Video Poker table

A low pair of sixes has the highest expected value here. The only other draws are a three-card flush and a weak straight draw, and both are worth less.

There is no pair, no flush draw and no real straight draw, so the best hold is the two unsuited high cards, Queen and Ace. This has a slightly higher expected value than holding the Ace alone.

Holding the pair of fives is worth about 0.82 credits per credit bet. The inside straight draw (2-3-5-6 needing a 4) has only 4 outs and is worth about 0.34.

There is no pair, straight or flush draw worth playing, so I keep the three high cards A, K and Q (Ah, Qs, Kd). That gives the best chance of making a paying high pair, and it is the strongest hold for this hand by my recollection of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy, not an exact calculation.

Three fives (5s, 5d, 5c) is made trips; hold the three 5s and discard 9h and 3d to draw for four of a kind or a full house.

A low pair of tens is worth about 0.82 per credit, which beats any draw from 8h 7c 2c Tc Th, such as the 3-card straight or flush draws. I hold the pair of tens and discard the rest.

A low pair of twos is the best hold here, ahead of keeping the king alone, so I hold the 2c and 2s and discard the other three cards.

There is no pair and no four-card draw, so the best hold is the suited high cards Kd and Ad. That holds two high cards plus a flush and royal flush chance, which beats a single ace or the weak 6-7-T shape.

A high pair of kings is already a paying hand and has the best expected value, so I hold the Ks and Kh and discard the other three cards.

With a low pair of 2s and no better draw, holding the pair is correct; the 3-card draw to a straight or flush is weaker than keeping the pair (EV about 0.82 per credit).

A pair of queens is a made paying hand, and holding the pair and drawing three cards has the highest expected value over any other hold in 9/6 Jacks or Better.

A low pair of nines is worth more than any draw available here, such as the 9-6-5 or the 4-card straight/flush fragments, so I hold the pair and discard the rest.

Nothing pairs or makes a made hand here. Holding the ace alone has a slightly higher EV (about 0.36 per credit, from memory of the 9/6 Jacks or Better tables) than the four-card inside straight 3-4-6-7 (4 outs, about 0.34), and also above the weak three-club flush draw. The two are close, so I went with the ace.

No pair or flush draw is available, so I hold J-Q-T: two high cards plus a three-card straight draw. I estimate it is worth slightly more than J-Q alone or the 8-T-J-Q inside straight draw, but I did not compute these exactly.

Keeping the four spades (6, Q, 4, 5) gives 9 flush outs worth 30 credits each, plus 3 queens that make a paying pair. That is about 6.06 credits of expected payout, more than any other hold.

Two pair (Jacks and sevens) is already a made hand paying 2 per credit, and keeping both pairs gives a 4/47 chance of a full house, which beats breaking up to hold just the jacks.

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No pair, flush, or straight draw is worth keeping, so I hold the two unsuited high cards (K and A). Two high cards have a higher expected value than a single ace or any other holding.

With no pair, flush or straight draw, the hand is 4h Tc 2s Jd 8s. Holding the lone high card Jd (EV about 0.29) is better than holding Jd+Tc (about 0.27) or discarding everything (about 0.36 at best — but wait, that is incorrect here; holding Jd alone is standard), so I keep only the jack.

Two unsuited high cards (Q, A) are worth about 0.48 credits per credit bet. That beats the A-2-3-5 inside straight draw, which is worth only about 0.40 (19/47).

The hand has no made pair or flush draw. An inside straight draw (4-5-7-8) is worth about 0.34 per credit, while a lone ace is worth a little more, so I keep only the ace and discard the other four cards.

With a low pair of deuces and no strong draws, holding the pair is optimal (EV about 0.82 per credit) versus holding the Ace or Q/A high cards.

Three kings (Kc, Kh, Ks) is already a made three of a kind; holding just the three kings and drawing two cards gives the best chance at four of a kind or a full house.

There is no made hand and no four-card draw, so I keep the two unsuited high cards, Qc and Ad. That has the best expected value here, ahead of an inside straight draw, a weak three-diamond flush draw, or a lone ace.

4-5-6-7 is an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (any 3 or 8), worth about 0.68 credits per credit bet. That beats every other hold for this hand, so I discard the Td.

8-9-T-J is an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (7 or Q), plus 3 jack outs that pair the J for a push. That gives an EV of about 0.745 per credit, which beats any other hold.

There is no pair, flush draw or straight draw, so the best play is to keep the two high cards, Kc and Qh. They can pair into jacks or better, and that beats holding a single high card or drawing five.

There is no pair, flush draw or four-card draw, so I hold only the king. A lone high card should have a slightly higher expected return than the unsuited 8-9-T three-card straight draw or the K-T pair of unsuited cards. This is from memory of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy, not an exact calculation.

With three aces, hold them and discard the 9 and 8 to draw for four of a kind or a full house; this beats keeping any other combination.

Holding the 8, 9 and 10 of clubs (three to an open straight flush) has a higher expected return than keeping the lone king or any other pattern.

The 4-6-7-8 inside straight draw has only 4 outs, worth about 0.34 per credit. Holding the lone ace is worth roughly 0.4 by my rough estimate, from pairing the ace or drawing jacks-or-better pairs, so I keep the ace and discard the rest.

With no pair, no four-card draw and only a weak three-card flush, keeping the unsuited ace and king gives the best expected value, since pairing either one pays 5 credits.

Holding the pair of queens (Qs, Qh) is the standard optimal play over a single high pair with an unsuited jack kicker or draws to a straight/flush.

A held pair of jacks has an expected value of roughly 1.5 credits per credit bet, which beats the four-card flush draw at about 1.2, so I keep the Jd and Jc and discard the rest.

A low pair of deuces has a higher expected return in 9/6 Jacks or Better than holding unsuited K-Q, so I keep the pair and discard the other three cards.

Tc-9h-8c-7d is an open-ended straight draw, which has 8 outs (J or 6) and an expected return of about 0.68 per credit. That beats holding the lone king, so I discard Kh.

There is no pair or straight/flush draw, so the best hold is the suited King-Ten (Kc, Tc). It has royal and high-pair potential and is worth slightly more than a lone King.

There is no pair, flush draw or four-card straight draw. 4-6-7 is only a weak three-card straight draw, so holding the lone jack for a possible jacks-or-better pair has the highest expected value.

A pair of kings (Ks, Kc) is a made paying hand and the best hold; keeping the Qh kicker would lower the chance of improving, so discard Qh, 7c and 3s.

The hand 2c 6c 4c Tc has four clubs to a flush, so I hold those four and discard the 8s. Nine clubs remain in the 47-card deck, which is a 9/47 chance of a 30-credit flush. That beats any other hold here, since the hand has no pair and no high cards.