Video Poker table

No made hand, straight draw or four-card flush is available. Holding the unsuited J and K (two high cards) has the highest expected value, ahead of any single high card or the weak three-club flush draw.

A low pair of 3s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats holding the lone King or any 4-card draw here; there is no flush or straight draw of 4 cards, so keep the pair and discard the rest.

No pair, straight or flush draw is available, so I keep the two high cards (Qd, As). That gives more chances to make jacks or better than holding either one alone.

Holding the suited Queen and Ace of clubs keeps two high cards that pay on a pair and give a royal flush draw. That has a higher expected value than any other hold in this hand, such as the Ace alone or the three clubs.

There is no pair, draw, or flush/straight potential worth keeping, so I hold the two unsuited high cards, J and K, which has the highest expected value in 9/6 Jacks or Better.

A low pair of 8s has a higher expected value than any draw here, such as J-T with a single high card, so I hold the pair and discard the other three cards.

No made hand or flush/straight draw is available, so I hold the three unsuited high cards Q, K and A, which beat holding only two high cards or a single one in expected value.

Holding the suited King and Jack of diamonds (two high cards) has a higher expected value than the three-card spade flush 2-5-8 or any other hold, and it can still pay with a pair of jacks or better.

A low pair (6s) is the best hold here; its expected value of roughly 0.82 per credit beats the ace alone (about 0.46) and the inside-straight draws.

A low pair of 3s (about 0.82 credits per credit bet) is worth more than the inside straight draw 3-5-6-7, which has only four outs and is worth about 0.34.

Keeping the ace and jack (two unsuited high cards) has a higher expected value than the weak 3-card diamond flush draw or the A-2-3 straight draw.

Holding the K, Q and J is the highest-EV play here because it keeps three high cards that can pair up and leaves straight chances. The hand has no pair, no flush draw and no better draw.

There is no pair and no four-card draw, so I hold the two unsuited high cards (Q and A). Two high cards are worth more than a single high card or a 3-card diamond flush draw.

No made hand or strong draw here. Holding the lone king (a paying high card) has a higher expected value than the 6-7-9-T inside straight draw or the 7-9-T three-card flush draw.

Two pair (QQ KK) is already a paying hand, and holding all four pair cards leaves 4 outs to a full house on the draw, which beats any other hold.

Hold the pair of aces (Ah, Ad); a high pair has an EV of about 1.5 credits per credit bet, well above any draw with the 2-3 or A-2-3 cards.

There is no pair or flush draw. Holding 7-9-T-J for the inside straight draw gives about 0.40 credits per credit bet: 4 eights pay 4 and 3 jacks pay 1. That is better than holding J alone or J-T.

Holding the pair of sevens is worth more in expected value than holding the unsuited A-Q-J high cards, because the pair can improve to trips, a full house, or four of a kind.

Ah and Jh are two suited high cards, which has a higher expected value than a lone high card or the weak A-2-3 straight draw. It also keeps a small chance of a royal or flush.

A low pair of tens (EV about 1.5 per credit) beats holding the lone queen, so I keep Td and Tc and discard the other three cards.

A low pair of 3s is the best hold here; the ace and the 9 and 5 of spades give no better draw, and the pair's EV of about 0.82 per credit beats holding the ace alone.

Suited King-Queen (two high cards of the same suit) has the best expected value here. It beats keeping the 4d as a three-card flush draw, and beats holding a single high card.

A low pair of 4s (EV about 0.82 per credit) beats keeping the K and Q high cards (about 0.6), so hold the pair of 4s and discard the rest.

Suited Js-Qs is two suited high cards, which beats holding a lone high card or the weak 3-4-5 three-card straight. Discarding the other three cards gives the highest expected value.

placeholder

With Ac Kh 9d 2s 9s, the low pair of nines has a higher expected value than holding the two high cards A-K (about 0.82 vs 0.55 per credit), so I keep the pair and discard the rest.

A high pair of aces is the optimal hold here, worth about 1.5 credits per credit bet, which beats keeping the ace-king or any other partial holding.

There is no pair or strong draw, so I hold the three high cards A-K-Q. I recall (not computed) that three unsuited high cards is worth slightly more than the suited A-K pair.

There is no made hand and no high pair. The three clubs 4c, 7c and 8c give flush and straight-flush chances, which I estimate is worth slightly more than holding the Ace alone or a suited 7-8. This is a judgement from memory of standard strategy, not an exact EV calculation.

With no pair, flush or straight draw, the best hold is the two high cards K and J of spades (KJ suited). It has a higher expected value than any other pattern for this hand.

A low pair (44) has the highest expected value here, at about 0.82 credits per credit bet. That beats holding the queen alone or the suited 9-8 straight draw.

A pair of queens (jacks or better) is the clear best hold; discard the 8, 5 and 2 with no better draw available.

Holding the Jh and Kc (two unsuited high cards) has a slightly higher expected value than the weak three-heart J-8-7 draw, which has only one straight-flush path and no second high card.

Holding only the ace is best. The A-2-4-5 inside wheel draw has an EV of about 0.40 per credit, while a lone ace draw is worth about 0.47 per credit.

A pair of queens (about 1.5 credits EV per credit bet) beats the inside straight draw 8-9-T-Q, which only completes on a jack.

There are no high cards or pairs, so I keep the suited connected 8s-9s. Their straight and flush draws are worth more than a full redraw or the weak 2-3-5 low-straight draw.

A pair of jacks is a made paying hand with the best expected value here; the 9-T-J inside draw is worth less than holding the high pair.

Two pair (6s and 7s) is a made hand paying 2 per credit, and holding the four paired cards gives a 4/47 chance of a full house. That beats breaking up the pairs for any draw.

Hand is A, Q high cards plus a low pair of 7s. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, a low pair (EV about 0.82) beats holding A and Q (about 0.48) or a single high card, so I keep the pair of 7s and discard the rest.

No pair, flush draw or straight draw is worth keeping here. Holding the lone jack, which pays if it pairs, has the highest expected value of the available holds.