Aces and Faces gives enhanced payouts for Four of a Kind hands featuring Aces (80-for-1) and face cards — Jacks, Queens, Kings (40-for-1). Other quads stay at the standard 25-for-1. It's one of the smoothest bonus games because Two Pair still pays 2-for-1, keeping variance close to Jacks or Better levels.
The Strategy Barely Changes from JoB
This is the most important thing to know about Aces and Faces: if you play perfect JoB strategy, you'll be within 0.1% of optimal. The enhanced quad payouts only shift a handful of borderline decisions:
A pair of Aces gets slightly more priority. Quad Aces at 80-for-1 (vs 25 in JoB) makes a pair of Aces marginally stronger in close decisions. But you'd hold a pair of Aces in JoB anyway, so this rarely matters in practice.
Face pairs (J/Q/K) are slightly more valuable. Quad face cards at 40-for-1 is a 60% bonus over JoB's 25-for-1. This means in rare borderline situations (pair of Jacks vs four to a Straight), the pair gets a tiny boost.
A lone Ace beats a lone King/Queen/Jack as a high card hold, because the Ace quad payout is double the face card quad payout. In JoB, all high cards are equal as single holds.
Don't overthink it. Play JoB strategy and you'll do fine.
Find the 8/5 Pay Table
| Pay Table | Full House | Flush | RTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/5 (Full Pay) | 8 | 5 | 99.26% |
| 7/6 | 7 | 6 | 98.93% |
| 7/5 | 7 | 5 | 97.78% |
At 8/5 full pay, Aces and Faces returns 99.26% — solid for a bonus game. The 7/6 variant is close at 98.93%. Avoid the 7/5 — the 1.48% drop from full pay costs about $11/hour at quarter denomination.
How It Compares to Other Bonus Games
Aces and Faces sits in a sweet spot:
| Game | Quad Aces | Two Pair | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | 25 | 2 | Low |
| Aces and Faces | 80 | 2 | Low-Medium |
| Bonus Poker | 80 | 2 | Low-Medium |
| Double Bonus | 160 | 1 | High |
| Double Double Bonus | 160-400 | 1 | Very High |
Aces and Faces is essentially Bonus Poker with the 2s-4s tier folded into face cards instead. Bonus Poker pays 40-for-1 for Four 2s/3s/4s; Aces and Faces pays 40-for-1 for Four J/Q/K. Both keep 2-for-1 Two Pair.
Choose Aces and Faces if you hit face quads more often (statistically, face and low quads are equally likely, but the psychological impact matters for some players).
Common Mistakes
Breaking Two Pair. Since Two Pair pays 2-for-1 (not 1-for-1 like Double Bonus), always hold it. The Full House draw is worth it, and you have a guaranteed profit in hand.
Chasing face quads. Don't break a paying hand to hold a pair of Kings. The 40-for-1 payout is nice, but you need to complete the quad (~1 in 360 from a pair), and you're giving up a guaranteed win.
Ignoring the Full House number. Players get excited about quad bonuses and sit at any Aces and Faces machine. Check the Full House payout first — 7 vs 8 costs you more per hour than the quad bonus adds.
Who Should Play This
Aces and Faces is ideal if you want slightly more excitement than JoB without changing your strategy or dramatically increasing variance. If you already play JoB well, you can sit at an Aces and Faces machine and play at near-optimal level immediately.
The game is especially worth seeking out if the available Jacks or Better machines have poor pay tables (8/5 or worse). An 8/5 Aces and Faces at 99.26% beats an 8/5 JoB at 97.30% by a wide margin.