Video Poker table

A low pair of 4s (4d, 4c) is the best hold here; it beats holding the single Q or a 4-card inside draw, since there is no four-card flush or straight to consider.

No pair, flush draw or straight draw is available, so I hold the king alone, which has the best expected value here. The 9-10-7 inside-straight draw and the K-10 hold are both weaker.

Three kings is a made trips hand; holding just the three kings and drawing two gives the best chance at four of a kind or a full house, which beats keeping a kicker.

There is no pair, flush draw or high-card straight draw. I keep the lone ace, since a single high card is worth more than the 3-5-6-7 inside straight draw, which has only 4 outs.

No pair or made hand, so I keep the suited high cards Jh and Ah. Two suited high cards have a higher expected payout than a lone ace or the weak 3-4-6 straight draw.

Ts and Td are a low pair (tens), and the standard optimal play is to keep the pair over the 4-5-2 wheel draw, which has only 3 cards toward an inside straight.

A pair of aces (expected value about 1.5 credits per credit bet) beats the three-to-a-royal AJT of spades and the inside broadway straight draw, so I keep the two aces and discard the rest.

Hold the low pair of nines (9c, 9d); a low pair is worth about 0.82 per credit, more than any alternative such as the king alone or 4-card draws, of which there are none here.

A low pair of 4s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the ace and queen (high-card hold, about 0.47), so hold the pair and discard the other three cards.

With a low pair (3c 3d) and no better draw, holding the pair is optimal in 9/6 Jacks or Better. Its EV of about 0.82 per credit beats keeping the lone Q, which is about 0.48.

Holding the pair of fives (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats any hold from the unsuited A-K-Q high cards (about 0.5), so the other three cards are discarded.

Four to a flush (3c, Jc, 9c, Ac) has 9 outs for a 6-credit payout, about 1.15 credits per credit bet. That beats any high-card holding such as Jc and Ac.

Holding the suited Jd and Qd is the standard play here. It beats keeping the unsuited Ace along with them, or any other option in this hand.

3-4-5-6 is an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (2 or 7), worth about 0.68 credits per credit bet. That beats keeping the lone jack, which is worth about 0.47.

With no pair and no high-card pair possible, I hold the three diamonds 2d-4d-5d. They give flush, straight and straight-flush chances that outweigh a lone ten. This is a judgment from known video poker strategy, not an exact calculation.

The 8-9-T-J is an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (any 7 or Q), which is worth more than keeping the jack alone or a two-card high-card hold, so I discard only the 4c.

With a low pair of fives and unsuited high cards J, K, A, the standard optimal play is to hold the pair (EV about 0.82) rather than any high-card draw, since the pair offers trips, two pair and full house chances.

There is no pair, flush draw or straight draw, so the best play is to keep the two unsuited high cards, Ten and Jack. This has a slightly higher expected value than keeping the Jack alone, which is my recollection of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy rather than an exact calculation.

No pair, flush draw or four-card straight draw is available, so I keep only the queen, the single high card. This is from memory of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy, not a computed EV, and I could not clearly separate it from keeping Q-T or 9-T-Q.

With no pair, the best draw is the suited ace and ten (As, Ts). It keeps royal and flush chances and two high cards for a pair, which beats holding the ace alone or the suited 8-7.

Hold the pair of kings (Ks, Kd) and discard 6c, Qh and 4d; a high pair is clearly better than any other hold with this hand.

A pair of nines (low pair) has the highest expected value here, about 0.82 credits per credit bet. That beats the Ace-Queen suited high-card holds and the other options, none of which reach a 4-card draw.

Hold the pair of queens (Qh, Qd) and discard Ad, 7s and 5c. A high pair is worth more in expectation than keeping the ace kicker.

Holding 2-3-4-5 gives an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (four aces and four sixes, since the ace plays low), worth about 0.68 credits per credit bet. That beats keeping the lone queen at about 0.47.

There is no pair, flush or straight draw worth keeping. Holding the three unsuited high cards Q, K and A has a higher expected value than any other hold, because pairing any of them pays.

Two pair (7s and 9s) is already a paying hand, and holding all four paired cards leaves a 4/47 chance of a full house when drawing one card. That beats keeping just one pair.

Holding only the King has an expected return of about 0.38 per credit. The 2-3-5-6 inside straight draw is worth about 0.34 (4 outs in 47 cards, paying 4), so the King is better.

Holding the low pair of nines (9d, 9h) has the highest expected value here, well above a lone queen or the weak 8-9 suited draw.

3-4-5-6 is an open-ended straight draw with 8 outs (any 2 or 7), worth about 0.68 credits per credit bet. That beats holding the lone jack, which is worth about 0.47.

Low pair of fives (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats holding K-J suited or high cards (about 0.6), so keep the pair of 5s and discard the rest.

A low pair of sixes (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats holding the lone queen or the Q-T suited-offsuit combination, so keep the pair and discard the other three cards.

Hand is 6d 4c 3s 3c 8c with no high cards, so the low pair of threes (EV about 0.82 per credit) is the best hold. It beats the 4-card straight or flush draws, which do not exist here, and any 3-card draw.

Four to a spade flush (A,6,7,4) has about 1.2 credits of EV per credit bet, which beats the low pair of sixes at about 0.82. So I discard the 6h.

A pair of aces (a high pair) has an expected value of roughly 1.5 credits per credit bet, well above the suited A-K-T three-card royal draw. So I hold the two aces and discard the rest.

Hold the pair of queens (Qc, Qd) and discard Kc, 5s, 6s; a high pair has higher expected value than any other holding here, such as a single king or a 4-card draw (none available).

Holding the 6d, 7d and 9d gives about 0.49 credits per credit bet, from flush, straight flush and straight draws. That beats the lone jack at roughly 0.47 and the 5-6-7-9 inside straight draw at about 0.34.

A low pair of 4s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats any other hold here: the 5-4-2 and Td-5d draws are weaker, and no high cards, flush or straight draws are available. Keep both 4s and discard the rest.

The hand has only a low inside-straight draw (4 outs, EV about 0.340 per credit) with no high cards or pairs. Discarding all five has a slightly higher EV, about 0.360, so I chose that.

Two pair (aces and twos) is a made hand paying 2 per credit. Holding the four paired cards gives a 4/47 chance of drawing a full house, for an EV of about 2.55 per credit. That beats holding only the aces, so I discard the king.

A low pair of tens (Ts, Td) is the best hold here; its expected value of about 0.82 per credit beats the open-ended straight draw 7-8-T (an inside draw) and any other option.