Do you like playing Poker and Slot Machines? If so, you’re going to love Video Poker. It’s sort of like taking Poker and combining it with Slot Machines. With Video Poker, there’s definitely skill involved which can make you a better player. Not only that, but it makes the game more fun and interesting to play. It’s also not a very complicated game to learn, so if you’re a beginner, this is a great game to start with. On top of that, the house advantage is pretty low, making the odds more in your favor when comparing to other casino games.
There are a lot of variations to Video Poker. A couple of the most popular ones are Deuces Wild and Jacks or Better. In fact, in this article we’ll be focusing on how to play Jacks or Better as well as go over some rules and tips that can help improve your game play. Having a good understanding of the rules is important, however without any basic strategies to follow you’re putting yourself at risk. Knowing what to do under every circumstance can increase your chances of winning.
Jacks or Better Rules
Jacks or Better rules are fairly simple to learn, and is one of the simplest versions of Video Poker. In order to get a winning payout, your hand needs to include Jacks or better cards. It’s also one of the first, if not the first, variation to Video Poker. Similar to Poker, the objective is to achieve the strongest possible hand. With Jacks or Better, you get an extra point for every pair of Jacks or higher you receive. You can also play up to 100 hands at a time, therefore the more hands you bet with, the greater your potential winnings will be.
The game begins as soon as you place a bet on the machine. Afterwards, you will be dealt five cards, and will need to decide which cards to discard, if any, in hopes to get a better hand. Speaking of which, below are all the different hand values.
- High – A card that is a Jack or higher. For example, a Jack, Queen, King or Ace.
- Pair – two cards that have the same number. For example, two Kings.
- Two Pair – two pairs of cards that have the same number. For example, two 3s and two 6s.
- Three of a Kind – three cards that have the same number. For example, three 8s.
- Straight – similar to the Straight Flush except the five cards do not have to have the same suit. They just need to go in sequential order.
- Four to a Straight Flush – is when you’ve dealt four out of the five cards needed to complete a straight flush.
- Flush –five cards that have the same suit.
- Full House – is a hand that has both a three of a kind as well as a pair. For example, three Aces and two 5s.
- Four of a Kind – four cards that have the same number. For example, four Queens or four 10s.
- Straight Flush – five cards that go in sequential order and all have the same suit. For example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 all suited as hearts.
- Three to a Royal Flush – when you have three of the cards necessary to complete a Royal Flush.
- Four to a Flush – when you have four cards of the same suit.
- Four to a Straight – four cards that are in sequential order.
- Three to a Straight Flush – Three cards in sequential order with the same suit.
- Two to a Royal Flush – Two cards away from reaching a Royal Flush.
- Royal Flush – is the strongest and highest paying hand you can get. It’s a hand containing five cards with the same suit that go in order from 10 to Ace. For example, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace with all of them being suited with hearts.
Jacks or Better Tips
Once you have learned all the rules to the game and feel confident, you should go ahead and learn some Jacks or Better tips that can help you become a better player. This way you’ll understand what to do for each hand you’ve received. Speaking of which, below we’ve prepared some tips on what you should do for the cards you’ve been dealt. If you haven’t been dealt any of the following hands below, go ahead and replace all five of the cards you’re holding by discarding them.
- Never try to reach another hand if you’ve already been dealt one of the following: Full House, Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind or Two Pair.
- Never give up a High Pair for a hand that’s four to a Flush or four to a Straight.
- Hang on to a Low Pair, even if you have three cards to a Straight Flush or four cards to a Straight.
- If you’ve been dealt four cards away from a Royal Flush, go ahead and discard the fifth card, no matter what.
- If the initial cards you’ve been dealt are a Flush or a Straight, go ahead and keep those hands unless you’re only one card away from reaching a Royal Flush.
- Keep in mind that a Three of a Kind, a Flush, a High Pair and a Straight are all stronger hands than three cards that are leading up to a Royal Flush. Only stick with a three cards leading to a Royal Flush if you have lower ranked hands like a Low Pair or four to a Flush.
- Unless you’re holding four cards to a Straight Flush, or four cards to a Royal Flush, you should always stick with a High Pair you’ve been dealt.
After you have a good understanding of the rules and have gone over the tips we’ve given you, go ahead and start playing on our Jacks or Better machine here at Caesars Casino. Aside from being so much fun to play on, it’s a great way for you to be able to practice, as all our games are free and available 24/7. It’s like taking all the excitement you get from Vegas and then putting it all onto your very own personal mobile device, so you can play anytime, anywhere.