Jacks Back Rules

The object of the game is to win the pot, either with the best hand at showdown or by making a bet that no other player calls. Whether the best hand is the highest or the lowest depends on whether the pot was opened for high (article 3) or for low (article 4).

The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. It is often played with one joker added (article 6).

The game suits small groups of about three to five players. With few players, many deals produce no hand good enough to open, and Jacks Back uses those deals instead of throwing them in.

Before the deal every player places the agreed ante in the pot.

Each player is dealt five cards face down, one at a time, clockwise, beginning with the player to the dealer's left.

The first betting round begins with the player to the dealer's left. A player may open only with a pair of jacks or better. Until the pot is opened, players may only check.

If a player opens, the hand continues exactly as Jacks or Better (see Five Card Draw): a draw, a second betting round begun by the opener, and a showdown in which the highest hand wins.

The rules on splitting and proving openers apply as in Jacks or Better.

If no player opens in the first betting round, the players keep their cards and the hand is played as ace-to-five lowball. A new betting round begins with the player to the dealer's left. In this round any player may open, whatever they hold.

If a player opens in the low betting round, each active player in turn, beginning to the dealer's left, may discard and draw to improve their low hand.

After the draw there is a final betting round, begun by the first active player to the dealer's left.

Low ranking. Hands rank by ace-to-five rules. Aces are low, and straights and flushes do not count. The best hand is 5-4-3-2-A, the wheel or bicycle. Any unpaired hand beats any hand with a pair; A-A-2-3-4 is the best of the paired hands, because aces are low.

If everyone checks in the low betting round as well, the cards are thrown in and the deal passes to the left.

Blind variant. To avoid a hand being thrown in, some clubs require the player to the dealer's left to post a blind bet when the game switches to low. The low betting round then begins with the next player. The blind may raise when the action returns, even if no one has done more than call. The betting after the draw is still begun by the first active player to the dealer's left.

Some groups forbid check-raising in the low part of the game. Some also apply the California Lowball rule on betting sevens, under which a player holding a seven-low or better after the draw is expected to bet it rather than check. The dealer shall announce either rule before play.

If more than one player remains after the final betting round, the last player to bet or raise shows first. The highest hand wins a pot opened for high; the lowest hand wins a pot played for low.

Low hands are compared from the highest card down. The first card that differs decides the winner. Hands that are identical in rank split the pot.

Jacks Back is often played with a 53-card deck including one joker.

When the hand is played for high, the joker is a bug: it may be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. See Five Card Draw with a Bug.

When the hand is played for low, the joker is a fitter: it counts as the lowest card not already in the player's hand. With A-2-3-6 and the joker, the joker is a four, making 6-4-3-2-A.