Jacks or Better - Video Poker Review (Switch)

Many thanks to eSolutions Nordic for the use of a review code!

On the rare occasions I make it out to my local casino and actually gamble, my game of choice is Jacks or Better. I’m not good, but if I bet low enough and space out hitting the button long enough, I beat the house by consuming free drinks provided by the nice people whose job it is to make you want to sit there and keep hitting that button.

Social distancing has made those free drinks seem very far away, so I was intrigued by the idea of playing Jacks or Better on the Switch. Would it help me finally remember the difference between a straight and a flush? Let’s find out!

The short answer is…

What to do, what to do. Hmm.

Not really. This is exactly what is advertised: A Jacks or Better video poker simulator. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but aside from the three features we’ll mention below, that’s all you get for $7.49 (US). There isn’t even a tutorial. It’s very close to sitting in front of a video poker game at the casino, but without the friendly employees offering drinks.

So if you don’t know how to play Jacks or Better poker, this game will not teach you. Not a make or break issue as the internet will be more than happy to teach you how to play, but if you were hoping to learn to distinguish your hands without a cheat sheet, you will be disappointed.

What are the extra features?

Straightforward is the name of the home screen.

This game has exactly 3 features: A leader board, your personal stats, and a double your winnings option. Let’s break each of them down…

Leaderboard: Pretty straight forward. You don’t pick your name, it’s whatever your registered username on the Switch is, so be aware of that if it’s an issue for some reason. You rank based on your highest winnings ever. Break that personal best and you move up the board.

The results are in: I shouldn’t be playing poker.

Personal stats: Breaks down how many hands you’ve played and what percentage you’ve won, your highest score, what your success rate is, percentages for the various winning hands, and how many coins spent vs. how many coins gained.

Black or red? Red or black? I can’t decide!

Double your winnings: This is kind of fun! If you win, you’re presented with another hand of cards. For each card you guess red or black and its flipped to see if you’re right. Guess right and your winnings are doubled. Guess wrong and you lose it all. You can chose to cash out at any time, but assuming you keep guessing correctly you can guess your way through all 5 cards.

Gameplay issues?

None that I can find. Controls are simple and work fine. I found the touch screen to be the optimal method for playing this game.

Conclusion

I won! This doesn’t happen very often.

I can’t emphasize this enough: This game is very, very basic. It’s a perfectly adequate Jacks or Better simulator, but I think $7.49 (US) is pretty high.

However, if it were on a very good sale, which the eShop is known to do, it might be worth your funds if this type of simulator interests you.

I would not be happy paying $7.49 for this content, but since value is subjective (and sales exist!) my rating is:

Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure