You’re walking through a casino floor, and it's loud. The slots are screaming. The craps table is a chaotic mess of high-fives and crushed dreams. But then you see those rows of quiet, glowing screens. Video poker. Specifically, Jacks or Better strategy—the holy grail for people who actually want to leave with the casino's money. It’s the one game where, if you play your cards right (literally), the house edge basically evaporates.
But here’s the thing. Most people play it like it's a slot machine. They guess. They follow their "gut." They throw away winning hands because they’re chasing a Royal Flush that has a 1 in 40,000 chance of showing up. It’s painful to watch.
If you want to actually win, you need to stop treating it like a game of luck. It’s a math problem. A solvable one.
The Pay Table is Your Only Real Friend
Before you even press "deal," you have to look at the numbers on the glass. This isn't optional. If you’re playing a machine that doesn't offer a "9/6" payout, you’ve already lost. A 9/6 machine pays 9 credits for a Full House and 6 for a Flush. Sounds small, right? Wrong.
That specific ratio, combined with perfect Jacks or Better strategy, brings the Return to Player (RTP) to 99.54%. In the gambling world, that’s as close to a fair fight as you’re ever going to get. I’ve seen "8/5" machines that look identical but eat your bankroll twice as fast. They're traps. Plain and simple.
Check the pay table every single time.
👉 See also: Auschwitz Cards Against Humanity: What Really Happened When the Party Game Went Too Far
Why the "Full Pay" Machine Matters
Think about it. On a 9/6 machine, you’re getting a 50% better payout on flushes than an 8/5 machine. Over a four-hour session, that’s the difference between breaking even and being down $200. Experts like Bob Dancer, who has written extensively on video poker advantage play, have spent decades hammering this point home: you cannot out-strat a bad pay table.
The Basic Hierarchy of What to Keep
Most people mess up the mid-tier hands. Everyone knows to keep a Three of a Kind. That’s easy. But what do you do when you’re dealt a Low Pair (like 4s) versus two High Cards (like an Ace and a King)?
The math says you keep the Low Pair. Always.
It feels wrong. You want that Ace. But a Low Pair has a much higher statistical probability of turning into Three of a Kind, a Full House, or even Four of a Kind. High cards only give you a shot at a pair of Jacks or Better. You're playing for the win, not the "maybe I'll get my money back" consolation prize.
The Breakdown of Priority
- Pat Hands: If you have a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, or Four of a Kind, don't touch anything. Obviously.
- The Big Draws: Four cards to a Royal Flush is your next highest priority. Even if it means breaking up a Pair of Jacks. Yes, you read that right. The upside of the Royal outweighs the guaranteed win of the Jacks.
- The Boring Winners: Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind. Keep 'em.
- The "Workhorse" Hands: This is where the money is made. Two Pair and High Pairs (Jacks through Aces).
Honestly, the biggest mistake is overvaluing "inside" straights. If you have 4, 5, 7, 8—throw it all away. Unless you have three high cards or something else going on, an inside straight is a sucker's bet. You're looking for an open-ended straight (4, 5, 6, 7) where two different cards can complete the hand.
The Weird Edge Cases That Trip Everyone Up
Let’s talk about the "Kicker." In Texas Hold'em, a kicker is everything. In Jacks or Better strategy, a kicker is garbage. If you have a pair of Kings and an Ace, toss the Ace. Keeping it reduces your chances of drawing a third King. It’s a common rookie move. They think, "Well, if I get another Ace, I'll have two pair!"
Sure. But you’d rather have three Kings.
Then there’s the "Unsuited High Cards" dilemma. If you’re dealt a Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of different suits, you keep all four and go for the straight. But if you only have two of them? Keep the two lowest high cards if they are suited (like a Jack and Queen of hearts). If they aren't suited, keep the two lowest high cards. Why the lowest? Because it gives you more room to hit a straight on both ends.
High Card Magic
If you have three unsuited high cards, like Jack, Queen, King—keep all three. If you have Ace, King, Queen—keep all three. But the moment you drop to two, you have to be more selective. This is where the "Expert" level of play deviates from the "Beginner."
Variance is a Brutal Teacher
You can play perfectly and still lose for five hours straight. That’s variance.
Standard deviation in video poker is high because so much of the RTP is baked into the Royal Flush. Since you only hit a Royal roughly every 40,000 hands, you are technically playing a losing game until you hit it. This is why bankroll management is actually part of your Jacks or Better strategy.
You need enough "fuel" to reach the statistical destination.
If you’re playing dollars and only have $100, you’re going to bust before the math has a chance to work in your favor. You might as well be throwing your money in a blender. For a serious session, you want at least 200 to 300 "max bets" in your pocket.
Max Bet or Don't Bet
This is non-negotiable. Always play five coins.
The payout for a Royal Flush on a 1-coin bet is usually 250 to 1. On a 5-coin bet? It jumps to 800 to 1 (4,000 coins). That’s a massive "bonus" that the casino gives you for playing the max. If you can't afford to play five coins at the $1 level, move down to quarters. If you can't afford quarters, find a nickel machine.
Playing one coin at a $1 machine is mathematically worse than playing five coins at a $0.25 machine. Don't let your ego cost you money.
Real-World Practice Habits
You shouldn't be learning this on the casino floor. The lights and the free drinks are designed to make you lose focus. Use a trainer. There are plenty of free apps and websites that will flag your mistakes in real-time.
- Step 1: Learn the 9/6 chart until you can recite it in your sleep.
- Step 2: Practice on a software trainer until you hit "100% Accuracy" over 1,000 hands.
- Step 3: Only then do you sit down with real money.
I've seen guys who have played for thirty years still make "gut" plays. They'll hold a 10 and a Jack suited because they "feel a run coming." They're the ones funding the casino's neon bill. Don't be that guy.
Common Strategy Myths
Some people think the machine is "due." It isn't. Every hand is a fresh RNG (Random Number Generator) cycle. The machine doesn't care that you haven't had a pair in ten hands. It doesn't care that the person next to you just hit a Royal.
Another one? "The machine is cold." Machines aren't temperatures. They are math engines. The only thing that stays consistent is the probability of the draw. If you’re losing, it’s either bad luck or bad strategy. Usually, it’s a bit of both.
What to Do Right Now
To turn this from theory into actual profit, you need to take these specific steps before your next trip:
- Download a Video Poker Trainer: Look for one that specifically allows you to toggle "Jacks or Better" and "9/6" pay tables.
- Memorize the "High Card" Rules: Specifically, know when to keep two suited high cards vs. three unsuited high cards. This is the most common area for errors.
- Verify the Venue: Use sites like vpFREE2 to check which casinos in your area actually offer 9/6 or better machines. Don't waste time at a casino that only offers 7/5 or 6/5.
- Set a Loss Limit: Even with perfect play, you can hit a streak of bad cards. Decide on your "walk-away" number before you sit down and stick to it.
- Watch the Speed: Speed doesn't give you extra points. Take an extra two seconds on every hand to verify you aren't tossing a winning card by mistake.
Perfecting your Jacks or Better strategy takes discipline, but it's the only way to treat the casino like your own personal ATM. Study the charts, ignore your "feelings," and play the math.