Video Poker table

Holding Qc and 5c gives a two-card flush draw with overcards (Q) and reasonable draw strength. Discarding 9c, Td, and 4h maximizes the probability of completing a flush or landing a paying hand like a pair of jacks or better.

Jack plays solo here; the rest of the hand has no made value and poor draw prospects. Holding the Jack preserves a guaranteed jacks-or-better payout and maximizes expected value by discarding low cards with minimal synergy.

Hold the ace and pair of nines. The pair of nines pays 0, so we discard the 6, 9h, and T to draw three cards. This gives us the best chance to hit a higher-paying hand like trips, full house, or a paying pair (jacks+).

Holding the King gives the best expected value. The dealt hand has no pairs or straights. The King is the only high card (jack or better), which guarantees 5 credits on the draw. Discarding the other four cards maximizes the chance of completing a pair of kings, three of a kind, or drawing a paying hand.

Holding the pair of deuces and the jack gives the best expected value. The pair of 2s alone pays nothing, but keeping it with the jack (jacks or better pays 5 credits) gives multiple paths to value: improving to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind, while maintaining the jack kicker as a backup for a jacks-or-better hand.

Hold the pair of 9s (9c, 9h). This gives three of a kind (15 credits) immediately and a chance to draw to a full house or four of a kind. Discarding 5s, Th, 3s maximizes expected value given the current hand composition.

Three of a kind (8s) is guaranteed 15 credits. Discarding the Ac and Qc gives the best draw chances: we could draw another 8 for four of a kind (125 credits), or hit a full house with Ac or Qc backup cards. This maximizes expected value versus keeping all five (which pays only 15 credits guaranteed).

Holding the pair of aces (Ac, As) gives a guaranteed payout of 5 credits (jacks or better). This is the strongest holding available since the other cards (Td, 7d, 4c) offer poor draw potential for straights or flushes. The pair of aces has the highest expected value among all possible hold patterns.

Hold Th-Jh-8h for a flush draw (4 hearts with 47 cards remaining gives ~35% chance to complete); discard 4d and Qc. The three honors (T-J-Q) offer modest kicker value if the flush misses, and the straight potential (any K or 9) adds equity. This maximizes expected value against holding J-Q alone (which guarantees only 5 credits) or other suboptimal patterns.

Hold the pair of 3s (3c, 3h) for a guaranteed 15-credit payout (three of a kind minimum). Discarding Td, 5h, Jd gives three chances to improve to a full house (45 credits) or better. This pair is the only made hand and offers the best expected value among all hold patterns.

Hold only the Ace. This hand has no made pairs and no draws to straights or flushes. The Ace is valuable as it can contribute to a royal flush, straight, or pair of Aces on the draw. Discarding all other cards maximizes expected value.

Dealt four spades (Js, As, Ks, Qs) with a 2d kicker. Holding all four spades gives the best expected value: 4 to a royal flush (pays 4000 on hit, ~25% chance), 4 to a flush (pays 30 if royal/straight miss), and multiple straight-draw combinations. Discarding the 2d maximizes the probability of completing a premium hand while retaining all high-card payoff potential.

Current hand has a pair of 8s and a Jack. Holding the pair of 8s (neither are high cards) yields zero payout. Holding the Jack with two 8s keeps the Jack (pays 5 credits for jacks or better) while discarding both 8s gives the best draw possibility for improving to a high pair, three of a kind, or straight.

Hold Qd and Ks (both high cards). Discarding 4s, 6c, and 9h gives the best chance to draw into a pair of jacks or better, or potentially a straight/flush. This is optimal play for unpaired high cards in Jacks or Better.

Hold the pair of sevens. With 8d-9d-7h-7s-2c, the pair of sevens is the only guaranteed winning hand (Jacks or Better paytable). Discarding 8d, 9d, 7h, and 2c gives the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or full house while retaining the sure 5-credit payout.

Hold the pair of threes and the Jack. Discarding 8h and 9h gives the best expected value by keeping the made hand (pair of threes = 5 credits guaranteed) while having four cards to improve toward a potential three of a kind, full house, or pair of jacks/better. The Jack is valuable as a kicker and potential improvement to jacks-or-better if we catch another J, Q, K, or A.

Hold the Jd and As. The Jack gives an immediate pair (jacks or better, worth 5 credits). The Ace is the highest kicker and has potential to contribute to future straights or pairs. Discarding 6d, 5d, and 8c maximizes draw potential for a straight or flush while keeping the guaranteed payout.

Holding the two aces gives a pair of jacks-or-better (5 credits), which is a guaranteed payout. Discarding 4c, 9c, and 7d maximizes the draw potential: we retain position for a full house (aces full of any pair), three of a kind, or two pair, while the three-card draw offers 1,533 possible draw combinations. The pair of aces is worth approximately 0.86 credits in EV over the remaining deck.

Hold the two jacks and ace for a pair of jacks (guaranteed 5 credits) with three cards to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or better. Discarding 3d and 7h maximizes expected value by retaining all premium cards.

Holding only the Ace (Ad) gives the best expected value. This hand has no pairs, no flush draw, and no straight draw. The Ace is the only card with potential to make a paying hand (pair of aces, or contribute to a straight). Discarding all others and drawing four new cards maximizes the probability of hitting a high pair or better.

With 4d 5c 3c 8d 2s, there are no pairs, no flush draw, and no straight draw. The best strategy is to discard all five cards and draw five new cards, maximizing the chance of hitting a paying hand (pair of jacks or better, straight, flush, or better).

Dealt 7c 2d 9d 2c 4h with a pair of deuces. Although 2-2 does not qualify for a payout (only jacks or better), holding the pair and discarding three cards gives the best expected value by maximizing chances to improve to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind. Discarding all five or other patterns would forfeit the pairing structure entirely.

Hold the pair of 9s for three-of-a-kind upside (15 credits guaranteed). Discarding 2c, 6d, 8c gives three chances to improve to a full house, four of a kind, or better, while the low cards offer minimal value.

Hold the Ace and Queen (jacks or better). Discarding 3, 8, 4 gives three fresh cards to pursue a straight, flush, or pair improvement while retaining a guaranteed 5-credit payout if nothing connects.

Holding Jh and Qh gives a four-card inside straight draw (9-10-J-Q) plus two overcards to jacks. This maximizes expected value by balancing the chance of hitting the straight (4 cards: 9s, Ts) or pairing J/Q for a jacks-or-better payout against low-value single cards and weak two-card combinations.

Hold the King of spades as it's the only card with potential for a high pair (jacks or better). Discarding the remaining four cards maximizes the chance of drawing to make a pair of kings, or alternatively drawing into a straight or flush, which all outweigh the poor expected value of any other hold pattern with these weak cards.

Holding the pair of Kings (Kc, Kh) guarantees at least 5 credits (jacks or better). Discarding 2d, 4h, and 9s gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind, which would yield 15, 45, or 125 credits respectively. This maximizes expected value over holding all cards or any other pattern.

Hold Ad and Js. This keeps a pair of jacks (paying 1 credit) while maximizing chances for improvements: Ad can connect to the 9c and 4s for wheel straights or complement flush draws, and Js is already a paying hand. Discarding 2s, 9c, and 4s gives us two fresh cards to complete high pairs, straights, or flushes.

Hold the Jack (Jh) for a guaranteed payout of 5 credits. The dealt hand has no flush draw, no straight draw, and no pairs. Discarding four cards to draw toward speculative hands (like a straight or flush with 7-5-6-9) has lower expected value than securing a certain jacks-or-better win.

Holding only the Queen gives the best expected value. The hand contains no pairs, no flush draws, and no straight draws. The Queen (a high card) is the only card worth keeping as it has potential to pair up with another Q, K, or A on the draw to make Jacks or Better. Discarding the other four cards maximizes chances for improvement.

Hold the two sixes (pair of 6s). The current hand has no jacks-or-better pair, so discarding the 3s, Qh, and 5d maximizes the chance of improving to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind with the three draws, yielding better expected value than any other hold pattern.

Hold the 4s to pursue a flush draw with four spades (4s, 5s, 8s, 6c become four spades after drawing one more). This gives 9 outs for a flush (30 credits) versus holding the pair of 4s which only guarantees 5 credits. The flush draw EV is superior.

Jack of hearts is the only paying card with current hand valued at 5 credits (jacks or better). Discarding the other four cards gives the best expected value, as drawing four new cards offers the possibility of pairing the Jack, making three-of-a-kind, or improving to a flush/straight with appropriate draws, rather than keeping any non-paying low cards.

Dealt Qc-6d-7d-3h-8h. Holding only the Queen (a paying card) maximizes expected value. The remaining cards (6d, 7d, 3h, 8h) offer minimal draw potential and no synergies for straights or flushes. Discarding all four and drawing four fresh cards gives the best chance to complete a pair of jacks or better, three of a kind, or higher.

Hold the pair of Jacks (Jh and Jc) for a guaranteed payout of 5 credits. Discarding the 9c, 3s, and 5c gives the best expected value by keeping a made hand rather than chasing unlikely draws (flush or straight prospects are weak with these remaining cards).

Holding T-J-T gives a pair of tens (jacks or better, 5 credits). This is a strong foundation with draw potential to improve. Discarding 2s and 7c maximizes the chance of completing a straight (9-J-T-T becomes 9-J-Q-K-A or similar) or improving the pair to three of a kind or better.

Current hand has a pair of queens and a pair of eights (two pair, worth 10 credits). Holding the two queens and one eight gives the best EV by keeping the high pair and one eight while discarding the 7 and 8c to draw two cards. This maximizes chances of hitting a full house (45 credits) or three of a kind (15 credits) while retaining the guaranteed two pair payout.

Four diamonds (Td, Kd, 9d, 2d) gives a powerful draw to a flush (6 credits) or royal flush (4000 credits). Discarding the 7s maximizes EV by pursuing the high-value flush outcomes while keeping four cards that work together. The 2d is a weak diamond but contributes to both the royal and regular flush draws.

Hold the pair of fours. With no high cards and no flush/straight draws, the pair of fours (two pair at minimum if another 4 or 3/5 appears) offers the best expected value. Discarding 5c, Td, and 3c gives three chances to improve to three of a kind, full house, or two pair.

Hold the Jack of spades for a guaranteed pair of jacks (1 credit = 5 credits payout). Discarding the three of a kind pair and low cards maximizes expected value by aiming for a high pair, three of a kind, or better, rather than chasing unlikely straights with 3-5-4 gaps.