Video Poker table

Dealt three nines, a king (jacks or better), and an eight. Holding the three nines and the king maximizes expected value by securing a guaranteed three of a kind (15 credits) while discarding the weak eight. Replacing two cards offers the best chance to improve to four of a kind (125 credits) or a full house (45 credits) without exposing winning value.

Holding only the Ace gives the best expected value. The hand has no made pair or flush draw. The Ace is the strongest card and keeping it maximizes chances for a high pair (jacks or better) or contributes to straights. Discarding all others gives the optimal draw opportunity.

Hold the Ace (Ah). This weak hand has no pairs and no draw to a straight or flush. The only winning possibility is to draw four cards and hope to make a pair of jacks or better. Holding the Ace maximizes expected value by giving us the best chance to pair it on the draw while discarding all other low cards.

Hold the Jack of diamonds only. The hand contains no pairs, straights, or flushes, so the best strategy is to keep the only high card (Jack) and draw four new cards, maximizing the probability of forming a paying hand (pair of jacks or better, straight, flush, etc.).

Hold the three 6s (positions 0, 1, 3) to make three of a kind (pays 15). Discard the 3h and Td for two cards from the deck, which gives the best expected value by keeping a guaranteed 15-credit winner while pursuing four of a kind (125) or a full house (45).

Hold the pair of kings and ace for a guaranteed payout (jacks or better pays 5 credits). Discarding 6d and 3d gives the best expected value, as the remaining cards offer no flush draw and keeping low cards with the pair maximizes the chance of improving to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind.

Hold the Queen only. With 9d-Qd-8c-3s-4h, the dealt hand has no pairs and no flush draw. The Queen (a made hand) guarantees 5 credits if we draw, while holding only the Queen and drawing 4 new cards maximizes the probability of connecting with high cards (another face card or ace) to make a pair of jacks or better, or a straight/flush on the draw.

Holding the pair of 9s gives a guaranteed payout of 5 credits (jacks or better). Discarding 4c, 9h, 7c, 3c and drawing four fresh cards maximizes EV by chasing three-of-a-kind, full house, or four-of-a-kind outcomes while keeping a locked-in low-paying hand as the floor.

Hold K-Q-J for a strong high-card draw with excellent potential to make a paying hand (pair of jacks or better, straight, or better). Discarding 6-2 gives the best expected value since we have three high cards that could pair and some straight possibilities.

Hold Ac-Jh-7h for the flush draw (3 cards to flush) with Jh as an overcard to improve to a pair of jacks or better. Discard Ts and 9h as they don't contribute to high-value hands. This maximizes expected value by pursuing the high-paying flush while maintaining the jack as backup.

Hold 7d and Js. The jack gives us a guaranteed jacks-or-better payout (5 credits). Holding 7d-Js offers the best expected value by pursuing a straight (4 more cards needed), while keeping the jack as a safety net. Discarding 6h, 5s, and 8d maximizes the probability of improving to a paying hand.

Hold the pair of 9s (nines). This gives a guaranteed 5-credit payout for a pair of jacks or better. Drawing three cards offers the best expected value by hunting for a full house (45 credits), three of a kind (15 credits), or two pair (10 credits) while keeping the made hand.

Hold the Jack (Jh) to keep a paying hand (jacks or better guarantees 5 credits). Discarding 6h, 2h, 3h, 6d gives the best chance to improve to a flush, straight, or better while maintaining the sure payout from the pair of jacks.

Hold the pair of 6s (6c and 6h). This gives a guaranteed payout of 5 credits for the pair and a reasonable chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or better on the draw. Discarding 10d, 2c, and 5h maximizes expected value compared to other hold patterns.

Hold Ks, Ah, Js for three high cards (jacks or better pair already secured with Js, and Ah gives ace high straight potential). Discard 3s and 2h as they don't contribute to premium hands.

Holding the pair of 6s gives a guaranteed payout of 5 credits (jacks or better hand). Discarding 9s, 2d, and 4s maximizes the chance to draw into three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind while keeping the current winning pair.

Jack-high with no flush draw or straight possibility. Holding the Jack gives a guaranteed 5-credit payout for jacks or better; discarding it yields lower expected value since the remaining cards (3, 6, 4, 7) cannot form a straight or flush and would produce no payout on their own.

The Queen is the only high card (Jacks or Better requirement). Holding just the Queen gives us a 1-credit payout. Discarding the other four cards maximizes the probability of drawing to a pair of Queens or better, or to a flush/straight, since we retain one premium card.

Dealt 7d 4s 2h 6c 7c. Only current hand is a pair of 7s (not jacks or better), worth 0 credits. Holding only the 7c and discarding all four non-pair cards maximizes expected value by allowing four draw opportunities to improve to trips, full house, or four of a kind. Any other hold pattern produces lower EV.

Hold the 7h and Ah to pursue a flush draw (3 hearts already: 9h, 7h, Ah). With 47 cards remaining, we have 9 outs to make a flush (worth 30 credits), and the ace provides additional straight possibilities. Discarding 2h, 3d, 9h gives the best expected value for this draw-heavy hand.

Keep Js (jacks or better lock), Kh and Qh (3-flush to hearts with high-card straight potential). Discard 7h and 3h to maximize draws for the flush or high pair. This balances guaranteed value against improvement odds.

Hold the Jack (Jh) to pursue a pair of jacks or better, which guarantees at least 5 credits (1 credit per credit bet). Discarding 3c, 7d, Th, 5d gives four chances to improve the hand or maintain the pair. This is the optimal strategy for this low-card, single-honor dealt hand.

Hold the Jh and Qd (both jacks-or-better cards). Discarding 4s, 2d, and 6c gives the best expected value by keeping two high cards with potential to improve to a pair of jacks or better, or to draw into straights/flushes.

Hold the Queen (high card for jacks-or-better payout). Discarding 7s, 8h, 6h, and Td gives the best expected value by pursuing a high pair or better, as the remaining cards offer no straight or flush possibilities worth chasing over the guaranteed draw potential.

Hold Ac, Jc, As for a pair of aces with two high cards (J, A). This gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or two pair while keeping the high-card pair that already qualifies for payout. Discarding 3s and 2s removes low cards that don't contribute to strong hands.

Hold Jack and Ace. This keeps a pair of high cards (Jack and Ace are both premium holdings) and gives the best expected value by maximizing chances for a high-paying hand or at minimum keeping jacks-or-better. Discarding 2, 5, 3 allows three new cards that could complete straights, flushes, or pairs.

Hold the Jack and pair of 3s. The pair of 3s currently pays nothing, but holding it gives 3 ways to improve to three-of-a-kind (15 credits) or full house (45 credits). The Jack is a kicker that maintains a jacks-or-better backup (5 credits) if the pair doesn't improve. Discarding the 9, 6, and 3d maximizes expected value by pursuing the highest-paying improvements while retaining a minimum payoff.

Hold Ks, Ah, Th, Jh (the four high cards). This gives two premium holdings: Ah-Jh offers four cards to a royal flush, while Ks-Jh forms four to a broadway straight flush. Discarding the 4d keeps focus on high-value draws. The KJ-AJ combinations maximize expected value for the draw.

Three jacks is a strong hand worth 15 credits. Discarding the 7c and 8h gives two chances to improve to a full house or four of a kind, while keeping the guaranteed payout if no improvement comes.

King is a high pair (jacks or better) paying 5 credits guaranteed. The other cards (T, 6, 4, 9) are unconnected and offer minimal draw potential. Holding the King maximizes expected value.

Hold Td and Kh for a pair of jacks or better, discarding the three low cards. This preserves a guaranteed 5-credit payout while offering draws to two-pair, full house, or three-of-a-kind. Holding all five or other configurations has lower expected value.

Hold only the King (high card). This is the only card with potential value. Discarding all others gives the best chance to improve by drawing four new cards toward a paying hand (pair of jacks or better, straight, flush, or higher).

Holding the pair of 7s is the optimal play. While the hand doesn't currently win, keeping the pair gives a reasonable chance to improve to trips, full house, or four of a kind on the draw. Discarding down to just the pair maximizes expected value against other draw options like keeping three cards to the flush or just one of the non-paired cards.

No high cards (9, 4, 6, 8, 2) and no flush possibility. Drawing five new cards gives the best EV as this hand has no payable value.

Current hand is 7-6-8-6-7: one pair of sevens (pays 0, below jacks). Discarding all five cards gives the best expected value by drawing five fresh cards from the remaining 47-card deck, which offers more opportunities for paying hands (jacks or better, two pair, three of a kind, straights, etc.) than keeping the low pair. With 5 hands remaining, maximizing EV per hand is critical.

Hold the Jack and King (both high cards that pay if paired). Discarding 9h, 2s, and Qd gives the best chance to either make a pair of jacks/kings or improve toward a straight/flush, maximizing expected value on this final hand.

Hold the Jack for a guaranteed payout (Jacks or Better pays 5 credits). Discarding the 8, 6, 5, and 9 gives the best expected value by pursuing high-card strength while protecting the sure winner.

Hold the two jacks and ace (J-J-A). This maximizes the chance of making a paying hand: full house (J-J-A plus pair), three of a kind, or holding the jacks for jacks-or-better. Discarding the 9 and 2 gives the best expected value with only 2 hands remaining.

Hold the three high cards (K-K-J) to maximize the chance of a full house or three of a kind. This is the final hand, so expected value calculation confirms that keeping the premium high cards gives the best return.

Hold the pair of jacks and kings for guaranteed jacks-or-better payout (5 credits). Discarding 5c, 9d, 2h gives the best chance to improve to a higher-paying hand while securing the base 5-credit win.