Jacks or Better is the grandaddy of video poker games. The best versions of Jacks or Better has a 99.5% payback. This make Jacks or Better (full pay anyway) one of the best bets in the casino--right up there with blackjack and certain craps bets.
Hand--Payoff
Royal Flush--250
Straight Flush--50
Four of a Kind--25
Full house--9
Flush--6
Straight--4
Three of a kind--3
Two pair--2
Pair of Jacks or better--1
These are the one coin payouts on a full pay Jacks or Better game. You can multiply each of these payoffs by the number of coins you play to get the payoff for a higher amount bet. The exception is the royal flush. That's the jackpot hand and pays out 4000 coins.
This is called a 9/6 game because it pays out 9 coins for a full house and 6 coins for a flush. A common variation on this pay structure is an 8/5 game. This payoff schedule turns one of the best bets into the casino into a much poorer bet--97.3% payoff instead of 99.5%. Don't settle for a video poker pay table that is less than perfect if you can help it. 9/6 is considered a full pay Jacks or Better game. Any lesser pay table for jacks or better is a bad bet.
About.com has an excellent article on Video Poker Pay Tables.
