Jacks or Better: A Strange Payout Table

21 February 2015

By Jerry Stickman

From Ron:

I found a video poker game at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville,
Oklahoma with a strange pay table. It was 250/50/25/12/6/4/3/2/1 for 1
coin.

The pay for 5 coins for a royal flush was 4000 coins. It was a
jacks or better, not a bonus game or anything like that. I have never
seen game with this weird paytable before and wasn't sure if it was a
decent game to play or not. Is this a good paytable to play? I don't
think it was a class 2 as I didn't see a bingo game on the screen.

Thanks - Ron

Hi Ron,

To say this is a strange pay table for Jacks or Better video poker is an understatement. I am basing return information on the following pay table based on your data,

Hand Pays w/1 Credit Pays w/5 Credits
Royal Flush 250 4000
Straight Flush 50 250
4 of a Kind 25 125
Full House 12 60
Flush 6 30
Straight 4 20
3 of a Kind 3 15
Two Pairs 2 10
Jacks or Better 1 5

While all other pays are the same as full pay Jacks or Better, this game has a very large pay for the full house at 12-for-1 instead of the standard 9-for-1. Since Oklahoma Indian casinos are allowed to provide both class II (Bingo-type) and class III (Las Vegas style) gaming, it is possible that this game is a class III game, and since you say there is no bingo card visible on the game it is very possible it is a class III game.

If this is a class III game, the return is a whopping 103 percent with a low variance of 20. While I cannot see how a casino would offer a game with this high a return, if it is legitimate (and it appears to be from your description), hop on this game and play it with a vengeance until they realize what they have done.

Keep in mind, however, that standard full-pay Jacks or Better strategy will have to be modified slightly to gain the maximum return.
Here are pay table and hand information for full-pay (9/6 – 9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush) Jacks or Better:

Jacks or Better “Full-Pay” – Payback: 99.54 Percent, Variance: 19.5
Hand 1 Credit 5 Credits
ROYAL FLUSH 250 4000
STRAIGHT FLUSH 50 250
4 OF A KIND 25 125
FULL HOUSE 9 45
FLUSH 6 30
STRAIGHT 4 20
3 OF A KIND 3 15
2 PAIR 2 10
JACKS OR BETTER 1 5

Hand 5 Credits Pay Occurs Every % Return
ROYAL FLUSH 4000 40,390 1.98
STRAIGHT FLUSH 250 9,148 0.55
4 OF A KIND 125 423 5.91
FULL HOUSE 45 87 10.36
FLUSH 30 91 6.61
STRAIGHT 20 89 4.49
3 OF A KIND 15 13 22.33
2 PAIR 10 8 25.86
JACKS OR BETTER 5 5 21.46
NO WIN 0 2 0.0

Using the "Video Poker for Winners" program and combining some lines for simplicity, here is the strategy for full-pay Jacks or Better.

Strategy For 9/6 (Full-Pay) Jacks or Better
1. 4-of-a-Kind or Better
2. 4 Cards of a Royal Flush
3. 3-of-a-Kind or Better
4. 4 Cards of a Straight Flush
5. High Pair (JJ-AA) or Better
6. Two Pair
7. 3 Cards of a Royal Flush
8. 4 Cards of a Flush
9. KQJT (Straight)
10. Low Pair (22-TT)
11. QJT9, JT98 (Straights)
12. Suited QJ9, JT9
13. 4 Cards of an Open Straight (0 High Cards)- 2345-789T
14. Suited KQ9, KJ9, QJ8, QT9, JT8, J98
15. 3-Card Open Straight Flush- Suited 345 – 89T
16. Suited QJ
17. AKQJ (Straight)
18. Suited KQ, KJ, AK, AQ, AJ
19. Any 3-card Straight Flush exc. 0 High Cards & 2 gaps
20. 4-Card Inside Straight – 3 High Cards
21. KQJ, QJ
22. Suited JT
23. KQ, KJ
24. Suited QT
25. AK, AQ, AJ
26. Suited KT
27. 1 High Card (J-A)
28. Any 3-card Straight Flush
29. Draw 5 New Cards

To use this strategy chart, compare the dealt hand to the chart starting with the top row and continuing down one row at a time until you find the cards in your hand listed. Hold the cards listed in that row and hit the draw button. If you make it to the bottom on the chart without finding your hand, simply hit the draw button without holding any cards.

Now, here are pay table and hand information for the Oklahoma game your inquired about.

Jacks or Better Oklahoma Version (12/6) – Payback: 103.00 Percent, Variance: 20.1
Hand 1 Credit 5 Credits
ROYAL FLUSH 250 4000
STRAIGHT FLUSH 50 250
4 OF A KIND 25 125
FULL HOUSE 12 60
FLUSH 6 30
STRAIGHT 4 20
3 OF A KIND 3 15
2 PAIR 2 10
JACKS OR BETTER 1 5

Hand 5 Credits Pay Occurs Every % Return
ROYAL FLUSH 4000 40,524 1.97
STRAIGHT FLUSH 250 9,155 0.55
4 OF A KIND 125 423 5.91
FULL HOUSE 60 87 13.82
FLUSH 30 91 6.61
STRAIGHT 20 89 4.49
3 OF A KIND 15 13 22.34
2 PAIR 10 8 25.86
JACKS OR BETTER 5 5 21.46
NO WIN 0 2 0.0

Using the "Video Poker for Winners" program and combining some lines for simplicity, here is the strategy for the Oklahoma version (12/6) of Jacks or Better. The lines where the strategy differs are shaded in gray.

Strategy For Oklahoma 12/6 Jacks or Better
1. 4-of-a-Kind or Better
2. 4 Cards of a Royal Flush
3. 3-of-a-Kind or Better
4. Two Pair
5. 4 Cards of a Straight Flush
6. High Pair (JJ-AA) or Better
7. 3 Cards of a Royal Flush, exc AKT, AQT, or AJT
8. 4 Cards of a Flush w/2 High Cards
9. Suited AKT, AQT, AJT (3 Cards of a Royal Flush)
10. 4 Cards of a Flush (any)
11. KQJT (Straight)
12. Low Pair (22-TT)
13. QJT9, JT98 (Straights)
14. Suited QJ9, JT9
15. 4 Cards of an Open Straight (0 High Cards)- 2345-789T
16. Suited KQ9, KJ9, QJ8, QT9, JT8, J98
17. 3-Card Open Straight Flush- Suited 345 – 89T
18. Suited QJ
19. AKQJ (Straight)
20. Suited KQ, KJ, AK, AQ, AJ
21. Any 3-card Straight Flush exc. 0 High Cards & 1 or 2 gaps
20. 4-Card Inside Straight – 3 High Cards
21. 3-Card Inside Straight Flush 0 High Cards, 1 Gap
22. KQJ, QJ
23. Suited JT
24. KQ, KJ
24. Suited QT
25. AJ
26. J
27. AQ
28. Q
29. AK
30. Suited KT
27. K, A
28. Any 3-card Straight Flush
29. Draw 5 New Cards

As you can see, the minor change of three extra credits for a Full House causes a few changes to the strategy, but they are relatively minor changes. It is certainly worth the effort learning this strategy for the great returns on this game.

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

Jerry “Stickman”