Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is one of three principal Video Poker games that have been modified to create most of the games that are available today. It’s probably fair to consider Jacks or Better the mother of all Video Poker games and anywhere you find any Video Poker games it’s highly likely you’ll find Jacks or Better.

For ease of comparison, the below table displays the best House Edge for Jacks or Better available at each software provider;

* Due to assorted player and affiliate issues we do not recommend playing with any casino using BetOnSoft software.

** We don’t recommend playing with any casino using Bwin/Party software due to increased risk of player issues.

*** We don’t recommend playing with any casino using Dragonfish (888) software due to increased risk of player issues.

**** Due to assorted player and affiliate issues we do not recommend playing with any casino using Gamescale software.

***** 1 and 4 hand versions only. Other versions have a substantially poorer paytable.

****** Available at Bodog, Jackpot Capital and Deck Media groups.

******* We do NOT recommend playing with any SkillOnNet casinos due to software fairness issues that were previously detected on their Video Poker games.

******** Due to assorted player issues we do not recommend playing with any casino using TopGame software.

Online we’ve found Jacks or Better at all major software providers.  The paytables for the different softwares are displayed below;

Some notes on the tables below;

- We’ve included both the 5 coin House Edge and the House Edge when playing 1-4 coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are the same and as such only one figure is listed. To find the house edge/paytable for 2-4 coins just multiple the 1 coin figure by the number of coins.

Amaya

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.81%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

** The Jackpot values for this game are estimates only due to the low number of reference points we could find.

*** The breakeven value for this game is $8760.

BetSoft

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.91%.

Bwin/Party

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

* We consider the Bwin/Party group to be a poor choice for players and do not recommend any of their casinos.

Crytpologic

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.91%.

DGS

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

**Very limited information is available on this Jackpot. The only figure we’ve found is $1090 which equates to 4360 coins. We assume that the seed value is 4000 coins. If you have seen a higher Jackpot figure please email us a screenshot. The break even value for this jackpot is 8658 coins or $2165.

Dragonfish (888)

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.91%.

**Due to various player issues we do not recommend playing with any casino using Dragonfish software.

EGT

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.78%.

GameScale

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.27%.

** We do NOT recommend playing at any GameScale casinos. This group have various player issues and are associated with other disreputable behaviour.

GamesOS

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.78%.

GameSys

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.81%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at -0.01%.

*The negative House Edge value indicates a player advantage. As GameSys casinos take a 10% fee of net winnings at the end of any session, this figure is not representative of the actual situation.

IGT

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 0.46%.

**This paytable and associated House Edge is correct for all IGT Jacks or Better games but is only correct for Match Time Pay Jacks or Better if the bonus feature is disabled.

Microgaming

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

Net Entertainment

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.60%.

Novomatic

* The Novomatic Jacks or Better does not function on a multi-coin bases.

** The Jackpot values in the above table are drawn from our own observations and may not be the complete range of values.

*** The breakeven value for this jackpot is 14950. When looking at the different values for the Jackpot, divide the Jackpot figure by the bet size to get the Jackpot value.

OpenBet

* Only 5 coin variant available.

PlayNGo

[table id=256 /]

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.24%.

Playtech

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 5.09%.

** The negative house edge value indicates that the player has an edge over the house when the jackpot reaches a certain point. The breakeven point for this game is a jackpot of 8700 coins or $12750. The number of coins does not correlate to the jackpot value due to the fact that the full jackpot only pays on the first line. This means that to have an average jackpot across all lines of 8700 coins requires a far higher progressive jackpot.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

RealTime Gaming

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

* There are usually 3 paytable variants for RealTime Gaming software.  We’ve only encountered two Jacks or Better paytables at quality groups. There are relatively few RealTime Gaming casinos that we would recommend playing with and the paytables we have found have been taken from those few groups that maintain a positive reputation.

Rival

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

Saucify

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 0.46%.

SkillOnNet

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.91%.

** We do NOT recommend playing with any SkillOnNet casinos due to software fairness issues that were previously detected on their Video Poker games. The House Edge figures are only accurate if the game operates fairly.

TopGame

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

Vuetec

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

Wager Gaming Technologies

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

Quick Quads Jacks or Better variants

Quick Quads is a game variant that allows a 6th coin to be played that gives a boost to the 4 of a Kind payouts and when you receive 3 of a Kind and the additional 2 cards add up to the rank of the 3 of a Kind the hand is paid out as 4 of a Kind. We have not encountered Quick Quads at any online software providers.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.94%.

Ultimate X Bonus Poker variants

Ultimate X is a game variant that allows a 10 coin feature to be played that gives a multiplier to any win on the hand AFTER a winning hand. We have not encountered Ultimate X at any online software providers.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.24%.

Multi-Strike Bonus Poker variants

Multi-Strike Video Poker is a Video Poker variant that allows you to play 4 hands in a single round with an increasing win multiplier for each hand that you win. Multi-Strike Jacks Or Better Video Poker is available offline and online at download Microgaming casinos and Wager Gaming Technology casinos.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

* This game only offers a 1-4 coin variant and there is no bonus to the Royal Flush payout for playing the maximum number of coins. As such the House Edge for all coin variants is 1.43%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.49%.

Super Times Pay Bonus Poker Variants

Super Times Pay is a game variant that allows a 6th coin to be played that randomly awards hands a win multiplier of 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 10. We have not encountered Super Times Pay at any online software providers.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.63%.

IGT (Offline - Jacks or Better)

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at -10.39%.

** The negative House Edge value indicates a player advantage. As this particular paytable was taken from a site that works with IGT to offer Video Poker tournaments – giving a reason to want players to win in the long run - it seems unlikely the above paytable is actually deployed on casino floors.

Paytable Analyser

If you encounter a different paytable you can use our Paytable Analyser to find the House Edge for the game.

Strategy Calculator

To find out the correct play for individual hands use our Strategy Calculator which will tell you the correct cards to hold for the paytable you are playing.

Strategy Trainer

If you intend to play a lot of Aces & Faces we would advise learning the optimal strategy for the game you’ll be playing. Below you’ll find a strategy trainer that will allow you to practice the game and correct you when you make mistakes;

*All figures in this article rely on use of a strategy optimized to the specific paytable in use. Use of any other strategy will increase the House Edge. You can find the optimized strategy for any paytable using the calculators on this page.