Low Pair or Open-Ended Straight Draw in Jacks or Better?
Dealt: 5♦ 5♣ 6♠ 7♥ 8♦
Best play: Hold 5♦ 5♣.
Even an open-ended straight draw, 8 outs paying 4 for 1, is worth less than a small pair. The pair has more ways to improve: two pair, trips, full house or quads.
Every hold that matters, exactly
Expected return per coin bet on 9/6 Jacks or Better, averaged over every possible draw. A return of 1.000 gets your bet back on average.
| Hold | Return | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5♦ 5♣ | 0.8237 | best |
| 5♦ 6♠ 7♥ 8♦ | 0.6809 | 0.1428 |
| 5♣ 6♠ 7♥ 8♦ | 0.6809 | 0.1428 |
| 5♦ 5♣ 6♠ | 0.6753 | 0.1484 |
| 5♦ 5♣ 7♥ | 0.6753 | 0.1484 |
| 5♦ 5♣ 8♦ | 0.6753 | 0.1484 |
Getting this hand wrong costs 0.1428 coins per coin bet, or 14.3% of your wager on this hand. Over thousands of hands, mistakes like this are what separate a 99.5% game from a 97% one.
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More hands: Every Jacks or Better hold decision · Video poker strategy · The 9/6 paytable
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