for Jacks or Better 9/6?
I’m just getting into video poker because it’s so fun and have some questions if you don’t mind answering? I usually play Jacks or Better 9/6 on bodog.
1) If I have a pair that is less than Jacks, do I hold them hoping for 3 of a kind or do I fold them hoping to get higher cards on the draw?
2) When do I go after straights and flushes? Is it ok to go after them 2 cards away or should I always only go after them if I am 1 card away?
3) From a house edge standpoint, is it more profitable for me as the player to play single hand or multi-hand? I tried some 50-hand and lost money real fast … though I’m only playing 5 cent ones as I learn.
4) Does this mean that this is the Vegas style video poker where it’s supposed to have the same odds as real poker as opposed to the Atlantic City kind where it’s more like a slot machine:
Jacks or Better Rules:
•Hands are graded based on the pay table
•Cards are dealt from a single deck
•Cards are re-shuffled each hand
•Player has the option to discard up to five cards.
5) Do you have any tips for a beginning player?
Thanks for any help!
February 8th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Jacks or Better 9/6 is an excellent payout as far as Video Poker goes. The "9" refers to the amount you’ll win on a full house. (45 if you bet the maximum 5 coins, because 9 X 5 coins = 45). The 6 refers to hitting a flush. (30 if you bet 5 coins, because 6 X 5 coins = 30.)
Check carefully when you go into a casino. You’ll see most Jacks or Better machines pay only 8/5, or 40 coins for a full house and 25 for a flush with maximum coins bet.
Your questions:
1) I would almost always keep the lower pair and go for 3 of a kind (or you can hit 2-pair.) The only time I wouldn’t, would be if I have an EXCELLENT draw. (Either 3 or 4 to the Royal Flush or 4 to a flush or 4 to an open-ended straight draw.)
2) Go for a 4-flush or an open-ended straight draw. Only keep 3 to a flush if they are 3 to the Royal Flush.
3) PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember one thing: No matter how well you play, in the long run the House has an edge on you! This means the more hands you play over the course of your life, the more money you will eventually give to the casino. This is true even if you hit a Royal Flush!!! Wow, it’s great to have that cash when you finally hit the big one, but in the course of the thousands and thousands of hands you might play in your life, you will eventually give more money to the casino than they will give to you! The only way this will NOT be true is if you’re lucky enough to hit a Royal Flush toward the beginning of your playing career, and then you NEVER play slot machines again!
Therefore…(to make a long story short!)…The more hands you play at once, the quicker you will give money to the casino…IN THE LONG RUN. (There’s always a chance that you’ll hit the "big one", in which case you’ll think it was because you were playing more hands.)
4) Mostly I explained this in my opening paragraph. Yes, you will find SOME machines in Vegas that are of a 9/6 style, but not very easily. More often, you will get a worse deal. (no pun intended!) Everything you said about the Jacks or Better Rules is right. Just don’t forget to check the Pay Table of whatever machine you’re using.
5) My best tip that some folks will disagree with: You aren’t playing a video poker machine with the hopes of winning 5 dollars, or 10 dollars, or even 50 dollars. You are playing with the hopes of hitting the "Big One"…the Royal Flush!
With that in mind, look for opportunities to draw to the Royal. If you’re dealt a King of Hearts, a Queen of Hearts, and a Jack of Clubs, plus 2 other worthless cards, keep the K-Q of Hearts, and toss the J of Clubs! You’ll have 3 cards to get yourself a pair, and you give yourself that tiny change at drawing 3 to a Royal.
Here’s an even more radical play I’ll make with the same reasoning. If I am dealt 3 or more to a Royal Flush, I will almost always go for the Royal Flush….EVEN IF IT MEANS BREAKING UP A PAIR OF JACKS OR BETTER!!! It so hard to get a Royal Flush, but once you have 3 of the Royal, you have just a little worse than 1 in 1,000 shot at drawing the final 2! (1,080 to 1, to be exact.) That’s NOT all that bad of a chance! Furthermore, if I have 4 to the Royal Flush, I will break up ALL hands to take a shot at the jackpot. This is true even if I was dealt a flush. (I’ve never been dealt a King-high Straight Flush in the first 5 cards. I’d have to really think about throwing away the 9 in the hopes of pulling the Ace.)
Final Thought: If you play this long enough, you WILL hit a jackpot at some point in time in your life. But in the long run, the casino will always have more of your money than you have of theirs! Live it up and celebrate those times you hit the Jackpot. They’re few and far between.
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
1) keep the low pair unless you have 4 to a flush, or 3 to a royal flush draw. A low pair is still better to keep than an open-ended straight draw unless its KQJT.
2) generally go after 4 to a flush and open ended straight draws. 3 to a royal flush is also more valuable than 4 to a flush or a low pair, but less valuable than a pair Jacks or better. going after 3 to a straight flush draw is ok if you dont have a pair to hold. It’s more valuable if they have a bit of connectivity (e.g. 689 of hearts vs. 579 of hearts).
3) house edge is identical…but your variance goes through the roof as you play more hands. I doubt i would play multi-line if I was trying to learn the game.
4) Vegas and Atlantic City are identical in terms of video poker machines and I am sure bodog is the same way. The cards are dealt at random and the pay scale ensures the house edge. Assuming flawless play, you would earn 99.54% of your money back in the long run. Considering human error though, it’s more likely you’ll be at 99% or less.
5) Familiarize yourself with the strategy tables as best you can, so you minimize your losses from a mathematical perspective. Realize this game will be a long-term loser just like other casino games. Also with bodog, you might have better chances profiting from poker. I’ve heard the players aren’t that great there.
This page has links to 9/6 JoB strategies:
http://wizardofodds.com/videopoker
Good luck!
References :
February 8th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Question #1) Give up your low pair if you have:
3 or 4 to a royal flush
4 to a flush or a straight flush
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Don’t give up your low pair if you have 4 to an outside straight or 3 to a straight flush.
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Wizard of odds explains strategy in a clear and simple manner.
References :