Joker Poker

The EM version of Joker Poker is much less common than the solid state, but since it has different scoring, it gets its own listing. Only about 8% of the 10,000 Joker Pokers made were EMs.

There’s no 5X bonus in the EM version. Your bonus multiplier is just 2X if you complete the A-B-C lanes, either at the top or the return lanes and outlanes. Note you can drain to turn on double bonus when you have the B and either the A or the C and the ball drains out the one letter you’re missing.

You still want to complete sets of drop targets to enable base bonus: the 10 for 1K, the two jacks for 2K, the three queens for 3K, the four kings for 4K and the aces and joker for 5K. Having some targets in a rank set but not all of them does not get you any bonus. Maximum base bonus is thus 15K, maximum overall bonus 30K when doubled.

Unlike the Solid State version, the drops targets on the EM do NOT reset when you complete a bank. The targets aren’t worth as much, either - - 500 for the 10, jacks and queens, 1000 for the aces and kings.

If extra balls are on, there are two ways to get one: finishing either the Aces or the A-B-C lanes will light the EB stand up target in the extreme upper right. Since you can get the B via either return lane at the bottom, you should plunge for the A or A lane whenever EBs are active. I prefer the A, if possible, since if you later get the B via a ball through a return lane, then you just need the C up top. If you manage to get the ball up there where you can nudge it into the C, you have an opportunity to immediately collect the EB when the ball falls through the top C lane onto the pop bumper if you can nudge so that the rebound off of the right bumper is into the EB target.

Two drop targets are noticeably riskier for draining out the right side: the right hand Jack target and the bottom King target.

The strategy on the game is UTAD until you’ve got A-B-C and the aces, then try to finish the lower drop targets. Once the targets are all down, about all you can do to score is resume UTAD to get some 1000 point bumper hits. This is probably why the scoring was changed when Gottlieb came out with the SS version.