Jacks or Better 8/5 strategy
With perfect play at max bet (5 coins), Jacks or Better 8/5 returns 97.298%. The Easy chart below has 15 lines and returns 97.199%; the Best chart has 28 lines and returns 97.296%. Even played perfectly, the machine keeps 2.702% of every bet over the long run.
Paytable and hand odds
| Hand | 1 coin | 5 coins | One in | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 4,000 | 40,170 | 1.99% |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 250 | 9,288 | 0.54% |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 125 | 423 | 5.91% |
| Full House | 8 | 40 | 87 | 9.21% |
| Flush | 5 | 25 | 92 | 5.45% |
| Straight | 4 | 20 | 89 | 4.49% |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 15 | 13.4 | 22.34% |
| Two Pair | 2 | 10 | 7.7 | 25.86% |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 5 | 4.6 | 21.51% |
| No win | 1.8 | |||
| Total | 97.30% |
Payouts for 1 coin and for 5 (the max bet, which pays the royal flush bonus). How often each hand comes up and its share of the return assume perfect play at max bet.
Easy strategy
Short and easy to remember. Hold the first hand on the list that you have.
- 1Royal flush, straight flush or four of a kindA♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥
- 24 to a royal flushK♠Q♠J♠10♠
- 3Full house, flush, straight or three of a kind7♣7♦7♥
- 44 to a straight flush5♥6♥7♥8♥
- 5Two pair9♣9♦4♥4♠
- 6High pair (jacks or better)J♠J♥
- 73 to a royal flushK♥Q♥J♥
- 84 to a flush2♦6♦9♦K♦
- 9Low pair (2s through 10s)5♠5♥
- 104 to an open-ended straight5♥6♦7♣8♥
- 112 suited high cardsK♣Q♣
- 123 to a straight flush5♣7♣8♣
- 132 high cards (with 3 or more, the two lowest)K♦J♣
- 14Suited 10 with a J, Q or K10♥J♥
- 15One high cardQ♣
- 16Nothing: draw five new cards
Checked against all 2,598,960 deals: this chart returns 97.199% (perfect play: 97.298%) and makes the best play on 97.63% of hands.
Best strategy
Every exception, for the highest return. Hold the first hand on the list that you have.
- 1Royal flush, straight flush or four of a kindA♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥
- 24 to a royal flushK♠Q♠J♠10♠
- 3Full house, flush, straight or three of a kind7♣7♦7♥
- 44 to a straight flush5♥6♥7♥8♥
- 5Two pair9♣9♦4♥4♠
- 6High pair (jacks or better)J♠J♥
- 73 to a royal flushK♥Q♥J♥
- 84 to a flush2♦6♦9♦K♦
- 910-J-Q-K, mixed suits10♣J♦Q♥K♠
- 10Low pair (2s through 10s)5♠5♥
- 114 to an open-ended straight5♥6♦7♣8♥
- 123 to a straight flush with at least as many high cards as gaps8♠9♠J♠
- 13A-K-Q-J, mixed suitsA♣K♦Q♥J♠
- 14Suited Q-JQ♦J♦
- 15Suited K-Q or K-JK♣Q♣
- 16Suited A-K, A-Q or A-JA♥Q♥
- 174 to an inside straight with 3 high cardsK♣Q♦J♥9♠
- 183 to a straight flush, one high card short of the gaps (or using a 2 or a low ace)5♣7♣8♣
- 19J-Q-K, mixed suitsJ♣Q♦K♥
- 20J-Q, mixed suitsJ♠Q♥
- 21Suited 10-J10♥J♥
- 22K-Q or K-J, mixed suitsK♦J♣
- 23A-K, A-Q or A-J, mixed suitsA♣K♥
- 24Suited 10-Q10♠Q♠
- 25A single J, Q or KQ♣
- 26Suited 10-K10♦K♦
- 27A single aceA♦
- 283 to a straight flush, two high cards short of the gaps3♥5♥7♥
- 29Nothing: draw five new cards
Checked against all 2,598,960 deals: this chart returns 97.296% (perfect play: 97.298%) and makes the best play on 99.51% of hands.
How we computed this
For every one of the 2,598,960 possible deals, the simulator counts every possible draw for all 32 ways to hold the cards, and keeps the hold with the highest average return. Nothing is sampled, so these numbers are exact. Each chart is then played over the same 2,598,960 deals and compared with perfect play.
High cards are J, Q, K and A. A gap is a missing rank inside a run: 8-9-J has one gap. With three high cards including an ace, keep the two lowest.