The most basic video poker, Jacks or better! If the great variety of video poker games can be likened to a selection of ice cream, Jacks or Better is the straight vanilla flavor. It's plain and yet in many ways, it's the most popular. And it all started with something called Draw Poker.
Before Jacks or Better video poker, Draw Poker was the very first video poker electronic game. It wasn't that popular because of the low payouts. The low payouts were due to there not being enough winning combinations.
Soon after the creation of this game, someone decided to had a payout--and thus offer more money. This extra payout would come for a pair of Jacks or higher. This meant that approximately half the game's hands would win something, although in reality, an even payout isn't a true win. Still, the psychology of hitting a win made people feel like a winner. This made video poker much more popular in the casinos.
The game-play for Jacks or Better was like other types of the game.
How do you play?
The player gets five cards on the screen and must decide which cards to throw away and which to keep. The player wins a payback according to the posted payback table.
A full payback table features the highest payout for the game variety. Jacks or Better offers full pay when there is a 9 for 1 payout for a full house and also a 6 for 1 payback for a flush. On this game, the payout percentage is around 99.5 percent.
The majority of Jacks or Better games are not actual, full-pay games. Most offer a pay table of 8/5. In an 8/5 game, the payout percentage is not 99.5 percent as with the standard game, but 97.3 percent.
Is there a strategy?
Before you play a game of Jacks or Better, keep these video poker hints in mind. First, make certain you can read and understand the pay table, and make sure you find a 9/6 Jacks or Better video station.
Remember to use your slot card--always! Don't keep a kicker (that is, a high card that some players keep, hoping to make a higher two-pair-hand than his opponent). Remember that in video poker, the only opponent is the machine, so there's no reason to keep a kicker.
Remember not to draw on an inside straight. Finally, find a Jacks or Better strategy chart and follow it faithfully, with no allowance for intuition. This will keep the odds as much in your favor as possible.
