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Jacks or Better: pay tables, RTP and basic strategy
How to play Jacks or Better video poker, how to read 9/6 and 8/5 pay tables, the return each one offers and the strategy rules that matter most.
- The pay table decides the return. “9/6” means a full house pays 9 and a flush pays 6 per coin; that version returns 99.54% with optimal play.
- An 8/5 machine returns 97.30%, more than five times the house edge of 9/6.
- Always bet five coins if you play at all: the royal flush jumps from 250 to 800 per coin at maximum bet.
How the game works
You are dealt five cards from a 52-card deck, choose which to hold, and the rest are replaced once. The final hand is paid from the pay table. The lowest paying hand is a pair of jacks, which returns your stake.
Reading the pay table
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 |
| Straight flush | 50 |
| Four of a kind | 25 |
| Full house | 9 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a kind | 3 |
| Two pair | 2 |
| Jacks or better | 1 |
Casinos change the return by lowering the full house and flush lines and leaving the rest alone, which is why versions are named by those two numbers.
| Version (full house / flush) | RTP | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| 9/6 | 99.54% | 0.46% |
| 9/5 | 98.45% | 1.55% |
| 8/6 | 98.39% | 1.61% |
| 8/5 | 97.30% | 2.70% |
| 7/5 | 96.15% | 3.85% |
| 6/5 | 95.00% | 5.00% |
Strategy rules that carry most of the value
- Keep any paying hand of two pair or better, with one exception: break a flush or straight only for four cards to a royal flush.
- Hold a high pair (jacks to aces) over four cards to a flush or straight.
- Hold four cards to a flush over a low pair; hold a low pair over four cards to an open straight.
- Never keep a “kicker” with a pair.
- With nothing better, hold two suited high cards, then any two high cards, then a single jack or better. With no high cards, draw five.
These rules get close to the published return. A complete strategy chart ranks about thirty hand types in order.
What the RTP figure assumes
The return is theoretical and assumes perfect holds on every hand, maximum coins and a very long series of plays. About two percentage points of it come from the royal flush, which appears roughly once in 40,000 hands, so short sessions usually run below the headline figure.
Other video poker games such as Deuces Wild or Bonus Poker use different pay tables and different strategies. A Jacks or Better chart does not transfer.
Common questions
What does 9/6 Jacks or Better mean?
A full house pays 9 coins and a flush pays 6 coins per coin bet. It is the full-pay version, returning 99.54% with optimal strategy.
What is the RTP of Jacks or Better?
It depends on the pay table: 99.54% for 9/6, 98.45% for 9/5, 97.30% for 8/5 and lower for weaker versions, assuming optimal play at maximum coins.
Should you always bet max coins?
If you play, yes. The royal flush pays 250 per coin at one to four coins but 800 per coin at five, and that bonus is part of the published return.
Sources
Checked 11 November 2026. Rules and published figures change; confirm against the current official page before relying on them.
Publication byline. Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the linked sources; see our editorial standards. This page is information, not advice, and contains no affiliate links.