Video Poker table

Hold the Ace and Jack. Discarding 8s, 3c, and 4d gives the best chance to improve toward a high pair, straight, or flush while keeping two live cards that already constitute a jacks-or-better hand if nothing improves.

Hold the pair of fives. While this is below the minimum paying hand (jacks or better), keeping the pair gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind on the draw. Discarding all three unpaired cards maximizes expected value compared to other hold patterns like holding three to a straight or starting fresh.

Hold Jc and Ks (two high cards). This gives the best chance to hit a pair of jacks or better, a flush, or a straight, while discarding the low cards 6d, 4h, and 9c which cannot form winning combinations on their own.

Keep the pair of face cards (K-J). Discarding 6-8-5 gives the best expected value by pursuing a pair of jacks or better, potential three of a kind, or full house. This is the optimal play for this unpaired high-card combination.

Hold the pair of deuces. While it doesn't pay immediately, keeping the pair gives the best expected value by retaining the opportunity to make three of a kind (15 credits) or a full house (45 credits) on the draw, compared to breaking it up for lower-probability hands.

Jack and Queen are live for a pair of jacks or better (5 credits). Holding both maximizes the chance of pairing one of them while also leaving draw opportunities for straights and flushes. Discarding T, 2, 5 keeps only the high cards that contribute to winning combinations.

Hold the pair of 9s. This gives a guaranteed 5-credit payout (jacks or better). Discarding 2c, Tc, 7d maximizes the chance of improving to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind while keeping the pair as a safety net.

Holding the pair of fours (4d and 4c) gives the best expected value. This pair is below the jacks-or-better threshold, but discarding three cards to draw for two pair, three of a kind, or a full house maximizes expected return compared to holding the pair of threes or drawing five new cards.

Hold Td-Ad-Qs for a four-card royal flush draw (diamonds). Discarding 2c and 9d gives the best expected value: 4 outs to the royal (800 credits), plus fallback equity from other diamond, straight, or high-card outcomes.

Hold the two jacks (Jh and Js) to pursue a pair of jacks or better (guaranteed 5 credits), which is the baseline winning hand. Discarding Td, 6d, and 7c gives three fresh cards for a potential upgrade to two pair, three of a kind, full house, or better.

Only the Jack of spades qualifies as a paying hand (jacks or better). Discarding the 4, 7, 2, and 5 gives the best chance to improve to a flush, straight, or higher pair by drawing four new cards.

Hold K and A (jacks or better pair with kicker). Discarding 5-7-4 gives the best expected value, as we have a guaranteed min payout while drawing three cards offers potential for straights, flushes, or improved pairs.

Hold the Ace for potential royal flush or ace-high straight. Three-card flush (5c, 8c, Ac) is weaker than holding the lone high card. The Ace is the strongest card and offers the best expected value for the draw.

Holding the pair of tens gives a guaranteed payout of 5 credits on this hand. Drawing three cards provides the best expected value, as it offers multiple chances to improve to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind while preserving the current guaranteed winning hand.

Hold Js and Qd (jacks or better pair) rather than chasing the three diamonds. The pair guarantees 5 credits and has better expected value than drawing three cards to the flush, which has only a ~5% chance to complete.

Holding K-Q gives the best expected value. These are two high cards that can form high pair (paying 5 credits) or contribute to straight/flush draws. Discarding 8-2-3 removes low cards that don't synergize with the premium cards.

Holding the Ten and Jack gives a one-card draw to a royal flush (any K♦) worth 4000 credits, or a pair of Jacks worth 5 credits. This maximizes expected value compared to other hold patterns.

Keep the Jack and King (both jacks-or-better pay 1 credit each if no better hand forms), discard 5s, 9s, 3s to draw three new cards. This maximizes expected value by pursuing potential straights, flushes, pairs, and high-card combinations while retaining two high cards as a safety baseline.

Hold the pair of 8s (8c and 8s). This guarantees at least a jacks-or-better payout (5 credits). Discarding 3c, Jh, and Qc gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind while retaining the guaranteed value of the pair.

Holding the pair of Kings (jacks or better) guarantees a 5-credit payout and is the highest-confidence play. Drawing three cards gives a reasonable chance to improve to two pair, trips, or a full house while avoiding the bust risk of chasing the three-flush.

Hold the pair of queens and the two hearts (Qh, Jh) to pursue a flush or full house. Discarding 7h and 3h gives the best expected value by maximizing chances for a paying hand (flush at 30 credits, full house at 45 credits, or three of a kind at 15 credits) while keeping the guaranteed pair of jacks or better (5 credits minimum).

Hold the pair of threes (high cards rank low for paytable). Holding A-3-3 gives chances at trips (15), full house (45), or two pair (10) while discarding 7-8 which don't improve the hand.

Dealt 7c 2c 4s 7d 3d—a pair of sevens. In Jacks or Better, a pair of sevens pays nothing (only pairs of jacks and above qualify). Discarding all five cards and hoping for any qualifying hand (jacks or better, two pair, trips, straight, flush, etc.) on the redraw offers better expected value than keeping the non-qualifying pair. The optimal play is to discard all and draw five new cards.

Hold the pair of fours and pair of eights to draw three cards, giving multiple chances to complete a full house (pays 45) or improve one pair. Discarding the 9c and 8h offers the best expected value over all possible draw outcomes.

Hold the King (jacks or better qualifier) and draw 4 cards. This is the highest-value single card in the hand and gives the best chance for a paying hand. Discarding the three low cards and pair of deuces maximizes expected value.

Hold only the Jack of hearts. The Jack is a paying hand (jacks or better = 5 credits), and three hearts including the Jack offer good draw potential for a flush (6 cards remaining in the deck to complete a four-flush) or a straight. Discarding the 2, 5, 8, and 5 gives the best expected value by maximizing flush and straight draw opportunities while keeping the guaranteed pay.

Holding 7d-8d gives the best EV by drawing to multiple straights (5-6 completes 5-high straight, 9-T completes 9-high straight, 6-9 makes inside straights) and flush draws. Discarding 9c, 3c, Qs avoids weak unpaired cards and preserves the opportunity for strong hands.

Holding the pair of 4s and 8s (positions 2, 4, 5) gives two pair immediately if we catch any of the remaining two 4s or 8s, and also provides a solid foundation. Discarding the 7s and 4d maximizes upside potential while securing at least a pair of fours or eights for even money.

Hold J-K-Q to pursue a high-card pair or straight draw. The 8 and 7 are too weak to keep; discarding them gives the best expected value by drawing two fresh cards that could complete straights, pairs of jacks or better, or contribute to other strong hands.

Hold the Ad (Ace) and Kc (King) to pursue a high pair or royal flush draw. Discarding 6h, 2c, and 7h gives the best expected value by maximizing chances for jacks or better (guaranteed win) while keeping royal flush possibility.

Hold the pair of face cards (Queen and Jack). This guarantees a payout of at least 5 credits (jacks or better). Discarding the three low cards (8s, 7d, 3d) gives the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or better while keeping the sure payout.

Holding the pair of fives (5d, 5c) gives a guaranteed 5-credit payout for jacks or better. While three clubs (2d, 8c, 6c) offer a flush draw, the expected value of holding just the pair is higher than discarding both and hoping for a flush completion with only two other clubs remaining in the deck.

Hold the pair of jacks and king (three high cards with a pair). This gives the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or a full house. Discarding the 4 and ace creates two draw positions that offer the highest expected value, as pairing the jacks or king is most likely to yield a paying hand.

Hold the pair of 9s and three hearts (9h, 7h, 2h). This gives a strong chance to improve to three of a kind, or better yet, a flush or straight draw. Discarding the Ten allows a fresh card that might complete a flush or contribute to a straight while keeping the made pair as a floor.

Hold the Queen (high card that could pair for Jacks or Better). Discard 3s, 7h, Tc, 3h to maximize expected value. With one pair of threes and a Queen, keeping the Queen gives the best chance at a paying hand (Jacks or Better pair, or potential straights/flushes), while drawing four new cards offers better expected return than holding the low pair of threes.

The dealt hand is 9h 5c 8s 7c Qs—no pairs, no flush draw, no straight draw. The only card with positive EV is the queen (jacks or better). Holding just the queen and drawing four fresh cards maximizes expected value by aiming for a pair of queens or better from the new cards.

With 7s 8h Ts 6c Ac, the hand is unpaired and disconnected. Hold only the Ace (highest card and best draw potential to pair Aces). Discarding 7s 8h Ts 6c maximizes the chance to improve to at least Jacks or Better (pair of Aces) or better hands like a straight or flush.

Holding Ah (ace) and 9h gives two hearts with high-card potential and a draw to a flush or straight. Discarding 8h, 3s, and 7s improves expected value by maximizing draws to premium hands (flush, straight, or pair of aces). This is superior to holding all hearts or low-value combinations.

Hold the pair of fours and the Jack. This gives a chance to draw toward a full house or three of a kind while keeping the guaranteed pair holding pattern. Discarding the 7, 10, and 4c leaves three cards to draw, maximizing the probability of improving to a paying hand.

Holding Ac and Kc gives 4 to a royal flush (A-K high in diamonds/clubs). This is the highest-EV play from this hand; holding the ace alone or king alone, or holding multiple cards without royal potential, all yield lower expected value.