SmartHold
8 / 5
JACKS, WITH QUAD UPSIDE
Bonus Poker
Strategy guide
Most everyday Jacks or Better holds stay the same. The quad bonuses pay for a full house and a flush that are each worth one credit less.
Built for 8/5 Bonus Poker.
REMEMBER THESE
The three rules that move the game
01
Start with the Jacks ladder
Almost every hold is unchanged, which makes Bonus Poker the easiest variant to learn second. The changes often involve close expected-return comparisons, especially flush and royal draws.
02
The bonus is paid on arrival
Four Aces and Four 2s–4s pay more when they finish, and nothing before that. There is no kicker bonus. Keep made quads; before the draw, include the rank bonuses in the comparison without chasing isolated low cards.
03
The 8/5 base trims draw value
Full houses and flushes pay less than 9/6 Jacks, so a four-card flush is worth about a fifth of a coin less here. The quad bonuses also affect holds that can draw to four of a kind.
DECISION LADDER
Start at the top; compare overlapping choices.
CORE ORDER
“Pat” means keep all five. “Four to” or “three to” counts the held cards, including any wild cards. An outside straight such as 5-6-7-8 can finish at either end; an inside straight such as 5-6-8-9 needs one rank. A-2-3-4 and J-Q-K-A also have only one completing rank. Discarded cards stay out of the draw and can weaken a competing hold.
01
Pat royal, straight flush, or four of a kind
Keep the completed premium hand.
02
Four to a royal flush
Still the defining premium draw.
03
Full house, flush, or straight
Keep the made hand.
04
Three of a kind
This is where the quad bonuses can become reachable.
05
Four to a straight flush
Keep the premium suited run.
06
Two pair, then a paying pair
Secure value before speculative draws.
07
Three to a royal versus four to a flush
Often keep the royal draw, but its ranks and discarded cards still matter.
08
Four to a flush, then a low pair
The same practical order as the base game.
09
Outside straights, three-card straight flushes, and high cards
Compare suited runs, suited high cards, and unsuited high-card combinations before settling for one card. These choices have different EVs, not just ties.
10
Draw five
Do not keep isolated low cards just because their quads would pay more.
Why this isn’t an exception chart
Suits, gaps, discarded cards, and custom payouts can move close hands. This is a compact learning guide, not a complete first-match chart. For wild games, use only the branch for the wild cards actually dealt. SmartHold Practice compares all 32 holds for the exact deal. EV means average total return, including the stake, per coin wagered; it is not profit or the chance of winning. The examples use the schedule named above.
WORKED EXAMPLES
The few deals that split from 9/6 Jacks or Better
A
HOLD
J
HOLD
10
HOLD
9
DRAW
Q
DRAW
Drop the fourth flush card, keep the royal
On 9/6 Jacks the four-card flush is correct by a hair. At 8/5 the flush is worth a credit less and the three-card royal takes over: 1.24 per coin against 1.09. Playing the 9/6 hold on this deal costs about 0.15 per coin wagered.
2
DRAW
4
DRAW
5
DRAW
Q
HOLD
J
HOLD
Two high cards over three to a straight flush
Jacks or Better keeps 2
4
5
for the straight-flush upside, 0.53 per coin against 0.51. The 8/5 table strips enough out of the flush that the unsuited Queen-Jack wins instead, 0.51 against 0.49.
Q
HOLD
10
DRAW
A
HOLD
3
DRAW
5
DRAW
How thin the rest of it gets
Suited Queen-Ten is the 9/6 hold. Here the unsuited Ace-Queen edges it by 0.0012 per coin — about one coin per eight hundred repetitions of this decision at a one-coin stake. Differences this small are why the ladder is memory and the solver is the authority.
COMMON TRAPS
Mistakes worth recognizing on sight
Chasing a quad from one card
A lone Ace can be worth keeping as a high card. An isolated 2, 3, or 4 is not a hold merely because its quads pay a bonus.
Using the wrong 8/5 strategy
Bonus Poker is not 8/5 Jacks or Better. The quad tiers are part of every EV comparison.
Ignoring close conflicts
Bonus Poker and Jacks are similar, not identical. Let Practice settle penalty-card cases.
TURN THE LADDER INTO INSTINCT
Practice Bonus Poker
Every miss comes back through Review until the correct hold is automatic.