Five Joker Poker

Five Joker Poker is a wild card game which has five Jokers. Its closest relative is Deuces and Joker because it has two jackpot hands: a Royal Flush and Five Jokers. However, unlike Deuces and Joker, the prize for five wild cards in this game is the same as a Royal Flush.

The combined odds of getting either jackpot are relatively slim at 1 in 52,940. However, I think this makes the game look a lot worse than it really is. The combined return of both jackpots only adds up to about 1.5%, which is less than the typical return from a Royal Flush in most games. This means the majority of the game's EV comes from the more frequent hands, which reduces the variance and lets you play for longer. As you may have guessed, this is one of my favorite games. The strategy is extraordinarily simple and it has very few penalty card situations.

Play Five Joker Poker for free

Deck Simplification

Hand Scoring Code

int GetHandType(int C1, int C2, int C3, int C4, int C5)
{
    int Hand = 0;

    int R1 = Rank[C1],
        R2 = Rank[C2],
        R3 = Rank[C3],
        R4 = Rank[C4],
        R5 = Rank[C5];

    int S1 = Suit[C1],
        S2 = Suit[C2],
        S3 = Suit[C3],
        S4 = Suit[C4],
        S5 = Suit[C5];

    if (R1 > R2) { R1 ^= R2; R2 ^= R1; R1 ^= R2; S1 ^= S2; S2 ^= S1; S1 ^= S2; }
    if (R1 > R3) { R1 ^= R3; R3 ^= R1; R1 ^= R3; S1 ^= S3; S3 ^= S1; S1 ^= S3; }
    if (R1 > R4) { R1 ^= R4; R4 ^= R1; R1 ^= R4; S1 ^= S4; S4 ^= S1; S1 ^= S4; }
    if (R1 > R5) { R1 ^= R5; R5 ^= R1; R1 ^= R5; S1 ^= S5; S5 ^= S1; S1 ^= S5; }
    if (R2 > R3) { R2 ^= R3; R3 ^= R2; R2 ^= R3; S2 ^= S3; S3 ^= S2; S2 ^= S3; }
    if (R2 > R4) { R2 ^= R4; R4 ^= R2; R2 ^= R4; S2 ^= S4; S4 ^= S2; S2 ^= S4; }
    if (R2 > R5) { R2 ^= R5; R5 ^= R2; R2 ^= R5; S2 ^= S5; S5 ^= S2; S2 ^= S5; }
    if (R3 > R4) { R3 ^= R4; R4 ^= R3; R3 ^= R4; S3 ^= S4; S4 ^= S3; S3 ^= S4; }
    if (R3 > R5) { R3 ^= R5; R5 ^= R3; R3 ^= R5; S3 ^= S5; S5 ^= S3; S3 ^= S5; }
    if (R4 > R5) { R4 ^= R5; R5 ^= R4; R4 ^= R5; S4 ^= S5; S5 ^= S4; S4 ^= S5; }

    bool Flush = false;

    int Jokers = (R1 == 13 ? 1 : 0) +
                 (R2 == 13 ? 1 : 0) +
                 (R3 == 13 ? 1 : 0) +
                 (R4 == 13 ? 1 : 0) +
                 (R5 == 13 ? 1 : 0);

    switch (Jokers)
    {
        case 0:

            Flush = (S1 == S2) && (S2 == S3) && (S3 == S4) && (S4 == S5);

            if (Flush)
            {

                if (R1 == 8)
                {
                    Hand = 10;          // Natural Royal Flush
                }

                else if ((R1 == (R2 - 1)) && 
                 (R2 == (R3 - 1)) && 
                 (R3 == (R4 - 1)) && 
                ((R4 == (R5 - 1)) || ((R1 == 0) && (R5 == 12))))
                {
                    Hand = 6;           // Straight Flush
                }

                else
                {
                    Hand = 3;           // Flush
                }
            }

            else
            {
                if ((R2 == R3) && (R3 == R4) && ((R1 == R2) || (R4 == R5)))
                {
                    Hand = 5;           // Four of a Kind
                }

                else if ((R1 == R2) && (R4 == R5) && ((R2 == R3) || (R3 == R4)))
                {
                    Hand = 4;           // Full House
                }

                else if ((R1 == (R2 - 1)) && 
                 (R2 == (R3 - 1)) && 
                 (R3 == (R4 - 1)) && 
                ((R4 == (R5 - 1)) || ((R1 == 0) && (R5 == 12))))
                {
                    Hand = 2;           // Straight
                }

                else if (((R1 == R2) && (R2 == R3)) || 
                 ((R2 == R3) && (R3 == R4)) || 
                 ((R3 == R4) && (R4 == R5)))
                {
                    Hand = 1;           // Three of a Kind
                }
            }

            break;

        case 1:

            Flush = (S1 == S2) && (S2 == S3) && (S3 == S4);

            if (Flush)
            {
                if (R1 >= 8)
                {
                    Hand = 8;           // Wild Royal Flush
                }
                else if (((R4 - R1) <= 4) || ((R4 == 12) && (R3 <= 3)))
                {
                    Hand = 6;           // Straight Flush
                }
                else
                {
                    Hand = 3;           // Flush
                }
            }
            else
            {
                if ((R1 == R2) && (R2 == R3) && (R3 == R4))
                {
                    Hand = 7;           // Five of a Kind
                }
                else if ((R2 == R3) && ((R1 == R2) || (R3 == R4)))
                {
                    Hand = 5;           // Four of a Kind
                }
                else if ((R1 == R2) && (R3 == R4))
                {
                    Hand = 4;           // Full House
                }
                else if ((((R4 - R1) <= 4) || ((R4 == 12) && (R3 <= 3))) && 
                            (R1 != R2) && (R2 != R3) && (R3 != R4))
                {
                    Hand = 2;           // Straight
                }
                else if ((R1 == R2) || (R2 == R3) || (R3 == R4))
                {
                    Hand = 1;           // Three of a Kind
                }
            }

            break;

        case 2:

            Flush = (S1 == S2) && (S2 == S3);

            if (Flush)
            {
                if (R1 >= 8)
                {
                    Hand = 8;           // Wild Royal Flush
                }
                else if (((R3 - R1) <= 4) || ((R3 == 12) && (R2 <= 3)))
                {
                    Hand = 6;           // Straight Flush
                }
                else
                {
                    Hand = 3;           // Flush
                }
            }
            else
            {
                if ((R1 == R2) && (R2 == R3))
                {
                    Hand = 7;           // Five of a Kind
                }
                else if ((R1 == R2) || (R2 == R3))
                {
                    Hand = 5;           // Four of a Kind
                }
                else if ((((R3 - R1) <= 4) || ((R3 == 12) && (R2 <= 3))) && (R1 != R2) && (R2 != R3))
                {
                    Hand = 2;           // Straight
                }
                else
                {
                    Hand = 1;           // Three of a Kind
                }
            }

            break;

        case 3:

            Flush = (S1 == S2);

            if (Flush)
            {
                if (R1 >= 8)
                {
                    Hand = 8;           // Wild Royal Flush
                }
                else if (((R2 - R1) <= 4) || ((R2 == 12) && (R1 <= 3)))
                {
                    Hand = 6;           // Straight Flush
                }
                else
                {
                    Hand = 5;           // Four of a Kind
                }
            }
            else
            {
                if (R1 == R2)
                {
                    Hand = 7;           // Five of a Kind
                }
                else
                {
                    Hand = 5;           // Four of a Kind
                }
            }

            break;

        case 4:

            Flush = true;
            Hand = 9;
            break;

        case 5:

            Flush = true;
            Hand = 11;
            break;
    }

    return Hand;
}