Aces and Faces is a bonus-style game built on Jacks or Better with enhanced payouts for Four of a Kind hands containing Aces or face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings). It's one of the gentler bonus games — the Two Pair payout stays at 2-for-1, keeping variance moderate while giving you a reason to root for specific quads.
How the Bonus Structure Works
Aces and Faces splits Four of a Kind into three tiers:
| Four of a Kind | Payout | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Four Aces | 80-for-1 | ~1 in 5,000 |
| Four Jacks, Queens, or Kings | 40-for-1 | ~1 in 1,900 |
| Four 2s through 10s | 25-for-1 | ~1 in 620 |
Compare this to standard JoB where every quad pays 25-for-1. You're getting 3x more for Aces and roughly 1.6x more for face quads — funded by a slightly reduced Full House payout.
Everything below Four of a Kind is the same as JoB, including the crucial 2-for-1 Two Pair. This is what separates Aces and Faces from more volatile bonus games like Double Bonus and Double Double Bonus, where Two Pair drops to 1-for-1.
Pay Table Variants
| Hand | Full Pay 8/5 | 7/6 | 7/5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Four Aces | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Four J/Q/K | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Four 2-10 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Full House | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Flush | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| RTP | 99.26% | 98.93% | 97.78% |
The full-pay 8/5 version returns 99.26%, which is solid — better than 8/5 JoB (97.30%) and close to the standard Bonus Poker 8/5 (99.17%).
Strategy
Aces and Faces strategy is nearly identical to JoB. The enhanced quad payouts only change a handful of decisions:
What stays the same:
- All draws, Flush draws, Straight draws — same as JoB
- Two Pair, Three of a Kind, Full House — hold as normal
- Three to a Royal Flush — same priority
What changes:
- A lone Ace is slightly more valuable than other high cards because quad Aces pays 80. In borderline situations (like Ace + three to a Straight Flush missing the Ace), keep the Ace.
- A pair of Aces takes priority over a pair of Kings, Queens, or Jacks when you have both options (rare but relevant).
- A pair of face cards (J/Q/K) is marginally more valuable than in JoB because of the 40-for-1 quad payout. In practice, this rarely changes what you hold.
For 99%+ of hands, play standard JoB strategy and you'll be within 0.1% of perfect play. The differences only matter in rare edge cases.
Common Mistakes
Chasing face quads. Don't break a paying hand to chase Four Jacks. The 40-for-1 payout is nice, but the odds of completing a quad from a pair are still ~1 in 360. Hold your winning hand.
Treating it like Double Bonus. In Double Bonus, you sometimes break Two Pair because quads are worth much more and Two Pair only pays 1-for-1. In Aces and Faces, Two Pair pays 2-for-1 — always hold it.
Ignoring the Full House payout. The difference between 8/5 and 7/5 costs you 1.48% in return. That's $11 per hour at quarter denomination. Always check the Full House number first.
Who Should Play Aces and Faces
If you like JoB but want a little more excitement on quad hits, Aces and Faces is the right upgrade. You keep the 2-for-1 Two Pair safety net, the strategy barely changes, and quad Aces at 80-for-1 gives you something extra to celebrate. Find the 8/5 pay table and play it like JoB with a slight preference for Aces.