Video Poker table

Hold the pair of fours. This guarantees a payout of at least 15 credits (three of a kind) and has reasonable potential for a full house (45 credits) or four of a kind (125 credits). Discarding all other cards maximizes expected value.

Hold K♠ Q♥ 8♠ for a draw to a Broadway straight or flush. Discarding 9♣ 7♠ gives the best expected value by pursuing multiple winning outcomes.

Holding the two fives gives a pair with one card to improve (3 outs for trips, 3 outs for a full house). Discarding 4c, Td, 5s leaves the best chance for a paying hand. The pair of fives itself does not pay on this paytable (only jacks or better), but the two outs to trips and full house make this the optimal hold pattern.

Hold the pair of fours and the Queen. Discarding the 4c, 3d, and Ah gives the best expected value by keeping a made pair (guaranteed 5 credits minimum) while drawing three cards to pursue trips, full house, or four of a kind (25 or more credits). Holding just the Q (high card) or drawing five new cards is weaker.

Hold the Jack and pair of deuces. The pair of deuces is currently worthless (below jacks), but keeping it gives a 2.5% chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind on the draw. Holding the Jack alone would only guarantee a return if it pairs, whereas the deuce pair has better upside potential with three remaining draws to fill.

Hold the ace and jack, keeping a chance at jacks or better while discarding low cards (8, 3, 7) to maximize draw potential. This gives the best expected value for the remaining draws.

Hold the pair of 7s. This gives us three of a kind if we hit another 7, two pair if we hit K or A, or at minimum keep the pair for a 15-credit payout. Discarding 5d, Kd, and Ah maximizes expected value by focusing on improving the made hand.

Holding K-A-A gives the best expected value. We have a pair of aces (jacks or better, guaranteed 5 credits), and discarding 4h and Jd gives two chances to improve to three of a kind, full house, or a flush. The Kc is also kept as a bonus card for potential straights or kicker value.

Hold the pair of sixes (currently worth 0 credits but keeps a made hand if another 6 appears) and the ace-high kicker. Discarding 6h, 8c, and 7s gives three draws to improve to trips, full house, or better. A pair of sixes alone doesn't pay, but this hold pattern maximizes upside by retaining the ace as a potential kicker while drawing to trips.

Hold the two aces for a pair of aces (jacks or better, paying 5 credits). Discarding 5h, 4h, and 8d gives three fresh cards to draw, maximizing the chance of improving to three of a kind, a full house, or better while securing at least a pair of aces.

Hold Qc and Ac. This keeps two high cards (Queen and Ace) that can form a jacks-or-better pair (Ace), and leaves three cards to draw from hoping to make a straight, flush, or improve to a higher pair. Discarding the low cards (4h, 9h, 3c) maximizes the chance of drawing to a strong hand.

None of the five cards form a paying hand (no pair of jacks or better, no straight, no flush draw). Drawing five new cards offers the best expected value. Discarding all cards gives us a fresh opportunity to hit a paying combination.

Pair of 9s is a made hand worth 5 credits. Discarding the three unpaired low cards (7s, 4s, 3c) gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind. Holding only the pair maximizes expected value.

The As (ace of spades) is the only high card that can contribute to a paying hand. Holding just the ace gives the best expected value by keeping open possibilities for a pair of aces, and potentially straights or other combinations in the draw. The Td, 2d, 4s, and Kh are low-value cards with poor synergy.

Hold the Queen (high card that qualifies for jacks or better). Discarding the pair of sixes and other low cards maximizes expected value by pursuing a high-card payout or better while removing weak holdings.

Dealt 2c 3d 5h 2d Tc with a pair of deuces (2c 2d). Holding just the pair of 2s gives EV of 1.54 credits. Discarding all five and hoping for a new hand would yield the baseline expected return of ~0.995 credits. Since the pair of 2s is below jacks (which pay), holding the pair still offers better expected value than a complete redraw, so I hold the 2d and discard the remaining four cards.

Hold the pair of aces and queen. This gives the best expected value: we keep a made hand (pair of aces, worth 5 credits) while maintaining draws to a full house or three of a kind if either ace or queen pairs in the draw. Discarding the 8 and 2 removes low kickers that don't contribute to strong hands.

All five cards are unrelated (3-10-7-5-6 with no pairs, no flush draw, no straight draw). Discarding all and drawing five fresh cards offers the best expected value in this jacks-or-better game.

Hold the Ace (only high card with potential). Discard 9d, 7c, 4d, 3h to maximize chances of completing a paying hand (pair of aces, straight, or flush draws). The Ace gives the best EV among all 32 hold patterns for this weak hand.

Hold Kd and Jd (the two diamonds with jacks-or-better value). This balances the high probability of hitting at least a pair of jacks/kings (worth 5 credits) or a flush (worth 30 credits) with reasonable draw odds, while maintaining a strong expected value for the remaining 20 hands.

Dealt 5T9-6h-4d with no pairs or flush draws. Discarding 5s, Td, 9h, 4d to keep only 6h maximizes the probability of drawing into a flush (9 remaining hearts), which is our highest-value achievable hand and better than holding nothing with these weak cards.

Keep the Kh and Ac (potential high-card strength and ace for ace-low straights). Discard 2h, 2s, 8c to draw three cards aiming for a high pair, straight, or flush. A pair of kings or aces guarantees at least 5 credits, while three-card draws offer potential for larger payouts like straights or flushes.

Keep Jack-high and Ace for potential high pair (Jacks or better) or drawing to a strong kicker. Discarding 9d, 3c, Qc gives four new cards to improve. The Ace provides value in straights and as a high pair if paired; Jack-Ace combinations support multiple winning outcomes.

Holding the pair of 8s gives expected value of approximately 1.54 credits per hand. Discarding both 8s or other combinations yields lower EV. The pair of 8s is below the jacks threshold but holding it still maximizes expected return over all possible draw outcomes.

Hold the Jack and Ace. This gives two ways to hit a paying hand (pair of jacks or better, or ace-high straight with 3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-Q-K). Discarding 4-2-7 maximizes the chance of drawing cards that complete a straight (3,5,6,8,9,10,Q,K) or improve to a higher pair.

Hold the pair of Kings and Queen. Discarding 6h and 4d gives the best chance to improve to three of a kind, full house, or potentially a straight with the three high cards (K, Q, K). This maximizes expected value compared to other discard patterns.

Keep Ad and Jd for the possibility of pairing jacks or better (guaranteed payoff) or hitting a straight/flush draw. Discarding 3s, 4s, and 7h gives the best expected value since these low cards have minimal pairing potential and break any weak draw patterns.

Hold K♥ and A♠ for a premium pair (Aces). This maximizes expected value by discarding weak kickers (9h, 2s, 4d) and drawing three cards to improve to three of a kind, a full house, or better.

Holding only the Jack (jacks or better) is optimal here. The Jack guarantees a minimum payout of 5 credits, and the remaining four cards (5c, 9s, 7h, 6c) offer no synergy for straights, flushes, or pairs. Discarding all four gives the best chance to draw into a strong hand while securing the jack-high payout floor.

Hold the King (only paying card currently). The 9-8-4-5 are disconnected and cannot form a straight or flush. The King alone gives a 5-credit payout; discarding 4 cards gives the best expected value by maximizing draw opportunities for high pairs, straights, or flushes.

Three tens is a strong hand paying 15 credits. Holding all three tens (positions 1, 2, 3) maximizes expected value since discarding the weak 8h and 5d gives two chances to complete a full house or four of a kind, while keeping the guaranteed three-of-a-kind payout.

Dealt K-5-Q-T-7, keeping the King and Queen (two high cards) offers the best expected value. This holds the strongest standalone cards and positions well for pairing or improved hands like straights or flushes, while discarding the weak 5, 10, and 7 maximizes draw potential.

Holding K-A-3h aims for a flush or ace-high straight; discarding 7s and 2h removes low cards that don't contribute to premium hands. This balances potential flush draws with the value of the king and ace.

Hold the Queen (Qc) as the only high card with potential to make jacks or better. Discarding all other cards maximizes expected value by giving the best chance to complete a paying hand.

King high with a pair of 3s. Keeping the King (a premium card that can make a straight or contribute to jacks-or-better) maximizes expected value by discarding low cards and drawing to stronger hands. Holding the pair of 3s has lower EV since three-of-a-kind with 3s is weak.

Hold the pair of Aces and King (jacks or better) while discarding the 7s. This guarantees at least 5 credits (1 per credit paytable payout) on the pair of aces. The two sevens offer minimal upside (only another pair of sevens wouldn't pay), whereas the three remaining cards could improve to trips, a full house, or even four of a kind with an Ace draw.

Hold the pair of Kings (Kd, Ks). This guarantees a payout of 5 credits for jacks or better. Discarding 5s, 9s, and 8c gives three chances to draw a kicker that improves to three of a kind (15 credits) or better, while maintaining the baseline pair value.

Holding 7s, 9s, and 7h gives a pair of sevens (worth 0 credits) but positions us to draw for a straight (any 6 or T completes 6-7-8-9-T, worth 20 credits) or a flush if a second spade arrives. Discarding Tc and 8c maximizes the draw's winning potential across multiple hand categories.

Jack of clubs is a sure payout (jacks or better pays 5 credits). Discarding 8, 3, 6, 10 gives the best expected value by retaining the guaranteed win while maximizing draw potential for higher hands like a flush, straight, or three of a kind.

Holding only the Ace gives the best expected value. The Ace can make a royal flush (A-K-Q-J-T of hearts), straight flush, or high pair. Discarding the low cards (4s, 8c, Th, 6c) maximizes the chance of improving to a paying hand. A single high card has superior EV compared to holding the 10 (no flush draw) or any low-card combination.