Video poker strategy: Jacks or Better hold order
Video poker is the one machine where your choices change the return. A good pay table played well returns over 99%; careless holds drop it by several points.
Reviewed Oct 14, 2026
Answer first
90s| Pay table (full house / flush) | Return with best play | Cost per $100 played |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6 | 99.54% | $0.46 |
| 8/6 | 98.39% | $1.61 |
| 8/5 | 97.30% | $2.70 |
| 7/5 | 96.15% | $3.85 |
| 6/5 | 95.00% | $5.00 |
Key numbers
Why the pay table matters
In short
Key takeaways
- Read the full house and flush lines first. 9/6 means 9 for a full house and 6 for a flush per coin.
- Bet max coins on machines with a royal bonus. The royal jumps from 250 to 800 per coin.
- Hold order beats gut feel: a made pair of jacks or better almost always beats chasing a straight.
- Never hold a kicker next to a pair. It only lowers your chance of improving.
On the felt
Three common decisions
Low pair vs high cards
Hold 5-5. A low pair beats two unsuited high cards.
Four to a flush vs high pair
Hold J-J. A paying pair beats four to a flush.
Four to a royal
Break the aces. Hold A-K-Q-J of spades.
Each decision follows the hold order below. The machine never tells you when you made a mistake.
Playbook · Beginner
Jacks or Better hold order (simple version)
Tip 01
Royal, straight flush, four of a kind
Hold the made hand and draw nothing.
Tip 02
Four to a royal flush
Hold the four, even over a made flush or straight.
Tip 03
Full house, flush, straight, three of a kind
Hold the made hand.
Tip 04
Four to a straight flush
Hold the four.
Tip 05
Two pair
Hold both pairs and draw one.
Tip 06
High pair (jacks or better)
Hold the pair only.
Tip 07
Three to a royal flush
Hold the three.
Tip 08
Four to a flush
Hold the four.
Tip 09
Low pair
Hold the pair, ahead of high-card draws.
Tip 10
Nothing
Hold suited high cards first, then up to two unsuited high cards, otherwise draw five.
Pay table
Full-pay Jacks or Better (per coin)
Glance before you bet
| Hand | 1–4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 800 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 50 |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 25 |
| Full house | 9 | 9 |
| Flush | 6 | 6 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 3 |
| Two pair | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 1 |
Lower the 9 or the 6 and the machine becomes a short-pay version.
Watch outs
Mistakes that cost the most
01Holding a kicker
Keeping an ace with a pair cuts your chance of trips or two pair.
02Playing short coins
Under max coins the royal pays 250 per coin, worth about 1.6% of return.
03Chasing inside straights
Four to an inside straight is usually a draw-five hand in Jacks or Better.
04Ignoring the pay table
8/5 machines can sit right beside 9/6 ones on the same bank.
Why one coin on the flush matters
On 9/6 Jacks or Better a flush comes about once in 91 hands and a full house once in 87. Dropping each by one coin, to 8/5, costs about 2.2% of return.
That is why reading the pay table is the first step. Strategy then makes up the rest: a full-pay machine played badly can return less than a short-pay machine played well.
Keep reading
Related pages
Go play
Where to play in Las Vegas
Tap a resort — each row opens that casino’s White Gambling page (hours, game mix, floor facts). Venues with this game in official counts, sorted high to low.
Open a casino page
Real listings · not adsAfter the 90 seconds
Questions before and after you play
A 90-second guide cannot cover every table moment. Tap a group, then a question — answers are short paragraphs, not one-liners.
01Strategy
What is the best video poker strategy?
Find a full-pay machine, such as 9/6 Jacks or Better, bet max coins, and follow a hold chart. Played this way the game returns about 99.54%, close to break-even. Without the chart, typical players give back 2–4% more.
Should I hold a pair or go for a flush?
In Jacks or Better, hold a paying pair of jacks or better over four to a flush. Hold four to a flush over a low pair of twos through tens. The pair of jacks wins because it already pays and can still improve.
Should I always bet max coins?
On machines where the royal flush pays 800 per coin only at max bet, yes, if the bankroll allows. If max coins is too expensive, move down a denomination rather than play short coins.
What does 9/6 mean in video poker?
It is the pay per coin for a full house (9) and a flush (6). Those two lines tell you which version of Jacks or Better you are on. 9/6 is full pay; 8/5 and 6/5 are short-pay versions.
How often do you hit a royal flush in video poker?
With optimal strategy in Jacks or Better, about once every 40,000 hands. At 600 hands an hour that is roughly 67 hours of play.
02Machines
Is video poker better than slots?
Video poker with a good pay table usually returns much more than reel slots, often 97–99.5% versus around 88–94%. It also requires decisions; mistakes lower the return.
03More questions
What hands should I hold in Jacks or Better?
Hold any paying hand, four to a royal flush, and any pair. Then four to a flush, three to a royal, and suited high cards. With nothing, draw five new cards. The full chart above lists the order.
Can you win at video poker long term?
A few rare machines return over 100% with perfect play, and slot club points can add a little. For most machines and players the return stays below 100%, so you should expect to lose slowly over time.
Sources
- Wizard of Odds — Jacks or Better Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry)The gaming industry’s standard reference for casino-game math, by actuary Michael Shackleford. Not an official registry; our calculators compute these numbers independently. · accessed Oct 14, 2026Returns by pay table
- Nevada Gaming Control Board — Regulation 14 · accessed Oct 14, 2026Gaming device standards
- National Council on Problem Gambling — Help and resources Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026Free, confidential help: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER