Full Pay Jacks or Better Video Poker or Something Else?

18 September 2012

By Jerry Stickman

Jerry Stickman,

I recently went to the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, NY and I was so excited to see a "Full Pay 9/6 Jacks or Better" video poker machine. I hit for a straight flush and that's when I realized this was not a full pay machine.

Although it paid 9/6, I only got paid 60 and not 90 for a straight flush. My question is like this. What is the payback percentage for this game all things being equal except for the 60 and not 90.

I know that a full pay, played correctly, pays 99.54%. Also, would you recommend playing this version even though it is not a "Full Pay" version. Lastly, does the basic strategy of the game change with this payout? If so, what changes? I use the strategy given by the wizardofodds.com.

Thank you
Charlie


Dear Charlie,

All Jacks or Better games that I know pay 50-for-1 for a straight flush, not 60-for-1 or 90-for-1.

That being said, most New York casinos are only allowed to have what are called Class II games. These are bingo type games sometimes call Video Lottery Terminals or VLT’s.

When playing a class II game, the pay tables and playing strategy mean absolutely nothing. In reality you are playing a bingo game on a central server and that central server completes the bingo game and determines your win.

It is not like the games in Atlantic City or Las Vegas that are randomly dealt from a 52-card deck. It doesn’t matter if you save everything or discard everything you will always win what the server determines.

If you are going to play class II games, save yourself the frustration of trying to play proper strategy, just sit down at a slot machine. Your results will be the same in the long run.

To answer your question, if the game was actually a class III game and the only difference in the pay table from normal full-pay (9/6) was 60-for-1 for a straight flush, the return would increase to 99.65 percent. The strategy would change very slightly.

May all your wins be swift and large and all your losses slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack, video poker and advantage slot machine play. The “Stickman” is also a certified instructor for Golden Touch Craps. You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanGTC@aol.com