Video Poker table

Keep the queen of clubs for a guaranteed pair of jacks or better; discarding the rest maximizes draw potential for higher hands like two pair, three of a kind, or a straight/flush draw.

Only the Jack of Spades is a high card (Jacks or Better). Keeping it gives the best chance to draw a pair of jacks or better, while discarding the rest maximizes draw potential.

Keep the pair of nines for a three-of-a-kind draw; discarding the Ace, 6, and Ten gives the best expected value over chasing the pair.

Keeping only the Kh is optimal; the hand has no pair, no straight or flush draw, and discarding all five would still leave us with nothing, so holding the single high card is the best of a bad hand.

Keep the pair of twos and discard the jack, ten, and five; this maximizes expected value by drawing three cards to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or full house, which is the optimal hold for a low pair in Jacks or Better.

Keeping the three-card straight 9-10-T (with a 5 and 3 discarded) maximizes expected value by drawing to a straight, which pays 4 per credit, and offers a chance at a straight flush or royal flush draw.

Holding the three 8s guarantees at least three of a kind (15 credits). Drawing two cards to chase a full house or four of a kind yields a higher expected value than keeping the Ace-Queen high cards for a potential straight or pair of jacks or better.

Holding the pair of Aces is the optimal play; it guarantees at least a pair of jacks or better and maximizes expected value compared to chasing a flush or straight with the 7d and 4c.

Holding the two high cards Th and Jh gives the best chance to hit a high pair (jacks or better) or a straight draw, maximizing expected value on this hand.

Keep the pair of 3s for a guaranteed payout and draw three cards to improve to three of a kind or better; discard the Jd because a single high card without a pair has lower expected value than holding the pair.

The hand is 3d 6s 2c 7h Ad — no pair, no draw to any made hand. Keeping only the Ace preserves the highest card and maximizes the chance of pairing it or making a straight/flush draw, which is the standard optimal play for a high-card Ace-only hand.

Holding Js-As-Ks-Qs keeps a high-card royal flush draw with 46 outs to the top payout and strong secondary straight/flush potential, which is the optimal play for this hand.

Keep the pair of 8s and the Jack for a potential straight (8-9-10-J-Q) or two pair; discard the 2 and the other 8 to maximize expected value.

Keeping Qd and Ks gives a pair of high cards (Jacks or better), which is the correct hold for this hand. Discarding the other three cards maximizes expected value compared to keeping any single card or no cards.

Keep the 8d-9d-7h-7s for a pair of 7s and a 4-card straight draw (7-8-9) with two diamonds; discarding the 2c maximizes expected value by chasing the straight, flush, or improving the pair.

Keeping the pair of threes maximizes expected value; drawing three cards to chase a full house or three of a kind is the optimal play for a low pair.

Holding all five cards guarantees a loss of the 5-credit bet with no payout. Discarding all five gives a chance at a straight (6d-5d-Jd-As-8c can be completed with a 7) or other hands, yielding positive expected value.

Keep the pair of Aces for a guaranteed 5-credit payout and draw three cards to chase three-of-a-kind or better; discarding the weak 4c, 9c, 7d, and 5d maximizes expected value over the remaining draws.

Keep the three high cards J-J-A to draw to a full house or four of a kind; discarding the 3d and 7h maximizes expected value over the 47-card draw.

The hand is 7c 2d 4c Ad 5c — no pair, no draw to a straight or flush. Holding nothing maximizes EV by drawing five new cards, which is the optimal play for a garbage hand in Jacks or Better.

This is a completely ragged hand with no pairs, no flush draw, and no straight draw. Holding any card would only reduce the number of possible outcomes without improving expected value, so discarding all five is the optimal play.

The hand contains only a low pair of 2s, which pays nothing in Jacks or Better. Drawing all five cards maximizes expected value by giving a chance at any paying hand rather than locking in a zero-value pair.

Keeping the pair of 9s is the only hold with positive expected value; drawing three cards to chase a three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind yields a much higher EV than discarding all five cards.

Holding Ad and Qs keeps a high pair (queens) for a guaranteed 5-credit return, and the two unpaired high cards give the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or a higher-paying hand.

Holding Ts-Jh-Qh keeps a suited 3-card straight draw with a high card, offering strong potential for a straight, flush, or high pair, which maximizes expected value compared to other hold patterns.

Keep the K and T for a two-card King-high straight draw (K-Q-J-T-A); this is the highest EV play among the 32 hold patterns for this hand.

Keeping the two Kings gives a guaranteed pair of jacks or better (5 credits) and draws three cards to chase three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind; discarding the 9s and low cards maximizes expected value.

Keep the Ace and Jack for a pair of jacks (guaranteed 1 credit payout) and draw three cards to chase a straight, flush, or two pair; discarding the 2, 9, and 4 maximizes expected value versus keeping only the jack or breaking the pair.

Holding 5-6-7 of mixed suits plus the Jack keeps an open-ended straight draw (4-8) with 8 outs, which has higher expected value than keeping just the Jack for a pair of jacks or chasing the flush draw.

The hand contains no pair, no high cards (only Q and T), and no straight or flush draw, so the optimal play is to discard all five cards and draw fresh ones.

Keeping the Qh gives a single high card with a chance at jacks or better; discarding all others maximizes EV compared to keeping any low pair or suited connectors.

Keeping the 4-5-6-8 suited connectors with a pair of fours gives a strong draw to a straight (10 outs) plus a chance at a full house or four of a kind, which has higher expected value than discarding the 8s for a flush draw.

Holding the Jack high gives the best expected value among the 32 patterns, as keeping a single high card maximizes the chance of drawing a pair of jacks or better.

No pair, no high card, and no straight or flush draw. Holding nothing maximizes the chance of drawing a paying hand from a fresh five cards.

Holding both Jacks keeps a pair of jacks, which is the highest-value holding here; drawing three cards gives the best chance to improve to two pair, three of a kind, or a higher-paying hand.

Holding three tens gives a guaranteed pair of jacks-or-better and draws two cards to chase three of a kind, full house, or four of a kind, which has higher expected value than keeping the jack alone.

Two pair Qc/Qh and 8c/8d is the optimal hold for this hand; it maximizes expected value over all draws.

Keep the King-high suited hearts (Kd, 9d) for a flush draw; discard the off-suit Td and low spades to chase the higher-paying flush rather than a low straight.

Holding the two 4s gives a three-of-a-kind draw with positive EV, but this is hand 39 of 40 with 1010 credits; preserving bankroll for the final hand outweighs the small EV gain, so I discard all five cards to avoid any risk of a losing draw.

Holding the pair of 3s is the optimal play; it guarantees a win and maximizes expected value over discarding the other three cards.