Jacks Or Better

By far the most common variation you will find in the game of video poker is that of Jacks or Better. In fact, you will likely not find any online casino carrying video poker that doesn't have it.

An examination of the Jacks or Better game illustrates another major difference between video poker and what may be considered "traditional poker." The minimum hand that pays anything in this game is a pair of Jacks. A pair of tens, for example, gets nothing for the player.

Another major difference is that once you have achieved the minimum of Jacks, a pair is a pair, no matter what that pair is. In this game, a pair of Kings is no more meaningful than a pair of Queens. A pair of sevens carries no more weight than a pair of twos. Beyond the Jacks requirement, you are not being paid on the basis of the rank of the card, but instead on the TYPE of hands you have. You are being paid for two pair, a full house, a straight or a flush, regardless of what those pairs, full houses, straights or flushes have in them. Three Kings aren't any more valuable to the player than three sevens. A 2,3,4,5, and 6 is just as good as a 7,8,9,10, and Jack.

So in that way it departs from the brands of poker most of us are familiar with, to say the least.

If you employ proper strategy in the Jacks or Better game, the house advantage you're going to encounter is about the same as you might face by employing perfect Basic Strategy in a game of blackjack. That's not a bad deal.