Video Poker table

The hand is 2-3-5-7-T, all of different suits except two clubs. It has no pair, no suited draw and no four-card straight draw. A lone ten is not a high card and a pair of tens pays nothing, so discarding all five is the best play.

There is no pair, flush draw, or real straight draw, so I hold the lone king, the best single high card. The offsuit K-T is not a strong enough pair of high cards to hold both.

There is no pair or flush draw, so I keep the three high cards (Q, A, J) and discard the 2 and 7. Three high cards should have a slightly higher expected value than the suited A-Q alone.

Two pair (2s and 8s) is already a paying hand and holding all four cards gives a one-in-eleven chance of a full house, which beats breaking up the pairs.

There is no made hand or flush draw, and 4-5-6 is only a weak open three-card straight draw. Holding the unsuited Ace and Jack gives the best expected return, because pairing either one pays 1 credit per bet credit.

There is no made hand, flush draw, or straight draw worth keeping. The best hold is the lone queen, since a pair of queens pays and a high card beats a weak three-card flush from the 4d, 6d and 9d.

Nothing here pays, so I'm keeping the two high cards, Jh and As. This is a close call against the unsuited J-T-9 straight draw. From memory I rate the two-high-card hold slightly higher, but I did not compute the exact expected values.

No pair, flush or straight draw is strong here, so I hold the unsuited king and ace, which has the best expected value (about 0.43 per credit). The alternatives are worse: a single ace is weaker, and 3c-8c or 7h-8c are low draws.

The hand has no pair, no flush draw beyond two suited cards, and no straight draw worth keeping. Holding the lone queen, a high card that pairs for a 1-credit-per-credit payout, has the best expected value of the options.

The hand has no pair, no four-card flush and no four-card straight draw. Holding the lone ace, which pays on a pair of aces, should have the best expected value, ahead of the three-card flush and three-card straight draws.

There is no pair or flush draw, and the 8-9-T three-card straight is weak. Holding the lone king keeps the best chance of a jacks-or-better pair, which has the highest expected value here.

A pair of 5s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats every alternative here, including the suited 4d-5d draw and the Q-K high-card holds, so I hold the two 5s and discard the rest.

Holding the pair of 3s has the highest expected value here (about 0.82 credits per credit bet). That beats keeping the lone jack or any other draw.

A low pair of deuces is worth more than any other hold here (no flush or straight draws, and the 5-7-T cards don't beat the pair), so keep the pair and discard the other three cards.

A low pair of tens (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the king alone or the pair plus the king, so I hold the two tens and discard the rest.

No pair or made hand, so I keep the suited ace-king of hearts. It has the best expected value of the 32 hold patterns: it can pair a high card, and it keeps flush and royal chances alive.

Holding the low pair of fours is worth more than any draw from Th 7s 6d, since the ten, seven and six form no straight or flush draw.

With no pair, flush or straight draw, the best play is to hold the two high cards Jc and Qh, which gives about 0.48 EV per credit. That beats holding either single high card.

Holding the pair of queens is worth about 1.5 credits per credit bet, well above the inside-straight draw A-K-Q-T, which only completes on a jack.

There is no pair or flush draw, so I hold T-J-K-A: it draws to a Broadway straight with a Q and pairs a high card on 9 other outs, about 0.53 EV per credit. That beats the other holds I considered.

A low pair of 8s has a higher expected value than keeping the single high card J or a 3-card inside straight draw, so I hold the two 8s and discard the rest.

A pair of jacks is a made paying hand and has the highest expected value here, so I keep the Jh and Jd and discard the 8s, 4c and 6s.

No pair or flush or straight draw is available. I recall the 9/6 Jacks or Better ranking putting two unsuited high cards (J and K) ahead of suited J-T, but I am working from memory and am not certain, so I held J and K and discarded the rest.

A low pair of sevens (7s, 7d) is the best hold here, with no flush or straight draw worth more than its expected value.

A pair of nines (low pair) has a higher expected value than the suited king-ace, so I hold the pair and discard the rest.

6-7-8-9 is a made open-ended straight draw, so I hold those four and discard the Qs. Any 5 or 10 completes the straight, which pays 20 credits, so the draw is better than keeping the lone queen.

A low pair of nines is the best hold here, with an expected return of about 0.82 per credit, well above any draw from this hand. The 4h, Tc and 2c are discarded.

5d 3h 6s 4h make a 4-card open-ended straight draw (3-4-5-6, needing a 2 or 7), which has 8 outs. The Kd is not helpful, so discard it. Keeping the king as a high card is worth less than the straight draw.

There is no pair, no four-card draw and no good three-card draw. Keeping the lone jack of clubs, a high card that can pair into a jacks-or-better win, has the best expected value of the 32 hold patterns.

A high pair of jacks is already a paying hand and has the best expected value, so I keep Jc and Jh and discard the other three cards.

A low pair of sixes (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats the weak three-card straight draws available from A-4-5-6, so I hold just the pair and discard the rest.

Holding the four diamonds (Kd, Jd, 8d, 4d) and discarding the Ah gives about 1.28 credits per credit bet. That comes from 9 flush outs paying 6 plus 6 outs that pair a K or J and pay 1, which beats any high-card hold.

There is no pair, no flush draw and no real straight draw, so I keep only the ace. A lone high card can pair into jacks or better and has a higher expected value than discarding everything or keeping low cards.

No made hand, so I keep the suited high cards Ace and Queen of clubs. Two high cards give better expected value than a single high card or any weak straight draw.

A high pair of kings is the clear best hold in Jacks or Better, so I keep the Kd and Kc and discard the 8h, Tc and 4h.

A pair of tens is the best hold here. It is worth about 0.82 credits per credit bet, more than any straight or high-card draw from 9-T-Q.

There is no pair, flush draw, or straight draw worth keeping, so I hold the lone queen. This is a single high card that can pair for a jacks-or-better payout, and I believe it has a slightly higher expected value than the suited 7-8 (recalled from the standard 9/6 strategy ranking, not computed).

The hand has no pair, no high card, no four-card straight or flush draw, and no suited high cards. Holding 6-7-8 is only a weak three-card straight draw, and I estimate it at about 0.28 per credit. Discarding all five should be slightly better, around 0.36 per credit as I recall, though I did not compute that exactly.

A pair of queens is a made paying hand with the best expected value here; the K, 9 and 3 are discarded, and keeping the king as a kicker does not improve the odds.

A low pair of 5s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the lone ace or queen, or the ace and queen together, which are worth about 0.47 per credit. Hold the pair and draw three cards.