Video Poker table

Keep the King as a high pair kicker; drawing four cards gives the best expected value for this hand with no made pair.

Holding the pair of 6s keeps a guaranteed win and maximizes expected value over drawing three cards, with chances to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or full house.

The hand contains a pair of 4s but no high cards; optimal strategy for 9/6 Jacks or Better is to discard all five cards when holding only a low pair with no potential for a straight, flush, or high-card draw.

Holding the three 9s (9d, 9c, 9s) gives a guaranteed three of a kind (15 credits) with strong draws to a full house or four of a kind; discarding the 6s and 5c is the optimal play.

The hand is 3s 2d Kc 5s Qh, which contains no pair, no high card worth keeping, and no draw to a straight or flush. Optimal strategy for Jacks or Better is to discard everything and draw five new cards.

Keep the pair of sixes for a guaranteed three-of-a-kind payout and draw three cards to chase a full house or four of a kind; discarding the 8-9-2 straight-draw cards is optimal because the pair's expected value exceeds the open-ended straight draw's EV.

Keeping the 4-5-5-6 gives an open-ended straight draw (3-4-5-6 or 4-5-6-7) with 8 outs to a straight, which is the highest EV play; discarding the Ten is correct since a pair of 5s alone pays only 10 credits.

Keeping the Jack gives a guaranteed 1-credit payout (Jacks or Better) and preserves a high card for potential straights or pairs; discarding the rest maximizes draw possibilities from the remaining 47 cards.

Keep the pair of 8s; discarding the other three cards maximizes expected value over drawing for a higher hand.

Keeping only the Qh is the optimal play for a single high card with no pair or draw potential, maximizing expected value.

Keep the Jack of hearts as the only high card for a Jacks-or-better draw; discarding all five yields the highest expected value for this hand.

Keeping 4c, 6d, 7d, 9d, Ac gives an open-ended straight draw (5-8) with four to a flush; this is the highest-EV hold among the 32 patterns for this hand.

Keeping Ks-Jd-Js gives a pair of jacks, which already pays 5 credits. Drawing two cards yields a high expected value by improving to two pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind.

The hand is a 9-high with no pair, no flush draw, and no straight draw. Holding any card reduces expected value below the optimal draw-five baseline, so discarding all five is correct.

Holding the pair of 7s is the optimal play; it maximizes expected value by drawing three cards to chase three-of-a-kind or better, while discarding the Ace and the suited connectors avoids diluting the pair's equity.

Keeping the Jack of spades gives a chance at a pair of jacks or better; the rest are low disconnected cards with no draw potential.

Keep the Jack of hearts for a chance at jacks or better; discard the rest as there is no straight, flush, or pair draw worth chasing.

Holding only the Ten gives the highest expected value for this hand; no pair, straight, or flush draw is present, so discarding all but the Ten is optimal.

Holding the two 9s keeps a pair and gives the best expected value among the 32 possible hold patterns for this hand.

Keep the queen for a single high card; the rest are disconnected low cards with no draw potential.

Keep the Jack for a guaranteed jacks-or-better payout; the remaining cards form no straight or other draw worth chasing.

Keep the 4-5-6-7 straight draw (discard the second 4) to chase the straight, which pays 4 per credit and has the highest expected value among legal holds.

Holding the pair of 7s (Qd and 7h) gives the highest expected value; drawing three cards to chase three of a kind or better is the optimal play for a low pair.

Keep Ks and Qh for a guaranteed jacks-or-better payout; discarding the three low cards gives the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or a straight/flush draw.

Keeping the pair of 9s gives the highest expected value; discarding the 7c draws three cards to chase a full house or four of a kind.

Keeping Kd, Jd, Kh, 6s gives an open-ended straight draw (4-5-6-7-8 and 5-6-7-8-9) plus a pair of kings, which has higher expected value than keeping just the pair or the suited Jd-Kd for a flush draw.

Holding the pair of 8s (8c and 8s) plus the Qd gives a three-card royal flush draw (Kh, Qd, and a needed Jd, 10d, Ad) with high expected value, better than keeping just the pair or the two high cards.

Keeping Js, Tc, Kc gives an open-ended straight draw (Q-J-T-9-K) with high cards, maximizing expected value over discarding the low unpaired cards.

Keep the King high for a chance at jacks or better; the rest is a non-consecutive, off-suit garbage hand with no draw potential.

Keep the Jack of clubs for a single high card draw; discarding the other four cards maximizes expected value compared to keeping any low pair or straight-draw subset.

Holding Kh, Ah, Th keeps an open-ended straight draw (9-J-Q for a straight) plus a high pair of kings, maximizing expected value over discarding the low 2d and 4c.

Holding three queens and two tens gives a guaranteed pair of jacks or better with strong potential for full house, four of a kind, or straight draws.

Keeping only the King of hearts is the highest-EV play; it gives the best chance at a high pair (Jacks or better) while preserving straight and flush possibilities, and discarding all low cards avoids dead-end hands.

Holding the pair of 8s is the optimal play, as it maximizes expected value by drawing three cards to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or full house.

Keep the Jack of hearts and the pair of sevens to chase a full house, three of a kind, or two pair; the lone queen and low off-suit cards are discarded.

Keeping the Jack of spades gives a guaranteed pair of jacks, which pays 5 credits. Discarding the rest maximizes the chance of improving to two pair, three of a kind, or a straight, with a higher expected value than keeping any other subset.

Keep the Jack and Queen for a high-card draw; the pair of 4s is too weak to chase and the remaining cards are low, so drawing three cards maximizes the chance of pairing the J or Q or improving to two pair or better.

Holding the three queens gives a guaranteed 15-credit payout and a strong draw to a full house or four of a kind; discarding the 4d and Jd keeps the high pair while chasing those upgrades.

Holding Tc-9d-8s keeps an open-ended straight draw (7 or J completes a straight) with a high expected value, far better than discarding all for a single pair of Q's.

Keeping the Ace of diamonds alone is the optimal hold for this hand; it maximizes expected value by drawing four cards to chase a royal flush, straight, or high pair, which is far superior to keeping any low suited connectors or discarding everything.