Jacks or Better Cheat Sheet
Have you ever been playing video poker and wondered “should I keep this flush or take the risk and go for the straight flush?” This Jacks or Better strategy card will be your new best friend.
Download The Jacks or Better Video Poker Strategy Card in PDF
How to Use the Jacks or Better Strategy Card
Video poker is always played the same way. You are dealt 5 cards (your starting hand). You then choose which ones of the 5 you wish to keep, and then receive new cards to replace the ones you decided to discard.
When you download the cheat sheet, you will see that it is basically a list of possible starting hands labeled 1 – 16. These hands are ordered from the best (number 1) to worst (number 16) possible starting hands.
When you sit down to a new game of Jacks or Better video poker, have your strategy card ready. When you are dealt your first 5 cards, look to the cheat sheet and find the highest possible hand listed which corresponds to your cards. Choose to keep those cards, and then draw. You will have made the best decision possible given the cards you were dealt.
Real World Video Poker Example
For example, let’s say you are dealt the following hand:
If I look at the strategy card, I see that the best hand I can make out of this is “two suited high cards” using the Jack and the Ace of hearts. Two suited high cards are number 11 on the video poker strategy card.
Let’s look at another example. Let’s say you are dealt the same cards, except the 8 and the 4 aren’t diamonds; instead, they are hearts:
You still have the same Jack and Ace of hearts, but now because you have 4 cards that are hearts, you can now make a hand that is ranked higher on the strategy card than the two suited high cards. If you notice, due to the 4 hearts, you also have a “4 to a flush”, which is number 8 on the video poker strategy card, out-ranking the “two suited high cards”.
Every time that you are dealt your starting hand, simply look to the strategy card and figure out the highest-ranking hand you can make with the cards you are dealt. Keep those cards, and you will always have made the highest odds decision given the situation.
Final Thoughts
How has this video poker cheat sheet helped you? What other games do you want a video poker strategy card for? Let me know in the comment section below! Also you can try your new skills on the Planet7oz.org
If you liked this video poker cheat sheet, you may also be interested in online slots versus online video poker, how to double your video poker winnings, video poker myths, the video poker glossary, or video poker risk of ruin.