Jacks or Better versus Bonus Poker Quiz III

1 October 2022

By Jerry Stickman

[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 here. 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 third 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 five credit bet.

Let’s begin quiz number three.

You are dealt this hand: As, Kh, Qd, Jd, 5c.

This hand has only two reasonable holds: a four-card, ace-high straight (As, Kh, Qd,
Jd) and two cards of a royal flush (Qd, Jd).

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

The holds in order of decreasing return are:

? Qd, Jd – returns 3.0019 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.
? As, Kh, Qd, Jd – returns 2.9787 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 holds in order of decreasing return are:

? As, Kh, Qd, Jd – returns 2.9787 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.
? Qd, Jd – returns 2.9463 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.

Holding the four-card, ace-high straight is the proper hold for Bonus Poker.

For this particular hand, the strategy is different between Jacks or Better and Bonus
Poker.

While the difference in return appears to be fairly small, it does add up.

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