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NederlandsJacks or Better Strategy Trainer
Hold the cards you'd keep and see the exact average return of your play next to the best of all 32 ways to hold, worked out over every possible draw. Learn the strategy one hand at a time.
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Jacks or Better strategy: the key rules
Each rule is checked on the example hand with the exact return of every hold (9/6 pay table). Highlighted cards are the best hold.
- Four to a royal flush beats a straight or flush you already haveKQJ109
- A pair of jacks or better beats four to a flush and three to a royalJJ472
- Four to a flush beats a low pair559Q2
- A low pair beats four to an open-ended straight66789
- Keep a high pair on its own: no kickerQQA73
- Keep both pairs of two pair and draw one cardKK449
Jacks or Better pay tables and return
The return with perfect play for each common pay table, from holding every one of the 2,598,960 possible deals the best way.
| Pay table | Full house | Flush | Return, perfect play | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/6 (full pay) | 9 | 6 | 99.54% | 0.46% |
| 8/6 | 8 | 6 | 98.39% | 1.61% |
| 8/5 | 8 | 5 | 97.30% | 2.70% |
| 7/5 | 7 | 5 | 96.15% | 3.85% |
| 6/5 | 6 | 5 | 95.00% | 5.00% |
All five pay 800 per coin for a royal flush (at the maximum bet), 50 for a straight flush, 25 for four of a kind, 4 for a straight, 3 for three of a kind, 2 for two pair and 1 for a pair of jacks or better.
How often each hand comes up
Final hands on 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect play: what you end up with after the draw.
| Final hand | Pays | Chance | 1 in | Share of the return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.0025% | 40,391 | 2.0% |
| Straight flush | 50 | 0.0109% | 9,148 | 0.5% |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 0.24% | 423 | 5.9% |
| Full house | 9 | 1.15% | 86.86 | 10.4% |
| Flush | 6 | 1.10% | 90.79 | 6.6% |
| Straight | 4 | 1.12% | 89.05 | 4.5% |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 7.44% | 13.43 | 22.4% |
| Two pair | 2 | 12.93% | 7.74 | 26.0% |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 21.46% | 4.66 | 21.6% |
| Nothing | — | 54.54% | 1.83 | — |
What strategy can and can't do
What it can do
Take you close to the game's full return: on a 9/6 machine, perfect play returns 99.54%. Choosing a better pay table matters as much: 8/5 gives up over two points against 9/6.
What it can't do
Remove the house edge or the swings. Every hand is dealt from a freshly shuffled deck, and 2.0% of the 9/6 return comes from royal flushes, which arrive about once every 40,391 hands.
Questions
What is the best Jacks or Better strategy?
For every hand, keep the cards whose draws return the most on average. The trainer works this out exactly by checking every possible draw for all 32 ways to hold. A few rules cover most hands: keep any paying hand of two pair or better, break a straight or flush only for four to a royal, keep a high pair over any draw except four to a royal flush or four to a straight flush, and prefer four to a flush over a low pair.
What is the return of Jacks or Better?
It depends on the pay table. With perfect play, full-pay 9/6 (9 for a full house, 6 for a flush) returns 99.54%, and the common 8/5 game returns 97.30%. The royal flush pays 800 per coin only when you bet the maximum coins; on a smaller bet it usually pays far less, which lowers the return.
How often do you hit a royal flush in video poker?
About once every 40,391 hands on 9/6 Jacks or Better with perfect play, because the strategy goes for royals whenever it's worth it. Dealt straight away, a royal flush is 1 in 649,740.
Should you hold a kicker in Jacks or Better?
No. Holding a pair of jacks or better with an extra high card lowers the return: keep the pair alone and draw three. The same goes for a low pair.
What does 9/6 mean in video poker?
The pays for a full house and a flush, per coin: 9/6 pays 9 and 6, while 8/5 pays 8 and 5. Those two lines are the quickest way to tell a good Jacks or Better machine from a poor one; the rest of the pay table is usually the same.
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