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Jacks or Better optimal strategy
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Introduction
This approach is designed for full pay Jacks or Better video poker. The term 'Full Pay' refers to a specific payout table that yields a return of 99.54% based on an optimal strategy when betting five coins.
Full Pay Jacks or Better
Hand | Payoff |
---|---|
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 |
To effectively apply this strategy, consider all possible moves for a hand, selecting the option that ranks the highest on the list. If a move isn’t included in the list, it is not advisable to play. The figures on the right indicate the average return and may change depending on which cards you choose to discard.
Let's consider a practical scenario. If you hold four cards to a flush along with a low pair, should you let go of the low pair to pursue the flush, or the other way around? The list indicates that four to a flush is a superior option, making it the preferred choice. For further practice with different hands, you can try my methods. video poker quiz .
I acknowledge that this strategy is comprehensive and can be quite complex, but I believe it offers sound advice for every potential hand. When executed correctly, it should facilitate optimal play.
- Dealt royal flush (800.0000)
- Dealt straight flush (50.0000)
- Dealt four of a kind (25.0000)
- 4 to a royal flush (18.3617)
- Dealt full house (9.0000)
- Dealt flush (6.0000)
- 3 of a kind (4.3025)
- Dealt straight (4.0000)
- 4 to a straight flush (3.5319)
- Two pair (2.59574)
- High pair (1.5365)
- 3 to a royal flush (1.2868) A
- 4 to a flush (1.2766)
- Unsuited TJQK(0.8723)
- Low pair (0.8237)
- Holding four cards toward an outside straight with no more than two high cards has a success probability of (0.6809).
- 3 to a straight flush (type 1) (0.6207 to 0.6429)
- Suited QJ (0.6004) B
- 4 to an inside straight, 4 high cards (0.5957)
- Suited KQ or KJ (0.5821)
- Suited AK, AQ, or AJ (0.5678)
- 4 to an inside straight, 3 high cards (0.5319)
- 3 to a straight flush (type 2) (0.5227 to 0.5097) C
- Unsuited JQK (0.5005)
- Unsuited JQ (0.4980)
- Suited TJ (0.4968) D
- 2 unsuited high cards king highest (0.4862)
- Suited TQ (0.4825) E
- 2 unsuited high cards ace highest (0.4743)
- J only (0.4713)
- Suited TK (0.4682) F
- Q only (0.4681)
- K only (0.4649)
- A only (0.4640)
- 3 to a straight flush (type 3) (0.4431)
- Garbage, discard everything (0.3597)
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Card Key
Card Abbreviations
Letter | Card |
---|---|
T | 10 |
J | Jack |
Q | Queen |
K | King |
A | Ace |
Three to a Straight Flush Key
Straight Flush Draw (Type 1): A draw for a straight flush where the number of high cards meets or exceeds the number of gaps present.
Straight Flush Draw (Type 2): Refers to specific configurations of straight flush draws that can be classified accordingly.
- One gap and no high cards
- Two gaps and one high card
- Ace low
- 2-3-4
Straight Flush Draw (Type 3): A straight flush draw characterized by two gaps and no high cards in hand.
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Rare Exceptions
Rare Exceptions
Footnote | Explanation |
---|---|
A | Four to a flush has a greater value than three to a royal flush if the royal includes a ten and an ace, and if the unsuited card is either a 10 or an invalid straight card. Recognizing this detail can provide an additional 0.00000021 return in the game. |
B | Four to an inside straight outperforms suited jack and queen accompanied by a 9 or a penalty card. |
C | 3 cards to a straight flush spread 5 with 1 high card versus 4 to an inside straight with 3 high cards: Opt for the 3 cards to a straight flush unless a penalty card for the straight exists. Acknowledging this can increase the game's return by 0.00000020. |
D | If you have suited 10 and jack versus unsuited jack and king — when there isn't a penalty card for a flush, retaining the 10 and jack is the smarter choice; otherwise, opt for the jack and king. |
E | If you hold suited 10 and queen against unsuited queen and ace — when there's no flush penalty card, retaining the 10 and queen is better; if not, keep the queen and ace. |
F | When comparing suited 10 and king against a king alone: Typically, the suited 10 and king is preferable to the singular king, but if discarding a 9 and a flush penalty card is necessary, then retain only the king. |
Hands That Are Never Played
Upon request, I have excluded hands that should never be played. In these cases, some variation of these hands is better than the larger hand, or discarding them entirely proves to be the best option. I have noted what to do with these hands in parentheses.
- Suited 10 and ace (keep the ace only)
- With three unsuited high cards, keeping the lowest two high cards is advisable.
- Four to an inside straight with two high cards should lead you to keep both high cards.
- With four to an inside straight and one high card, opt to hold onto that single high card.
- If you have four to an inside straight with no high cards, then it's best to discard all.
Terms
High Card : This includes a jack, queen, king, or ace. Such cards are kept more often due to their potential to return the original bet if paired.
Outside Straight : An open-ended straight, exemplified by sequences like 6-7-8-9.
Inside Straight : A straight missing an inside card, such as 5-6-7-9. Note that combinations like A-2-3-4 and J-Q-K-A are also considered inside straights since only one additional card can complete them.
Penalty Card : At times, it’s necessary to discard cards that could be beneficial. Rare instances arise when keeping seemingly non-useful cards could sway the decision in favor of one option over another. For instance, consider the scenario where a player has a king of clubs, a 10 of clubs, a 9 of spades, a 6 of clubs, and a 3 of diamonds. The best choice might be to hold either the suited 10 and king together or just the king. Usually, the suited option is ideal, but in this case, two potentially beneficial cards—the 9 (affecting straight formation odds) and the 6 of clubs (impacting flush opportunities)—diminish the value of keeping the suited 10 and king below that of just retaining the king.
It’s important to note that this strategy is primarily of academic interest or suitable for the most dedicated video poker enthusiasts. For practical use, I recommend my resources on this topic. simple strategy with a return of 99.46% or my intermediate strategy with a return of 99.52%.