Jacks or Better 9/6

Jacks or Better is a one-draw video poker game where the lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks or better. Its versions are named after the pay table: what a full house and a flush pay per coin bet.

How the game works

The machine deals five cards. The player decides which cards to hold and which to discard, the discarded cards are replaced once, and the final hand is scored based on the pay table.

How to read the pay table

A pay table shows the payouts for each winning hand based on the coins wagered. The 9/6 notation means a full house pays 9 units for every coin wagered, while a flush pays 6. Running down the scale, a straight flush pays 50 for one coin and 250 for five coins. Four of a kind pays 25, 50, 75, 100, or 125 as the coins wagered go from one to five. A full house pays 9, 18, 27, 36 or 45. Three of a kind pays 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15. Two pair pays 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10. And a pair of jacks or better pays 1 time the bet regardless of the number of coins wagered.

A royal flush is the game's top-paying hand, paying 250, 500, 750 and 1000 coins for one to four coins, and 4000 coins, 800 per coin, when five coins are played.

Why 9/6 matters

The 9/6 notation is shorthand for the full-pay version of Jacks or Better that pays out the most. The 9/6 pay table returns 99.54% of the money bet if the player follows an optimal strategy. This high return is what draws players to look for this game in casinos or online.

What 8/5 means

The 8/5 version of the game pays out less, as 8 and 5 are the payouts for a full house and a flush. With perfect strategy it returns about 97.30%.

What happens to the return when the strategy is not optimal? It is lower than these figures on either table.

Bottom line for players

Jacks or Better isn't always 9/6. If you are looking for high returns, look for the 9/6 pay table. That table returns 99.54% when the strategy is optimal.

Lower-paying 8/5 tables reduce the return to about 97.30%. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, always look at the pay table before betting.

18+. Gambling can be addictive: the National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133.