Jacks or Better Video Poker

Jacks or Better is probably the video poker game that is most often played. Often, when someone uses the term “video poker”, they are specifically referring to the Jacks or Better game … 52 cards, no wilds and you need to receive at least a pair of Jacks in order to win on your wager.

A beginner may be confused and approach playing this game as if they were playing a normal hand of 5 card draw. There are certain things that people reach for that isn’t in your best interest when you are playing video poker. You may beat the odds once in a while, but overall there is a certain way to play the game.

Best Practices for Playing Jacks or Better

I am going to present you with different scenarios that you might face after you receive your first 5 cards. The obvious choices are to Hold or Discard any or all of the 5 cards. The following list shows you the strength of your hand from lowest to highest and tells you what decision you should make:

1. You receive 5 cards ranked 10 or lower and no connectors:
   Discard all 5 cards

This is because your chances of receive a pair of Jacks or higher is better than keeping any of the 5 cards.

2. You receive 1 card ranked Jack or higher:
   Keep the high card and Discard the other 4 cards

Obviously, you will have a better chance getting a matching card in 4 tries than getting a pair of Jacks of higher in 5 cards.

3. You receive a Suited 10-Jack, 10-Queen or 10-King:
   Keep those two cards a discard the other three

This will give you a small chance of drawing the Royal Flush. Otherwise, the 10′s are useless.

4. You receive 2 Unsuited high cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack):
   Hold the 2 high cards and discard the other three

You have a better chance of getting 1 of 2 face cards in 3 tries than getting 1 face card in 4 tires. If you have 3 Unsuited high cards, keep the lowest 2 cards (IE. Jack, Queen) and discard the other.

5. You receive 2 Suited high cards:
   Hold those 2 cards and discard the other 3

This will give you a chance at drawing a winning pair, flush or straight.

6. You receive 4 cards to an Inside Draw:
   Hold the 4 cards and try to draw for the straight.

The percentages may be low, but you have a larger upside winning the prize for a straight than discarding and trying for a pair of jacks or better.

7. You receive a Pair of 10′s or lower:
   Hold onto the pair and try for a 3 of a kind or 2 pairs

The percentages are lower than discarding and receiving a pair of Jacks or higher, but not by much and the payout is worth the risk.

8. You receive 4 cards to a Flush:
   Hold the 4 cards and try to draw for the flush

This is a no-brainer, unless the 5th card gives you a pair of Jacks or better.

9. You receive 3 cards to a Royal Flush:
   Hold onto the 3 cards and try to draw for the Royal Flush

The prize offered for a Royal Flush will trump anything else. The only exception is if you already have a 5 card Flush.

10. You receive a pair of Jacks or Better:
    Hold onto these 2 cards and discard the other 3

The only case where you should throw away a winning hand like this is when you receive a good possibility of winning a much larger prize.

11. You receive 2 pairs:
    Hold these 4 cards and try to draw for a full house

Having already secured a 2 to 1 win on your bet, this is the only move you should make.

12. You receive 4 cards to a Straight Flush:
    Hold these 4 cards and try to draw for the Straight Flush

Because of the potential winnings, you will even throw away a Pair of jacks or better for this chance.

13. You receive a 3 of a kind:
    Hold those 3 cards and draw for a Full House or 4 of a kind

This is the only option here. You need to guarantee at least the 3 to 1 win on your bet.

14. You receive a Pat Hand (straight, flush, full house, 4 of a kind):
    Do not discard

The 4 of a kind is considered “Pat” because you can’t receive a 5 of a kind.

15. You receive 4 cards to a Royal Flush:
    Go for the Royal Flush!

The only exception here is if you already have a Straight Flush. Otherwise, the prize is worth the risk for busting up a normal flush or straight.

If you follow these rules and suggestions: you will have the best chance of winning money overall. This may not cover every single scenario; however this should cover about 99.5% of the hands that you will receive.

Have you ever wanted to play real money video poker games from your new mobile device? Well you can at Slotland mobile. There are six different types of video poker games including Jacks or Better.

The only other games that Slotland offers in a variety of slot machines. There are no traditional casino games like blackjack or roulette.

Slotland can be played on a variety of different devices such as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, MAC, PC, Wii, PS3, and most mobile phone. There is no need to download anything. You can play the games directly from the mobile website.

However, the mobile games are available as downloads for PDAs and cell phones. In this case, you would have to download a single game at a time. Currently, Slotland only offers 6 of their 23 games as mobile downloads to your phone.

Slotland Bonus

If you are looking for a boost in your bankroll, Slotland will offer new players a match on their first deposit. This is a 100% bonus up to $1000. Deposit $100 and receive $100 free; deposit $800 and get $800 free! Then complete the wagering requirements and you will be allowed to cash out this money.

For regular players, Slotland will give you a $100 bonus every time you have deposited $1000. There is also a bonus between 30% and 100% for the 1st deposit of each month. Finally, you can also receive a 25% bonus for the first deposit made on Sundays.

Slotland has a couple of different payment methods that can be used. These include Credit/Debit Cards, NETeller, MoneyBookers, InstaDebit and Bank Wire.

Other Mobile Video Poker Games

Here is a screenshot of the Jacks or Better video poker game that is offered at Playtech Mobile casinos. Playtech casinos will not allow mobile players from the US. Playtech offers a range of 16 mobile casino games, including video poker, slots, roulette and blackjack.

Not all online casinos that use Playtech offer the mobile games. If you would like to play these mobile games, you can click here to go to Bet365. You will find a Mobile Casino link at the bottom of the homepage.

You can also play video poker on your mobile at many Microgaming Casinos. Like Playtech, players from the US cannot play the mobile games for real money at any Microgaming casino.

Microgaming has created their own mobile casino that has a selection of 20+ games that can be played from your smartphone. If you want to play at a Microgaming mobile casino, you should check out All Slots Casino. They offer an app for iPhones, Androids, iPads, iPod Touch, Blackberry and more.

All Slots also offers a special bonus for Mobile Casino players. You can get a £/€/$200 match bonus on your first deposit with them. You can also 10% back on every deposit, up to 450 per month. The total jackpots of the slots machines is over $3 Million!

Jacks or better video poker is a great way to get involved in video poker because the game is easy to understand, fast paced, enjoyable, and you have the opportunity to see some decent payouts.

The game really is a lot of fun, especially when you would rather not play at a table game with others but would rather enjoy your time on your own playing a game that you love.

To get started, you need to be sure that you understand how to put together a jacks or better poker hand. These are the hands you will need to know to make the most of your time:

Knowing these hands will really help you think fast and put together the best possible hands to see the best possible payouts each time. Probably the best video poker strategy that you should know right out of the gate is how to pick your game.

Jacks or Better Paytables

Below is the normal paytable that you will find for Jacks or Better at online casinos these days. You may find ones with worse odds then this, but if you find lower payouts don’t play the game.

You should always try to find Jacks or better machines that will pay out nine coins for a full house and six coins for a flush. This will put you in a better position to actually take some money away from the game when you’re done.

If you want to try a progressive machine, as most people do at some point, you should only choose a progressive video poker machine that will pay you eight coins for a full house and five coins for a flush.

You also don’t want to play games that are out of your reach or not affordable with a small jackpot. So, you shouldn’t play progressive nickel machines with a pot less than $250, a quarter machine with less than $2,500, and a dollar machine for less than $10,000.

If you choose a machine for less than this you are selling yourself, and your hard earned money short. Want to learn more? Here is a look at some great video poker strategy on jacks or better video poker.