Video Poker table

Holding K-J-T-9 gives an inside straight draw with two high cards. Any of 4 queens makes a straight, and 6 kings or jacks make a paying pair, for about 0.47 credits per credit bet. That beats holding K-J alone or J-T-9-7.

Suited jack-ten is the strongest holding here. It keeps straight, flush, royal and high-pair draws alive, while the 5, 6 and 9 offer nothing worth keeping.

There is no pair, flush draw or four-card straight draw, so the best play is to keep the lone jack (a paying high card) and discard the other four.

There is no made hand, no four-card draw, and no pair. I'm holding the suited Jh-Qh, which keeps royal and straight-flush chances and has the best EV of the remaining options. This comes from remembered strategy-table values, not a computed EV for every pattern.

There is no made hand or strong draw. A lone king (paying on a pair of kings or better) has a higher expected value than the weak 3-card club draw (3c, 6c, 7c), so I hold only the king.

A low pair of sevens is worth more than any draw on this hand (Th, 6s, 3d offer only weak 4-card or high-card options), so hold the pair of 7s and discard the rest.

Two pair (5s and 9s) is worth holding all four cards, since the draw to a full house has a 4/47 chance at 9 per credit, giving better expected value than keeping any single pair. The Qs is discarded.

A low pair of fives (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the high cards J and K (about 0.54), so hold the two fives and discard the rest.

Hold the pair of queens (Qd, Qh) and discard 3c, Ks and 9d; a high pair is better than holding a single high card like the king with the queens.

Placeholder

Hold the pair of queens and discard the 7c, 3c and Kd. A high pair has a higher expected value than keeping the pair with the king kicker, and a 3-card draw to the pair gives the best chance at trips, two pair or a full house.

Holding A-2-4-5 needs a 3 for a straight and is worth about 0.40 per credit. Keeping only the ace and drawing four is worth about 0.46 per credit, which I am recalling from standard 9/6 strategy rather than computing exactly.

Keeping the four hearts (3h 4h Th Kh) and discarding the Js gives about 1.21 credits per credit bet: 9 flush outs pay 6 and 3 kings pay 1. That beats any high-card hold, such as Js+Kh at roughly 0.6.

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 king, which is worth about 0.48.

With a low pair of fives and no better draw, holding the pair (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the lone queen (about 0.47) or any other option.

A high pair of jacks is the standard optimal hold here, worth about 1.54 credits per credit bet. That beats any draw available from Ac, 9c, and 8s, such as the weak three-card flush draw.

Holding the pair of jacks is the standard optimal play here; it beats keeping the K and A high cards or a 3-card draw, since a paired jack already pays and can improve to trips, two pair, a full house or quads.

A low pair of nines (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats any draw from 4d Th 9h 9s 3c, such as the 4-3 or T-9 draws, so I hold the pair and discard the other three cards.

Four clubs (7c, 4c, 8c, 3c) give a flush draw with 9 outs, worth about 1.15 credits per credit bet. That beats any straight or low-card draw, so I discard the 2h.

Holding the low pair of nines (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the ace alone or ace-high draws, since a pair of 9s gives strong chances at trips, two pair, or a full house.

A high pair of aces is worth about 1.5 credits per credit bet, well above the alternatives, so I keep the pair and discard the King and the two small spades.

Holding the pair of jacks (Js, Jc) is optimal; it beats keeping the Q or any inside straight draw, and the pair has the highest expected value here.

There is no made hand and no flush or open straight draw. Holding the two unsuited high cards, ace and jack, gives a better expected value than one high card, a 5-6-8 inside straight draw, or discarding everything.

Two pair (kings and tens) is already a paying hand, and holding all four cards gives a 4/47 chance of a full house. That beats keeping only the high pair.

With no pair, no flush draw and no real straight draw, the best hold is the two unsuited high cards, Q and A. This beats holding a single high card or a T-Q-A combination.

A low pair of sixes (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the lone jack (about 0.47), so hold the pair of 6s and discard the other three cards.

No pair, flush draw, or straight draw is available, so I keep the two unsuited high cards K and J. Keeping the ten as well probably gives up more chance of a jacks-or-better pair than it gains in straight chances. This is from memory of the standard 9/6 strategy, not an exact calculation.

A high pair of jacks is the best hold here: it beats keeping the ace or the 4h/9h cards, which have no meaningful draw. Discard the other three cards.

Keeping the pair of kings (high pair) has the highest expected value here, well above any draw from 4d-5d-Kd or other partial holds.

Two pair (9s and 2s) is already a paying hand and gives a 4/47 chance of a full house on the draw, which beats breaking up the pairs to hold just one.

No made hand or four-card draw is available, so I keep the suited Qh-Jh. It has the best expected value: high-pair chances plus royal, straight and flush outs, ahead of the low 7-6-5 straight draw.

The hand has no made pair, only an inside straight draw (6-7-8-T, needing a 9) with about 0.34 credits of expected return per credit bet. Keeping the lone Ace is worth roughly 0.47, so I hold it and draw four.

Hold the pair of queens (Qh, Qc): a high pair has an EV of about 1.5 credits per unit bet, which beats keeping the ace or chasing the flush with As, 9s, 5s.

Keep the four spades (Qs, 9s, 6s, 7s) and discard the 4d. The 9 remaining spades make a flush, and the 3 remaining queens make a pair of queens, for an EV of about 1.21 credits per credit bet. That beats every other hold.

There is no pair, flush draw, or straight draw worth keeping. Holding the two unsuited high cards, Jc and Ah, gives the best expected value, because either one pairing pays jacks or better.

Holding the pair of 5s (about 0.82 EV per credit) beats keeping the unsuited J-Q-K (roughly 0.6-0.7), so I discard the three high cards. These EV figures are from memory of standard 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy, not computed here.

Keeping T-J-Q-K gives an open-ended straight draw: 8 outs pay 4 credits each, and 9 more outs pair a J, Q or K for 1 credit. That is worth about 0.87 credits per credit bet, better than holding just J-Q-K at about 0.6.

Hold the pair of queens (Qc, Qh). The pair has an expected value of about 1.5 credits per credit bet. The J-Q-T inside-straight draw has a lower expected value.

There is no made hand and no four-card draw. Holding the suited Qs and As, two high cards that can each pair for a jacks-or-better win, has the best expected value of the available holds.

With a low pair of threes and no flush or straight draw worth more, holding the pair and drawing three cards has the highest expected value; keeping the king alone or a high-card draw is worth less.