Become a pro at Jacks or Better video poker game with this easy-to-follow strategy! Play online for free or for real money and beat the game even if you're a beginner. Jacks, also called jackstones, fivestones, or dibs, game of great antiquity and worldwide distribution, now played with stones, bones, seeds, filled cloth bags, or metal or plastic counters (the jacks), with or without a ball.The name derives from “chackstones”—stones to be tossed. The knuckle, wrist, or ankle bones (astragals) of goats, sheep, or other animals also have been used in play. Jacks or Better Simple Introduction The following strategy is my 'simple strategy' for jacks or better video poker. Using the strategy on a fullpay. Machine will result in an expected return of 99.46%.Compared to the optimal strategy return of 99.54%, mistakes in the simple strategy will cost 0.08%, or one total bet every 1178 hands. Let's get started by learning how to play the game: Rules. Blackjack is played with one or more standard 52-card decks, with each denomination assigned a point value. The cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value. Kings, queens, and jacks are each worth 10, and aces may be used as either 1 or 11.
This article is for those who don't know how to play Jacks or Better video Poker
Read the best Jacks or Better strategy tips before you play real money games
Today, I am going to share some useful Jacks or Better video poker strategy tips that will help you increase your win rate and enjoy more this exciting casino game.
Did you know that video poker has the highest payout percentage of all casino games?
While the house edge for typical casino games varies between 90 and 97 percent, video poker can offer up to 99.54 percent.
But only if you know what you're doing.
And for that, you need a good video poker strategy.
In this article, we will delve into my favorite variation of video poker - Jacks or Better (Draw Poker). I like it because of how simple and straightforward the game is.
(Another great game to play is Deuces Wild, but we'll keep that to another article.)
To play successfully (aka. to win), a sound Jacks or Better strategy is a must.
That's why today you are going to find out a few important things like:
how to reduce the house edge
how to make the best out of the cards you get
how to maximize your chances to win
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As for the rest of us, let's continue with the article!
The Importance of Poker Hands at Jacks or Better Strategy
If you want to become good at Jacks or Better video poker, you need to understand its card combinations.
It comes without saying that you must know the basic video poker rules for a solid start, and I recommend this article for that.
Now, let's check out the possible poker hands that result in winnings.
Royal Flush. It can't get any better than that. This hand has to include these cards: . Most games don't require them to be consecutive. All cards must be in the same suit.
Straight Flush. Five consecutive cards from the same suit. Example:.
Four of a Kind. Nothing complicated here: four cards of the same value. Example: .
Full House. You collect Full House when you receive five cards that are comprised of one pair and three of a kind. Example: .
Flush. Five cards of the same suit. Example:
Straight. Five cards that form a consecutive sequence. The suits are mixed.
Three of a Kind. You get Three of a Kind when you receive three cards of the same value. Example: .
Two Pair. Two pairs of two cards of the same value. Example: .
Jacks or Better. The easiest one to collect, this combination includes only one pair of jacks or a higher value. Example:
Suit abbreviations:
Spades (s) Hearts (h) Diamonds (d) Clubs (c)
Don't worry if you can't remember them all - these video Poker machines online include a table with the winning combinations and payouts.
And if you really want to go deeper on the subjects, here's the most complete poker hands chart on the internet.
The most important thing is to choose the casinos with the highest payment possibilities.
Tip: If a game has full payouts, it should pay two times your bet for Two Pairs.
How to Actually Play Jacks or Better Poker
If you've ever played Jacks or Better, you know that this is a casino game that depends on both luck and your choices - a characteristic, this one, that is common to all online poker machines.
It goes like this:
You get five cards and must choose the ones that you want to keep for the next round. You click 'deal', and get your final combination.
The problem is:
Which cards should you hold?
Luckily, this choice is not as difficult as it might seem. Below, I prepared an easy Jacks or Better strategy for beginners that you should use when dealing with your cards.
Jacks or Better Strategy Made Easy
Here are the main tips for a basic Jacks or Better poker strategy:
When you have four cards to a Straight or a Flush, hold all four of them and draw only one additional card.
When you have three cards to a Royal Flush, keep them! Draw two additional cards and you might be lucky.
Need only two more cards for a Straight Flush? Hold the three lucky cards you have and draw two more.
When you get a pair of cards, hold them and draw three additional cards. However, this tip is not always applicable.
If you have no matching cards in your hand, hold a card that is higher or equal of value to Jacks.
No combinations and no Jacks or higher? Draw five new cards.
The Problem of Low Pair Vs. High Pair
A couple of the main questions that most video poker players have are as follows:
When is it best to hold a low pair? When should I hold a high pair?
Let's take a look at what you should do in different situations.
Jacks or Better Poker Strategy: Low Pair
Usually, I suggest you keep all the low pairs you receive. However, there are certain situations when it's better to skip them.
When you have four to a Straight, always keep the pair that you got. Example: 55678. In this case, hold 55 and discard 678.
When you have three to a Straight Flush, keep the low pair. Example: 3h4h5h5s9c. Hold 5h and 5s.
When you have a low pair and two cards that could result in a Royal Flush… you should still hold the low pair! Example: 6s6h2cKhAh. Hold 6s and 6h and discard the rest.
Here are the cases when you should discard your low pair:
When you have three to a Royal Flush. The probability to get the best outcome is simply too high to keep the low pair. Example: 2sJhJsQsKs
In case you have four to a Flush, break that low pair! Example: 5d5h8d9dQd
Jacks or Better Game Strategy: High Pair
The crucial difference between a low pair and a high pair in video poker is that the latter is a guaranteed win.
However, there will be certain situations when you'll think that you need to break the pair for a bigger win.
BUT - a seemingly right decision can cost you your bet.
Here are the cases when you have to keep your high poker pair no matter what.
Note: A high pair consists of two cards of the same value (Jacks or higher).
Rules To Jacks - Fgbradleys.com
If you have four to a Flush and a high pair, hold the pair and draw three other cards. When an identical situation occurs with a low pair in hand, you should break it.
When you have four to a Straight, keep your high pair to have a higher chance to win.
If you have three to a Royal Flush, it is still better to hold the pair! The odds to get a Royal Flush are not high enough in this case.
It's more beneficial to keep the high pair when you have three to a Straight Flush. Over time, this will produce better results.
On the contrary, there is one case when you should break your high pay in Jacks or Better poker game:
When you have four to a Royal Flush. In this situation, it would be a waste not to do it as the odds are simply too high for that sweet winning sequence!
Note: As soon as you decide to use a video poker game strategy, stick to it. Whether you play online or at a land-based casino, discipline is your truest friend when it comes to beating Jacks or Better.
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Bowls, also know as lawn bowls, is a game involving bowls – almost-spherical ball-like objects with flattened sides and a weight bias – and jacks (a smaller ball, this time spherical in shape), in which the former are rolled (bowled) towards the latter on the bowling green. It can be played indoors or outside on grass or artificial surfaces and on flat (flat-green bowls) or convex (crown-green bowls) pitches (greens). It has a long history that stretches back to at least the 13th century and possibly earlier, with the world’s oldest surviving bowling green – the Southampton Old Bowling Green – dating way back to 1299.
It has had something of a coloured history too as it was seen by British monarchs such as Edward III, Richard II and Henry VIII banned the early versions of the game for fear that it would interfere with the archery practice of their troops.
The first set of rules, the 'Manual of Bowls Playing', was published in 1864 by a Glasgow cotton merchant named William Wallace Mitchell and formed the basis of the rules of the game as we know it today. Perhaps as a result of Mitchell’s rules, the home of the modern game is still in Scotland with the World Bowls Centre located in its capital Edinburgh.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is simple: to roll your bowls to as close a proximity to the jack as possible, and to ensure that one or more of your bowls are closer to the jack than any of those of your opponent.
Players & Equipment
The equipment required to get started with bowls is relatively simple too, starting with the level (or convex for crown-green) playing surface, foot mats and the jack. Players would also generally require shoes with flat soles and a set of bowls.
The Game Of Jacks History
The bowls themselves come in a variety of sizes but are generally around 1.5kg in weight and possess a bias in weight so they roll in a curved path, the precise judgement of which is where much of the challenge of the game lies.
The bowling green is usually split into individual “rinks” in which games are played as singles (one player against one other), pairs (two against two), triples or fours. The rinks are 4.3 to 5.8 metres wide and 31 to 40 metres long. There is a ditch at either end of the green which must be wide enough for bowls to be able to fall into it if they reach it.
Scoring
2 pair poker rules. A point is awarded to the player or team whose bowl is closest to the jack at the end of a round (or “end”). If a player or team has more than one bowl closer to the jack than their opponents, they will score the corresponding number of points.
Winning the Game
The number of points required to win a game varies from competition to competition, but commonly the first player or team to reach 21 points or to have accumulated the greater number of points after 18 or 21 ends is declared the winner.
Alternatively players could play “sets” whereby the first to score – for instance – seven points wins a set and the overall winner is the first to five sets (or an agreed number).
Rules of Bowls
Which player or team to bowl first is decided by the toss of a coin, after which the first bowler (the lead) places his/her mat and rolls the jack down the green.
The jack must travel at least 23 metres to be “in play” and is moved to the centre of the rink once it comes to rest.
The players then take turns to bowl, with points being scored by each bowl that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest bowl.
Upon completion of an end play recommences in the opposite direction (i.e. from the end at which the jack previously rested).
Bowls that fall into the ditch are disregarded, however close the jack may be to the ditch, unless they happen to touch the jack before going into the ditch. In that case they are still classified as in play.
If the jack is knocked into the ditch though within the side boundaries of the rink it is still “alive” and in play. If it passes over the side boundary of the rink (whether in the ditch or not) a “ dead end” is declared and the end is replayed with no scores being counted.
It is permissible – and often quite amusing! – to strike other players’ bowls with your own with the aim of gaining a strategic advantage.