99.29%
ONE CARD, TWO STRATEGIES
Joker Poker Strategy guide
Updated November 4, 2026
First check whether you were dealt the Joker. If so, count it as a wild card when identifying made hands and draws. If not, include the chance of drawing it when comparing holds.
Built for the 99.29% Kings-or-Better Joker Poker schedule.
View Joker Poker pay table →
REMEMBER THESE
Three rules to remember
01
Always keep the Joker
It can become any rank and suit, so build the rest of the hold around the strongest made hand or draw it creates.
02
Re-read the hand with the Joker
Joker plus a natural pair is already Three of a Kind. Joker plus three matching ranks is already Four of a Kind.
03
Only pairs of Kings or Aces pay
Natural pairs of Jacks or Queens do not pay. They may still be useful draws, but they are not made winning hands.
WHAT TO HOLD
Use these priorities to find holds to compare.
HOLD PRIORITIES
How to use these priorities
These are usual hold priorities. If your hand fits more than one choice, choose the hold with the higher average return; the first matching row may not give the best hold. In wild-card games, use the rows for the number of wild cards in your hand. Suits, missing straight ranks, discarded cards, and payouts can change which hold returns more. Use the worked examples below or check the exact hand in Practice, which compares all 32 ways to hold or discard the five cards. EV means average total return, including the stake, per coin wagered; it is not profit or the chance of winning. The examples use the pay table named above.
“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 cannot be drawn again. For example, discarding a heart leaves one fewer heart to complete a flush. “Trips” means three of a kind; “quads” means four of a kind. “Natural” means without wild cards. A “kicker” is a side card; some games pay a bonus for a specific kicker alongside quads.
01
Natural royal, Wild Royal, or Five of a Kind
Keep all five cards of these completed premium hands.
02
With Joker: made straight flush or full house
Keep the completed payout; do not reduce a full house to Joker plus just one of its natural pairs.
03
Joker plus a pair or three matching cards
Draw from made quads. With trips, also check strong suited draws: Joker–8–8–9–10 keeps Joker–8–9–10 for a straight flush, rather than the pair of 8s.
04
Joker plus suited royal cards
Four to a wild royal can break a flush: Joker–A–K–Q–5 discards the 5. Shorter royal draws need comparison with the other holds.
05
Joker plus suited connected cards
Count the Joker toward the draw. Compare this with made hands; not every group of same-suit cards is worth keeping.
06
Joker with no strong partner
Consider a King or Ace partner first because either can form a paying pair with the Joker. Without those or a stronger draw, a middle card can help; the discarded ranks decide which one.
07
Without Joker: premium made hands and four to a royal
Check the exact draw: the unseen Joker and 940-for-1 natural royal change the conventional order.
08
Without Joker: pairs, trips, and strong four-card draws
You can still draw the Joker to improve a pair or trips, or complete a flush or straight. Compare these holds; their average returns depend on the exact cards.
09
Without Joker: smaller suited draws or high cards
Three-card straight-flush draws and selected two-card suited runs can be worth keeping. Only Kings or Aces form a paying natural pair.
10
Draw five
Discard all five only when no made hand or draw is worth keeping.
WORKED EXAMPLES
Three deals that read differently than they would in Jacks or Better
Joker
HOLD
8
HOLD
8
HOLD
3
DRAW
7
DRAW
A pair with the Joker is already three of a kind
Two 8s and a Joker is trips before you draw, worth 3.77 per coin — well above the other holds in this deal. Count the Joker as the third 8 before deciding what to keep.
J
HOLD
J
HOLD
9
DRAW
5
DRAW
3
DRAW
The pair of Jacks that pays nothing
This is a winner in Jacks or Better and a blank here: the bottom row starts at Kings. It is still the right hold at 0.72 per coin — as a draw to trips, not as a made hand — and roughly half what the same hand would be worth with two Kings in it.
Joker
HOLD
3
DRAW
6
DRAW
9
HOLD
4
DRAW
Keep the Joker and the 9
With no King, Ace, or stronger draw in this deal, keep the Joker and the 9 — 1.46 per coin against 1.41 for the Joker alone and 1.40 for keeping the 4. The margin is small, but the habit of dragging two or three unrelated low cards along is not.
COMMON TRAPS
Mistakes worth recognizing on sight
Forgetting to count the Joker as wild
Count the Joker toward the made hand: a pair plus the Joker is already three of a kind.
Calling Jacks or Queens a paying pair
The bottom pay-table row starts at Kings.
Chasing a natural royal with the Joker present
A royal completed by the Joker is already a made Wild Royal; keep the payout.
TURN THE LADDER INTO INSTINCT
Practice Joker Poker
Every miss comes back through Review until the correct hold is automatic.
PRACTICE THIS STRATEGY
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