Video Poker Strategy: 9/6 Jacks or Better
The correct hold for every hand, ranked by expected value and computed by an engine validated against all 2,598,960 five-card hands. Learn this game first — every other game is a variation on its order.
The whole strategy in one line
Look at your dealt hand, find the highest entry on the chart below that you can make, and hold exactly those cards. Always play five coins. Perfect play returns 99.54% — giving up only 46 cents per $100 cycled.
The pay table
| Hand | Per coin | Max (5 coins) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 4,000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 250 |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 125 |
| Full house | 9 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 15 |
| Two pair | 2 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 5 |
The strategy chart: every hold in order
The complete 9/6 Jacks or Better chart, every play ranked by expected value per coin. Look at your dealt hand, find the highest entry here you can make, and hold exactly those cards.
| # | Hold | EV / coin |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Four aces | 25.00 |
| 02 | Four 2s–4s | 25.00 |
| 03 | Four 5s–Ks | 25.00 |
| 04 | 4 to a royal | 19.55 |
| 05 | Full house | 9.00 |
| 06 | Flush | 6.00 |
| 07 | Three aces | 4.30 |
| 08 | Three of a kind | 4.30 |
| 09 | Straight | 4.00 |
| 10 | 4 to a straight flush | 3.53 |
| 11 | Two pair | 2.60 |
| 12 | High pair (JJ+) | 1.54 |
| 13 | 3 to a royal | 1.34 |
| 14 | 4 to a flush | 1.21 |
| 15 | Low pair | 0.82 |
| 16 | 4 to an outside straight | 0.68 |
| 17 | Two suited high cards | 0.60 |
| 18 | One high card | 0.47 |
The plays that cost the most
- Break a made flush to hold four to a royal. Four to the royal is worth 19.55 vs keeping the flush at 6.00 — taking the flush costs 13.55 in expected value.
- Keep a high pair over three to a royal. The pair is worth 1.54 vs 1.49 for three to a royal — a genuinely close call the chart settles.
- Keep a low pair over a four-card open straight. Low pair 0.82 vs open straight 0.68 — hold the pair.
Common questions
Do I really have to memorize all 18 lines?
No. In practice a handful of close calls decide almost all of your mistakes. Learn the order roughly, then drill the borderline holds in the trainer — a high pair vs a flush draw, breaking a flush for a royal — until they are automatic.
Does this chart work for every game?
It is exact for 9/6 Jacks or Better. Other games shift the order — bonus games reward four of a kind far more, and wild-card games like Deuces Wild play very differently. Use the chart that matches your machine.
What does the number next to each play mean?
It is the expected value per coin of that hold, computed by the engine. When two plays are possible from one dealt hand, holding the higher number is the correct play.