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HOW TO PLAY JACKS OR BETTER VIDEO POKER
Jacks
or Better is a video poker game where you are dealt 5 cards and
you must decide whether to hold all 5 cards or discard any of the
5. To win even money you must get at least a pair of Jacks or
better, (that must be where the name comes from :-)). The next
best hand you can get is:
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2
pairs
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then
3 of a kind
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a
straight (5 cards in order, i.e. 4,5,6,7,8)
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a
flush (all 5 cards are the same suit)
-
a
full house (3 of a kind plus a pair)
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4 of
a kind
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and
a straight flush (cards in order and of the same suit)
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The
very best hand you can get is the royal flush. You have hit a
royal when you have four face cards plus the 10, all of the same
suit.
TIPS FOR PLAYING
Keep
any hand that already pays. Possible exceptions, by potential
value, are:
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Hold four card Royal Flushes to make Straights or Flushes.
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Four card straight flushes, inside or outside.
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High card Pairs rank here.
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Three card Royal Flushes.
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Four card Flushes.
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Low Pairs rank here, trying to build Three Of A Kind.
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Four card Flushes.
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Four card Straights. Hold inside Straights only if you've got
three or more high cards (J, Q, K, A).
If
you've got nothing worth money, here's a general strategy, in
order of preference:
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Keep any two suited high cards. Discard unsuited high cards.
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Four mixed-suit high cards:
keep any three suited, toss the unsuited.
otherwise, keep them all.
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Three unsuited high cards:
keep all three of K-Q-J.
with A-K-J or A-Q-J, discard the A.
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Keep any two unsuited high cards.
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Keep any single high card.
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