Jacks Or Better
If you want to play something different then the age old 5-card draw, then Jacks or better may be what you are looking for.
Jacks or better is an interesting video poker game variant. Winning in this game is mostly mathematical and it is to a major extent a game of skill rather than being a game of chance. A bit of chance still plays a role; however, that can be mathematically challenged and pre-determined by the right application of poker math.
The payouts for the poker hands in Jacks or Better are not the same. They vary based on how difficult it is to make a hand. If the probability of making a particular hand is high, then such hands get a comparatively lower payout than those hands which have a low probability of being made. The more difficult the hand, the better the payout, and also, the payouts will differ between casinos. If you are looking for high payouts you must check out the machines in more then one online casino and pick the one with the highest payouts.
Jacks or Better is a classical video poker variant and almost all casinos are likely to have this game. In this game, the Jacks or Better hand will be the one getting the lesser amount of payout in the table. The classic hand rankings of poker hands are followed in providing the payouts; however, the jacks or better hand will be ranked only after the pair, when it comes to giving the payout.
The order of the ranking from highest to lowest is as follows: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, Jacks or Better Hand.
The qualifying Jacks or better hands are:
- Pair of Jacks
- Pair of Queens
- Pair of Kings
- Pair of Aces.
Some casinos also provide cumulative jackpot video poker rooms and some special bonuses for select hands. You need to look in to the terms of the site therein, before you can begin your play.
The general proceeds of the game are similar to a regular draw game with the difference staying with the payout of the hand.
- Five card hand dealt to player
- Player discards unwanted cards
- Gets replacement for discarded cards
- Hand thus made is evaluated for payout.
Jacks or better is one of the easiest for beginners to video poker games. There are beginner, intermediate and advanced level strategies applicable for this play. There are several video poker game analyzers available for evaluating your playing style and you can use them to improve your play.