In my opinion many online casinos are too stingy when setting the odds on their games. They think they will make more money that way but I believe they are misguided, because when players lose too quickly it's not fun, and those players might not come back.
Bodog is one of the few casinos that understands this. They offer generous odds to let you play longer and get you a better chance of winning. Among their generous offerings are Full-Pay Jacks or Better returning 99.54%, six other video poker games paying over 99%, single-zero roulette, two blackjack variants with a house edge under 0.2%, and my favorite, Pick 'em Poker, returning 99.95%!
Kudos to Bodog for not being afraid to give their players a good gamble.(Visit Bodog)
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Jacks or Better Simple Strategy
Last update: Sep 24, 2001
The following strategy is my "simple strategy" for jacks or
better video poker. Using the strategy on a full
pay machine will result in an expected return of 99.46%.
Compared to the optimal strategy return of 99.54%, mistakes
in the simple strategy will cost 0.08%, or one total bet
every 1178 hands.
To use the strategy look up all viable ways to play an
initial hand on the following list and elect that which is
highest on the list. A "high card" means a jack or
higher.
Four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush
4 to a royal flush
Three of a kind, straight, flush, full house
4 to a straight flush
Two pair
High pair
3 to a royal flush
4 to a flush
Low pair
4 to an outside straight
2 suited high cards
3 to a straight flush
2 unsuited high cards (if more than 2 then pick the lowest 2)
Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K
One high card
Discard everything
Terms:
High card: A jack, queen, king, or ace. These
cards are retained more often because if paired up they
return the original bet.
Outside straight: An open ended straight that can
be completed at either end, such as the cards 7,8,9,10.
Inside straight: A straight with a missing inside
card, such as the cards 6,7,9,10. In addition A,2,3,4 and
J,Q,K,A also count as inside straights because they are at
an extreme end.
Example: Suppose you have the following hand.
The top three plays are (1) keep the low pair, (2) keep
the 4 to a flush, and (3) keep the 2 suited high cards. The
4 to a flush is listed highest and is thus the best play, so
discard the 3 of hearts.
Comparison to Optimal Strategy
The following table compares the probability and return
of each hand under both the simple strategy and the optimal
strategy.
Simple Strategy to Optimal Strategy
Comparison
Hand
Pays
Probability
Return
Simple
Optimal
Simple
Optimal
Royal flush
800
0.000025
0.000025
0.020076
0.019807
Straight flush
50
0.000111
0.000109
0.005552
0.005465
Four of a kind
25
0.002363
0.002363
0.059067
0.059064
Full house
9
0.011517
0.011512
0.103657
0.10361
Flush
6
0.011087
0.011015
0.066521
0.066087
Straight
4
0.010637
0.011229
0.042547
0.044917
Three of a kind
3
0.074543
0.074449
0.223629
0.223346
Two pair
2
0.129552
0.129279
0.259104
0.258558
Pair
1
0.214437
0.214585
0.214437
0.214585
Nothing
0
0.545729
0.545435
0
0
Total
1
1
0.99459
0.995439
The next table is a frequency distribution of the error,
or difference in expected return, between the simple
strategy and the optimal strategy.
Jacks or Better Simple Strategy
