Video Poker table

Ace and jack of diamonds (two suited high cards) is the best hold: it keeps the chances of a high pair and flush and royal draws. The 3-card flush including the 4d has fewer ways to make a high pair, so it is worse.

A low pair of fives (5d, 5c) is the best hold: keeping it has higher expected value than any draw, and 3-card or 4-card draws from 9s, 6d, 2s have no meaningful straight or flush potential.

With no pair, flush or straight draw, the best play is to hold the two high cards J and K (suited-ness aside) since J-K unsuited beats holding a single high card; discard 6, 4, 9.

A low pair is worth more in expected value (about 0.82 per credit) than any draw available here, such as the inside straight draws from 5-8-9, so I hold the pair of twos and discard the rest.

Holding the unsuited Jh and Qs (two high cards) is close to holding J-Q-T for the straight draw. By my rough estimate, J-Q gives about 0.48 expected return against about 0.47 for J-Q-T, so I chose J-Q.

A low pair of nines is the best hold here, ahead of any draw. It has a higher expected value than keeping 9-T or 7-9-T, which are only weak straight draws.

The hand is two pair (4d 4c 3s 3h) plus a 2h. Holding both pairs and drawing one card has an expected value of about 2.6 credits per credit bet, from a full house chance of 4/47 and a two-pair payout otherwise. That is better than holding one pair.

No made hand or four-card draw here. I estimate that holding Ad and Qs, two unsuited high cards, is worth slightly more than the three-card ace-high diamond flush draw (Ad, Td, 9d) or Ad alone, so I discard the other three.

A high pair of jacks is the best hold here; it beats keeping the Td-Jh inside-straight draw or any other partial draw.

There is no pair, flush draw, or one-card straight draw. The 2-4-5-7 cards need two specific ranks to make a straight, so the best play is to keep the lone jack for its high-pair chance and draw four cards.

With no made hand or four-card draw, the unsuited king and ace (two high cards) has the highest expected value. Its chance of pairing a high card beats the low-card and straight draws.

There is no pair or four-card draw, so I keep the two unsuited high cards (Ace and Queen). That has a higher expected value than a three-card flush or straight draw.

Holding the low pair of tens (Ts, Td) is the standard best play here, with an EV of about 0.82 per credit, which beats the open-ended straight-draw and other alternatives such as 3-2-9 junk.

Holding the four diamonds (6d, Td, 3d, Qd) and discarding Js gives about 1.21 credits per credit bet: 9 flush outs at 6 plus 3 queens that pair for 1. That beats the J-Q-T straight draw and the high-card holds.

With no pair, flush or straight draw, the best hold is the two high cards K and Q, which keep the chance of a jacks-or-better pair (about 0.47 EV) and beat any hold that keeps low cards.

There is no pair or made hand. The suited Td-Jd is the best draw: it keeps royal and straight-flush chances and a high card that pays if it pairs, so I discard the other three.

Keeping the suited Jh and Kh (two high cards) has the highest expected value here. The 3-spade hand of 5s, 9s and 3s is a much weaker draw.

A low pair of eights (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats the unsuited J-Q high-card draw (about 0.47), so I hold the pair and discard the rest.

Holding the pair of kings (about 0.82 EV per credit) beats any draw from the three clubs 9-8-3, which is only a weak flush draw, so discard the other three cards.

A high pair of queens is worth about 1.5 credits per credit bet, while the four-card flush is worth about 1.25 (9 flush outs at 6, plus 5 outs for a jacks-or-better pair at 1, over 47 cards). So I keep the queens and discard the rest.

With a low pair of 3s and no better draw, holding the pair (EV about 0.82) beats Ace-high or other draws such as 3-7-8 or A-plus-pair alternatives.

A low pair of sevens (about 0.82 credits per credit bet) beats the 2-3-4 draw and any other hold in this hand, so I keep the pair and discard the other three cards.

Hold the two pair (4s and 8s), which is the standard optimal play. It has a 4/47 chance of drawing a full house, and it already guarantees a two-pair payout of 10 credits.

A low pair of deuces has a higher expected value than keeping the lone king or any 3-card draw, so hold the two 2s and discard the rest.

A low pair of 5s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats the alternatives here, such as a lone Jack (about 0.47) or the 3-card flush draw 5h-8h-Jh (about 0.6), so I hold the pair and discard the rest.

There is no pair, flush draw or four-card draw. An unsuited 7-8-9 three-card straight draw is worth less than keeping a single high card, so I hold the queen and discard the rest.

Two pair (8s and 4s) is a made hand; hold the four cards and draw one to try for a full house (4/47 chance), which is better than breaking up the pairs.

Holding J-Q-K keeps three high cards with straight potential (A-10 draws) and high-pair chances. It has a higher expected value than any other hold here, since the 8 and 7 add nothing.

There is no made hand, and the best draw is the two unsuited high cards, ace and king. Their expected value is higher than keeping a lone ace or the suited 6-7.

There is no pair, draw, or flush chance, so the best play is to keep the two unsuited high cards, Qh and Js. That gives the highest expected value of the 32 hold patterns, better than a single high card or the 8-7 connectors.

A pair of fives (about 0.82 credits per credit bet) beats the three-card club draws and other holds, which are worth less.

A pair of jacks is the best hold here; keeping the kicker-less high pair beats holding any high-card combination like J-K-A.

A low pair of nines (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats every alternative here, including the weak three-card flush and straight draws, so I hold the pair and discard the rest.

With a low pair of threes (3s, 3h) and no high-card or draw combination that beats it, holding the pair is optimal in 9/6 Jacks or Better (EV about 0.82 versus roughly 0.47 for a lone Q).

The 5-7-8-9 inside straight draw has only 4 outs, worth about 0.34 credits per credit bet. Holding the lone queen is worth about 0.47, so it is the better hold.

The hand has no made pair and no flush draw. Holding the ace alone (about 0.36 per credit, from memory rather than a fresh calculation) should be a little better than the 6-7-8-T inside straight draw (about 0.34 per credit), which has only 4 outs and no high cards to pair.

No made hand and no 4-card draw. Holding the lone ace and drawing four cards has a slightly higher EV than the 7-8-9 three-card straight draw, by my rough estimate.

A low pair of 4s (about 0.82 credits per credit bet) has a higher expected value than any single high card or the suited J-T, so keep the pair and discard the rest.

There is no pair, so I hold the suited high cards Ac and Kc, which have the best expected value of any hold in this hand. This is from memory of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy, not a calculation.