Before you start playing Jacks or Better video poker, it's important to familiarise yourself with the hand rankings. Knowing the hand rankings is an essential part of learning jacks or better strategy; without a clear understanding of what hands beat what, you won't know how to make the best decision.
Below, we've listed each possible winning hand in five-card poker, starting with the strongest and ending with the weakest.
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Royal Flush: The cards ace through ten all of the same suit (e.g. AhKhQhJhTh).
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Straight Flush: Five cards in sequential order all of the same suit (e.g. 4d5d6d7d8d).
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Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank (e.g. AdAsAhAc8d).
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Full House: Three cards of the same rank with two other cards of the same rank (e.g. 5h5d5s2h2c).
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Flush: Five cards of the same suit (e.g. QcJc7c5c2c).
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Straight: Five cards in sequential order, not of the same suit (e.g. 3h4c5d6s7d).
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Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g. 6d6s6h9dJc).
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Two Pair: Two sets of two cards of the same rank (e.g. KcKhJsJc5d).
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High Pair (Jacks or Better): A pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces (e.g. QdQh9s7d4h).
There are two additional hand rankings that are available in Jacks or Better video poker:
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Low Pair (Tens or Lower): A pair of tens through deuces (e.g. 7d7c6dJdAc).
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High Card: Five cards of different ranks and suits, not in sequential order (e.g. Ad9d8cJs3h).
Neither of these hands are paying hands, so they're often ignored when people play Jacks or Better video poker for real money.
Payout Tables
Each version of Jacks or Better has its own paytable that dictates how much you win every time you make a qualifying hand. Remember, each game has different payouts, so check the table before you play. Here's an example of a paytable for the 9/6 full pay version of Jacks or Better:
| Hand |
Payout |
| 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 |
| Tens or Lower |
0 |
