• Jared Leto reveals how it felt to play the Joker again for the first time since Suicide Squad in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Against all the odds, Jared Leto is returning as the Joker in Zack.
• If unable, you may play any card. The highest card in the suit wins the trick unless a trump is played. If more than one trump is played, the highest trump wins. When there is trump, the joker is the highest trump, it must follow suit when trumps are led, and you cannot play the joker if you have at least one card of a nontrump suit led.
• Joker – 2 pegs must be moved. You may take a man from your START or any other peg of yours in play and bump (replace) another player. Your opponent’s man is sent to his START to start over. If playing teams, your team’s man goes to the entrance of his HOME position (Fig.3-red dot).

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In order to play the lead role in Joker, Joaquin Phoenix underwent a dramatic transformation, and as a result he looks truly, unsettlingly emaciated in the film.The 44-year-old actor lost a. How to play El Joker. How to play El Joker 1. How do you play The Joker? The Joker consists of a lottery associated with any of the games managed by SELAE; initially it will be associated with the La Primitiva game. Each Joker number consists of seven numbers that you can voluntarily and jointly request when placing your bets in the associated.

Joker Poker is a video poker game that’s also sometimes called “Joker Wild.” Almost all VP (video poker) games are just variations of Jacks or Better, and Joker Poker is no exception. The difference between it and Jacks or Better boils down to the inclusion of a wild card — the joker.

Joker Poker is played with a virtual 53-card deck instead of a 52-card deck. The pay table is changed to compensate for the greater likelihood of a high-ranking hand.

This post includes everything you need to know to play Joker Poker.

The Basics of Joker Poker

Almost all video poker games follow the same format, including Joker Poker. You insert money, and it’s converted into credits based on the denomination of the machine.

If you’re playing on a quarter ($0.25) machine and insert $100, you have 400 credits.

That same $100 would only be 100 credits on a dollar machine.

You then decide how many credits you want to risk on a hand. You can choose between 1 and 5 credits, but you should ALWAYS choose 5 credits. The reason for this is simple but not readily important.

The top jackpot in any video poker game is a royal flush — the 10, jack, queen, king, and ace of a single suit.

That hand pays off at 200 for 1, with one exception.

If you’ve played for 5 credits, you get an 800 for 1 payout for a royal flush. That’s a big enough difference in your payout to have a major effect on your payback percentage for the game.

We should talk about payback percentage before we go much further, too.

When you discuss a casino game, it has a house edge and a payback percentage. People usually talk about the house edge when they’re discussing a table game; they talk about a payback percentage when they’re talking about a gambling machine.

They’re like two sides of the same coin. In fact, if you add the house edge and the payback percentage together, the result is always 100%.

The house edge is the statistical advantage the casino has over the player, expressed as a percentage of each bet that the casino expects to win over the long run.

The payback percentage is the amount of money that the casino statistically expects to pay back on each bet.

If we say that a casino game has a house edge of 1%, then that means that the odds and payouts create a situation where the casino expects to win $1 for every $100 you bet. But that’s an average amount over a huge number of trials. In the short run, anything can happen.

If we say that a casino game has a payback percentage of 99%, then that means that every time you bet $100, the casino expects to pay you $99 back in winnings. This, too, is a statistical average.

Your goal when playing any game where the casino has an edge is to keep that edge as small as possible, which is the same thing as keeping the payback percentage as high as possible.

So it makes sense to always make the bet that offers you the biggest payback percentage, everything else being equal.

The probability of getting a royal flush is always small. You’ll only see that hand once every 40,000 hands or so, even with the wild card. That’s because a wild royal flush doesn’t pay out the same as a real royal flush.

Once you’ve chosen your bet size, the Joker Poker machine “deals” you a five-card hand. You can choose to keep or discard each card in your hand, which gives you a total of 32 possible ways to play each hand, varying from keeping all five cards to discarding all five cards and everything in between.

Each way of playing a hand offers an expected return. This is the probability of each hand that you might wind up with multiplied by the payout for that hand. This makes Joker Poker a game of skill as well as a game of chance. The more mistakes you make in your strategy, the lower the payback percentage for the game is.

After you’ve chosen which cards to keep and which ones to throw away, the machine deals you replacement cards and pays you off based on the pay table for the game. That pay table is based on the standard ranking of poker hands.

The pay tables for Joker Poker vary from machine to machine, so I should spend some time explaining Joker Poker pay tables.

An Explanation of Joker Poker Pay Tables

I’ll assume that you’re going to make the 5-coin max bet on any given game, and I’ll feature the payouts for each hand on an X for Y basis. I should point out something important about that, too.

When you’re playing table games, the odds that a bet pays off are expressed as X to Y.

A single-number bet on a roulette table pays off at 35 to 1.

This means if you bet $1, you get your dollar back, AND you get $35 in winnings.

Gambling machines, though, don’t give you the original bet back. They deduce that amount before spinning the reels or dealing the cards. Any winnings you get are in exchange FOR the bet you just made.

An even-money payout at the blackjack table results in a profit.

An even-money payout at a video poker game results in breaking even.

Here’s the best possible Joker Poker pay table, otherwise known as a “full pay” Joker Poker game:

• A natural royal flush pays off at 800 for 1
• A five of a kind pays off at 200 for 1
• A wild royal flush pays off at 100 for 1
• A straight flush pays off at 50 for 1
• A four of a kind pays off at 20 for 1
• A full house pays off at 7 for 1
• A flush pays off at 5 for 1
• A straight pays off at 3 for 1
• A three of a kind pays off at 2 for 1
• Two pair pays off at 1 for 1
• A pair of kings or higher pays off at 1 for 1

The payback percentage for this game, if you play with optimal strategy, is 100.64%. This means that you have a 0.64% edge over the house, which is an unusual situation.

How is that payback percentage calculated?

You use a computer algorithm to determine the probability of getting each payout. That probability multiplied by the size of the payout is the expected return for that bet. Since there are multiple possible outcomes, you add up the expected return for each outcome to get the overall expected return for the game.

The probability of winding up with nothing at all is about 55%. Multiply that by winnings of $0, and that adds 0% to the payback percentage.

A pair of kings or aces, though, pays off at 1 for 1, and the probability of winding up with that hand is 14.2%. This adds 14.2% to the overall payback percentage for the game.

Two pair happens slightly less often — 11.1% of the time. That adds 11.1%, giving you 25.3% of your overall total payback percentage.

Three of a kind actually happens more often — 13.4% of the time. (That’s because of the wild card.) Since that pays off at 2 for 1, that adds 26.8% to the payback percentage.

Those three hands account for over half the game’s statistical winnings. They just come up that much more frequently than the other hands.

When you continue those calculations and add them all up, you wind up with 100.64%.

But you’ll come across many variations of these pay tables. A more common Joker Poker pay table pays out the same as above, only with smaller payouts for five of a kind (150 instead of 200) and a wild royal flush (80 instead of 100). That changes the payback percentage to 99.98%.

You can find Joker Poker games with a theoretical payback percentage as low as 94%, which is still better than most slot machine games. Still, my recommendation is to stick with video poker games where you can get a payback percentage of 98% or better.

Most Joker Poker video poker games offer a payback percentage at least that high, too. Only the stingiest of casinos offer a worse pay table than that.

The Best Strategy for Joker Poker

Video poker strategies are similar to blackjack basic strategy. They tell you how to play any possible hand you get. Their presentation is different, though.

In blackjack basic strategy, you have your total along the left and the dealer’s face-up card along the top. You cross-index the two to determine the optimal way to play your hand.

But in video poker, you don’t need to cross-index anything. You just have your hand, and your goal is to wind up with the best possible expected return.

So a video poker strategy card is just a list of cards you might have in your hand, from best to worst. You start at the top and read down until you get to a hand that matches what you’re holding. The highest hand on that list that matches your hand represents the cards you should keep.

You should never deviate from basic video poker strategy, by the way, no matter how strong your hunches are. The math doesn’t lie. The gamblers who lose the least and win the most listen to the math behind probability, not their hunches.

Joker Poker strategy charts aren’t perfect, though, because of the staggering number of potential card combinations you might have. Still, even a simplified strategy card should get you within 0.1% of the expected return for playing the game with optimal strategy.

In games with one or more wild cards, you’ll usually have two strategy cards to look at. One fundamental thing to remember about wild card video poker games is this.

For a hand without a joker, a reasonable strategy might look like the below scenario.

Always keep a pat royal flush, straight flush, or four of a kind. You would, of course, never break up any of these hands to try to improve them. The payouts are too high, for one thing. And most of them can’t be improved, for another.

Aside from those hands, you will ALWAYS draw to four cards to a royal flush. The payout is so big for this hand that you would even break up a pat hand to try to get the royal flush. The only possible pat hand you might have, though, would be a pair of kings or aces or a flush or straight. The difference in payout is so great that it’s worth giving up the sure payout, though.

After that, the best hands you can have are a pat full house or a pat flush.

An open straight flush draw is the next best option. An open draw is one where you have cards on either side of the straight that can fill your straight, as opposed to an inside straight draw, where you need one card and one card only.

• A 5-6-7-8 of one suit is open-ended because a 4 or a 9 can complete your straight.
• A 5-6-8-9 of one suit is an inside draw because only a 7 can complete the straight.

Then, prefer three of a kind.

Then, inside straight flush draw.

Then, a pat straight. Notice that you’ll throw away a card to try to achieve your straight flush even if it means breaking up your straight.

Then, two pair.

After that, it starts to get more granular and complicated. Generally, though, you’ll try to hold three cards to a royal flush instead of a pair. You’re looking at the following factors for determining which cards to keep:

• Suitedness
• Connectedness
• Rank

The strategy table for the wild card looks similar, although you want to keep in mind that you’re never going to throw away a wild card.

Conclusion

Learning how to play Joker Poker is dead easy if you have any experience playing Jacks or Better or other video poker games. If you’re brand new to VP games, you can probably still get to where you need to be quickly with the guide in this post.

I like Joker Poker because it’s a nice midway point between Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild, which has four wild cards. The inclusion of the wild cards changes the game, but since Joker Poker only includes one, it’s not as drastic a strategic change.

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Despite the initial uproar that erupted when Heath Ledger was announced as being cast in The Dark Knight, his turn as the Joker earned him accolades from critics and audiences alike. This was no small feat, as Ledger had some gigantic clown shoes to fill. Previously, the legendary comic book character had been portrayed onscreen by renowned actors such as Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson, both of whom were still heavily associated with the character at the time.

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In order to transform into his own unique version of the Joker, Ledger pushed himself physically and mentally further than he ever had for a role. From isolating himself for over a month to becoming heavily involved with makeup and wardrobe decisions for the character, Ledger put in every effort to set his performance apart from his predecessors. This extreme effort took a toll on the actor, leaving him exhausted and sleep deprived.

In the end, Ledger's issues with insomnia contributed to his premature death when the 28-year-old actor accidentally overdosed on prescription sleeping medication before the film's release. Ledger's untimely death sparked all kinds of rumors that transformed the actor's performance into the stuff of legends, but what's the truth about the many ways he threw himself fearlessly into one of the most iconic roles in modern cinema — and how it changed him for good?

​Heath Ledger's insomnia skyrocketed when he prepared to play the Joker

Heath Ledger had a long history of sleep troubles, reportedly struggling with a racing mind for years before portraying the Joker. However, his chronic insomnia became much more prevalent and aggressive after filming The Dark Knight. His difficulty sleeping was summed up in a New York Times profile in 2007, while the film was in production: 'It is a physically and mentally draining role — his Joker is a 'psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy,' he said cheerfully — and, as often happens when he throws himself into a part, he is not sleeping much.'

During this interview, Ledger reported that he had slept an average of two hours per day over the previous week. He even mentioned taking one Ambien to no effect, and after taking another, he was only able to stay asleep for an hour. This interview, which took place several months before Ledger's death, shed light onto how sleep deprivation changed the young actor — and an offhand remark about his resistance to sleeping medications even eerily foreshadowed his imminent fatal overdose on prescription drugs.

Heath Ledger became a little more cultured studying to play the Joker

Although Christopher Nolan gave Heath Ledger quite a bit of creative control over his iteration of the Joker, he did suggest several sources of inspiration. These recommendations included the paintings of Francis Bacon, the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange, and heavy metal music. Nolan suggested these so that Ledger could understand the type of Joker he was envisioning for the film, and several of these inspirations helped to form the final version that appeared onscreen.

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One of the characters from A Clockwork Orange, Alex DeLarge, was particularly influential on Ledger's development of his Joker character. Several images of DeLarge appear throughout the legendary 'Joker Diary' that the actor created during his self-imposed isolation in order to get into the right head space for the character. Since Alex DeLarge is depicted as a sociopath who steals and assaults innocent people purely for his own amusement in A Clockwork Orange, it is only natural that the Joker would consider him to be a kindred spirit. In fact, the Joker's iconic glare in TheDark Knight is considered to be a recreation of the famed 'Kubrick Stare,' the expression that DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell, utilized in the film version of A Clockwork Orange.

​Heath Ledger isolated himself while playing the Joker

Since Heath Ledger wanted his rendition of the Joker to be completely different from any previous versions, such as those played by Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero, he isolated himself in a London hotel for around six weeks in order to cultivate an entirely new character. It was during this time that Ledger studied the sources of inspiration with which Nolan had provided him. He also began writing and pasting pictures into the journal that would become the 'Joker Diary' that he would bring on set to leaf through in order to get into character.

During a 2007 interview with Empire, Ledger briefly went over how his experience preparing for the role changed him: 'I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices.' Although the isolation and creation of the Joker Diary were huge steps towards the formation of Ledger's Joker, his time experimenting with voices would turn out to be equally invaluable.

​Heath Ledger improved his voice acting for the Joker

Seeing as some of the Joker's most iconic features are his mocking voice and sardonic laugh, Heath Ledger wanted to be sure his Joker's voice set him apart from those who had played the part before. This was no small feat, as greats such as Jack Nicholson had previously played the Joker onscreen and Mark Hamill had made his vocal mark on the character in animation.

In order to formulate his own unique voice for the Joker, Ledger practiced different pitches and tones during his hotel room isolation. He wanted to be sure that the voice he chose reflected the personality of the character he was envisioning, saying, 'It was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts.' According to Nolan, Ledger had been studying ventriloquist dummies because he found their voices terrifying. He decided to try and emulate one and, using the training on inflections he had received from a voice coach, managed to 'mouth' his dialogue to create an eerie sound effect.

​Heath Ledger became involved in makeup and prop choices for the Joker

Although not all actors are deeply concerned with the costumes or props their character uses, The Dark Knight prosthetic supervisor Conor O'Sullivan said Heath Ledger became heavily involved with the painting of his face. Apparently, Ledger and makeup artist John Caglione gravitated toward a Francis Bacon painting that Nolan had recommended as inspiration for the Joker's makeup. Nolan went into more detail about how the makeup design helped flesh out Ledger's Joker character: 'We have a Francis Bacon spin to [his face]. This corruption, this decay in the texture of the look itself. It's grubby. You can almost imagine what he smells like.'

Besides working with Caglione on makeup design, Ledger was also very engaged in the wardrobe and prop departments. He worked closely with The Dark Knight costume designer Lindy Hemming when choosing the right chaotic outfit for the character. He even chose the Joker's signature weapon from a selection of different rubber knives laid out by the prop team.

​Heath Ledger pushed himself to his limits for the Joker

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In Heath Ledger: Too Young To Die, a German documentary on the actor's life, Ledger's father went into more detail on just how much his son changed to prepare for The Dark Knight: 'He pretty well locked himself up in a hotel room for a month or so to galvanize the upcoming character in his own mind. That was typical of Heath on any movie. He would certainly immerse himself in the character and I think this was just a whole new level.' Although Ledger was a seasoned method actor who had already sunk his teeth into challenging roles such as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, he pushed himself further than ever when getting into character for the Joker.

After Ledger's untimely death due to an accidental overdose of prescription sleeping medication, rumors ran rampant that his turn as the Joker had taken a toll on the young actor and led to his demise. However, a documentary titled I Am Heath Ledger, created by the actor's friends and family and released in 2017, dispels the theories about his death. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly following a screening of the documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, the deceased actor's sister, Kate Ledger, officially set the record straight about his state of mind before his death: 'He was having fun. He wasn't depressed about the Joker.'

​Heath Ledger let out his inner nerd for the Joker

Although Heath Ledger was incredibly successful in his portrayal of the Joker, he was initially very skeptical of superhero films. In fact, when Nolan began casting for The Dark Knight's predecessor, Batman Begins, he originally contacted Ledger about playing the titular character, but was turned down with the note that he would 'never do this kind of film.' Despite his lack of interest in comic book movies, Ledger quickly changed his tune after watching Batman Begins. He appreciated the realism that Nolan brought to the table so much that he enthusiastically reached out about playing the Joker in the sequel before the screenplay was even finished.

While he was preparing for the role, Ledger embraced his nerdy side and read several graphic novels that Nolan recommended, such asThe Killing Joke. After his isolation, Ledger described his process of utilizing these comics to help him get into character: 'It's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it.'

​Heath Ledger got to do some directing while playing the Joker

Heath Ledger also got his first chance to try some movie directing during his stint as the Joker. In The Dark Knight, the Joker makes two broadcasts threatening the people of Gotham City and taunting Batman. Although Nolan supervised the filming process, he granted Ledger complete creative control over these hostage videos, as he wanted to be sure they were taken from the Joker's perspective. Originally, Nolan was only planning on having the actor direct the first video, but he was so impressed by the result that he changed his mind, giving Ledger the opportunity to direct the second too.

Ledger had already expressed interest in trying his hand at directing, and this was his first real chance to branch out into a new artistic endeavor. Before his death, Ledger had already begun directing several music videos, such as Grace Woodroofe's David Bowie cover 'Quicksand' and Modest Mouse's 'King Rat.' He was also in the process of adapting the 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit into a feature-length film, but his untimely death sadly stopped him from finishing the project.

Heath Ledger tested his physical limits for the Joker, too

Heath Ledger didn't just push himself mentally to get into character for the Joker — he also pushed himself physically. The actor was so dedicated to the role that he actually encouraged Christian Bale to physically assault him in order to make one scene more authentic. Although Bale tried to convince Ledger that the scene would look just as real if they faked the fighting, Ledger insisted that Bale didn't pull any punches, and even tried to provoke him to hit harder.

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Bale himself went into more detail about working on this scene with Ledger during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: 'He was kinda egging me on. I was saying, 'You know what, I really don't need to actually hit you. It's going to look just as good if I don't.' And he's going, 'Go on. Go on. Go on...' He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total.' Despite Bale's attempts to convince his co-star that faking the fight would still look just as realistic, Ledger was determined to have it be as authentic as possible. Few actors are so committed to their roles that they would happily crack tiles by throwing themselves into walls.

​Heath Ledger became an improv master thanks to the Joker

Although the Joker character was developed by the screenwriting/directing team of Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, Heath Ledger alone gave birth to some of the most iconic Joker moments through improvisation. One of the most notable examples of Ledger's contributions came during his scene in Gotham lockup, when he mockingly applauds after Gordon gets promoted. Even though the clapping was not originally written in The Dark Knight's script, Nolan loved Ledger's sarcastic clap so much that he ended up including it. There were also rumors that Ledger changed the hospital destruction scene, improvising moments when Joker looks confused and fiddles with the detonator before the explosion follows a few moments later. However, the story has had some holes poked through it, suggesting that the scene may have been scripted.

This sudden talent for improvisation was a surprise coming from Ledger, as he had never been known to improvise scenes before. In fact, director Ang Lee recounted Ledger becoming upset when his Brokeback Mountain costar Jake Gyllenhaal tried going off script. 'Heath just got really upset — really upset, like his whole progress was disrupted,' Lee recalled. 'Jake is more of an improv actor — try this, try that — but Heath's preparation was really deep.'

​Heath Ledger fell in love with the character while playing the Joker

Despite the fact that Heath Ledger had never read a Batman comic book before he began preparing for his role, he quickly fell in love with the character of the Joker. He considered the Joker to be an instant favorite in his career, and co-star Christian Bale recalled Ledger telling him that it was the most fun he'd ever had with a character. Bale himself went on to corroborate how much Ledger enjoyed shooting The Dark Knight after rumors of depression surrounded the young actor's death, telling reporters, 'I saw him as having nothing but the best time playing the Joker... at the end of the day, he was having a wonderful time making this movie. I say he couldn't have been happier doing it.'

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Ledger's own sister Kate stepped into the spotlight to dismiss rumors that his overdose was intentional, and even revealed that Ledger had already been planning to return as Joker. 'He was so proud of what he had done in [The Dark Knight],' she said, 'and I know he had plans for another Batman. He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film.' Clearly, Ledger felt a strong fondness for his Joker persona, considering he was already planning a role in Nolan's follow-up before The Dark Knight was even released.

The Joker cemented Heath Ledger's legacy

Heath Ledger broke down quite a few boundaries with his Joker performance in The Dark Knight when awards season rolled around. Most superhero films, despite constantly topping box office sales, are rarely considered by the Academy. However, Ledger's turn as the Joker brought quite a bit of attention to this previously overlooked genre, and earned him a multitude of honors. These included a Golden Globe, British BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild award, and many more U.S. and Australian critics awards.

Making great strides for superhero films wasn't the only way Ledger's posthumous awards changed his legacy. He joined a very select company after winning, becoming one of only two actors to win an Oscar after death. Before him, Peter Finch had won for his work in the 1976 satirical film Network after passing from a heart attack. Ledger had been nominated for Best Actor for his role in Brokeback Mountain back in 2006, but never got to see a win. His father, Kim, accepted the award for Dark Knight on his behalf with a beautiful statement on Heath's legacy: 'This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted accepted by you all here, his peers, in an industry that he so loved.'