Whoa. It's been a long time since we received a question like this. But this one was submitted in response to the 2/9/09 QoD, on how bad it is to play less than max coins on a video poker game, and we haven't explained 9/6 since the sixth QoD, nearly five years ago on 5/20/04. So we thought we'd review this most basic detail of video poker.
The term "9/6" refers to the number of coins returned in the Jacks or Better variation of video poker for the full house (9) and the flush (6). It's what distinguishes the "good" Jacks or Better (also known as "full pay") from the "bad" Jacks or Better (these games return less than 9/6, such as 8/5, 7/5, and 6/5).
The number of coins returned for the full house and the flush, as well as for all other winning hand combinations (royal flush, straight flush, 4-of-a-kind, 3-of-a-kind, etc.), is listed on the pay schedules on the machines. Often, the pay schedules are displayed on the glass above the screen; other times you need to touch the "See Pays" box on the screen itself. But you can always find out how many coins each winning hand combination returns for the number of coins played.
Informed VP players always read the pay schedules.
Bob Dancer, in Video Poker for Intelligent Beginners, emphasizes how important understanding video poker pay schedules is. "The pay schedule is the single-most important feature in choosing a good machine. Let me rephrase that. Nothing is more important than the pay schedule. If you see me playing Jacks or Better, it will always be the 9/6 variety. It will never be any of the lesser pay schedules. You don’t have to follow this rule … unless you want a decent chance at winning."
For additional VP terms and abbreviations that you may not be familiar with, check out our Video Poker Glossary, while the Best Video Poker section, maintained by the good folk from the vpFREE discussion group, will tell you where currently to find the best games, including 9/6 JoB.
