Before diving into Jacks or Better video poker, it's crucial to understand the hand rankings. Familiarizing yourself with the hand rankings is key to mastering Jacks or Better strategy . Without a clear grasp of which hands triumph over others, making optimal decisions becomes challenging.
Below, you'll find a list of all potential winning hands in five-card poker, arranged from strongest to weakest.
Royal Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit ranging from Ace to Ten (e.g. AhKhQhJhTh).
Straight Flush: Five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit (e.g. 4d5d6d7d8d).
Four of a Kind: Four cards that share the same rank (e.g. AdAsAhAc8d).
Full House: Three cards of one rank combined with two cards of another rank (e.g. 5h5d5s2h2c).
Flush: Five cards all from the same suit (e.g. QcJc7c5c2c).
Straight: Five cards in sequential order, not sharing a suit (e.g. 3h4c5d6s7d).
Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g. 6d6s6h9dJc).
Two Pair: Two pairs of cards that share the same rank (e.g. KcKhJsJc5d).
High Pair (Jacks or Better): This refers to a pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces (e.g. QdQh9s7d4h).
There are also two additional hand rankings that you can aim for in Jacks or Better video poker:
Low Pair (Tens or Lower): A pair consisting of tens down to deuces (e.g. 7d7c6dJdAc).
High Card: Five cards with varying ranks and suits, not in sequence (e.g. Ad9d8cJs3h).
These hands, however, do not yield payouts in Jacks or Better video poker and tend to be overlooked by players wagering real money.
Payout Tables
Each Jacks or Better variation features its own unique paytable, indicating how much you stand to win for qualifying hands. Keep in mind that payouts can vary between games, so it's wise to review the paytable prior to playing. Below is a sample paytable for the 9/6 full pay variant of Jacks or Better:
Hand |
Payout |
Royal Flush
|
800 |
Straight Flush
|
50 |
Four of a Kind
|
25 |
Full House
|
9 |
Flush
|
6 |
Straight
|
4 |
Three of a Kind
|
3 |
Two Pair
|
2 |
Jacks or Better
|
1 |
Tens or Lower
|
0 |