Jacks or Better versus Bonus Poker II

24 September 2022

By Jerry Stickman

[Review: An article promoting full-pay (8/5) Bonus Poker as a good alternative when full-pay (9/6) Jacks or Better cannot be found was recently posted on this website. The article stated that in addition to a good return (99.17 versus 99.54 percent) and low variance, playing strategy is also nearly identical.]

I thought it might be interesting to explore playing strategy differences and similarities.

This is the second of several strategy quizzes on the differences (or lack thereof) between the strategy for various hands played on full-pay Jacks or Better and full-pay Bonus Poker. All hands assume the maximum bet of five credits.

Let’s begin quiz number two.

You are dealt this hand: Ah, Kh, Jc, Td, 8s.

There are only two reasonable holds for this hand. They are four cards of an inside straight with three high cards (Ah, Kh, Jc, Td), and two cards of a royal flush (Ah, Kh).

What would you hold playing full-pay Jacks or Better?

The top holds in order of decreasing return are:

• Ah, Kh – returns 2.8723 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.
• Ah, Kh, Jc, Td – returns 2.6596 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.

Holding the two cards of a royal flush is the proper hold for Jacks or Better.

Now let’s look at Bonus Poker.

The top holds in order of decreasing return are:

• Ah, Kh – returns 2.8332 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.
• Ah, Kh, Jc, Td – returns 2.6596 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.

Holding the two cards of a royal flush is the proper hold for Bonus Poker.

The strategy for this hand is identical whether playing Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker.

A vast majority of hands have the same strategy regardless of the game, Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker.

Simply using the Jacks or Better strategy while playing Bonus Poker will give somewhat close results.

However, those differences add up. Even though the strategies are nearly identical, make sure you are comfortable with all the strategy differences before switching to a different game.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of "Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker!" You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerryg@gmail.com