Jacks or Better Power Poker is an online video poker variant from Microgaming, but it’s not a standard game – players bet on four poker hands simultaneously instead of just one. This version was released as part of the gaming studio’s Power Poker series, which features several multi-hand video poker games.
Rules and Gameplay
As its name suggests, the game is played just like Jacks or Better and follows the standard rules of video poker. Cards are dealt from a single deck and shuffled before every deal. Apart from the multi-hand format, which we explain in the following section, this is a regular video poker variant.
Each round consists of two deals. After the first deal, players may replace as many cards as they wish to create a winning poker hand. The payouts are standard and depend on the strength of the hand, while the Gamble feature lets players try to double their winnings after a successful round.
Paytable and Specific Features
Hand | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
4 of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
3 of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
2 Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Straight | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
3 of a Kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or Better Power Poker is played with four hands simultaneously, and each hand is dealt from its own deck, so the odds are identical for every hand. However, players should note that they cannot disable the multi-hand play; before each round, their total wager is multiplied by the number of hands – in this case, by four.
Once the round begins, players receive a decision hand from which they can choose to hold or discard cards. When they click the Draw button, the cards they decide to keep appear in the same positions across all four hands, while all other positions are filled with new cards. Players do not wager on the decision hand; its sole purpose is to help them decide how to play the cards they are dealt.
Conclusion
Even with four hands in play, Microgaming’s Jacks or Better Power Poker has a fixed RTP of 99.54%, the same return offered by the standard single-hand version of Jacks or Better.