Full hold/discard strategy for every possible dealt hand. Multi-hand notes for 5, 10, 50, and 100-hand play included.
Named "9/6" for the Full House (9) and Flush (6) payouts. The "8/5" version pays 8 and 5 respectively, dropping the RTP to 97.29%. Always verify the paytable before playing.
| Rank | Hold This Hand | Approx. EV | Notes & Multi-Hand Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush (pat) | 800.00 | Hold all 5. Maximum payout. 50–100H: Hits several times per session |
| 2 | Straight Flush (pat) | 50.00 | Hold all 5. Do not break for royal draw unless 4 to a royal. |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | 25.00 | Hold all 4. Discard the 5th (kicker). Multi-H: Highly frequent — expect quads every session at 50+ hands |
| 4 | 4 to a Royal Flush | 18.66 | Hold the 4 royal cards. Break a straight, flush, or full house for this. Do NOT break a pat straight flush. |
| 5 | Full House (pat) | 9.00 | Hold all 5. Never break a full house. |
| 6 | Flush (pat) | 6.00 | Hold all 5 — unless 4 to a royal flush is present (rank #4 beats this). |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 4.30 | Hold the three matching cards only. Draw 2. Never hold kickers. |
| 8 | Straight (pat) | 4.00 | Hold all 5 — unless 4 to a royal flush is present. |
| 9 | Two Pair | 2.60 | Hold both pairs. Draw 1 card hoping for full house. |
| 10 | High Pair (Jacks–Aces) | 1.54 | Hold the pair only. Draw 3. Never hold kickers with a pair. |
| 11 | 4 to a Straight Flush | 2.18–3.40 | Hold the 4 suited connectors. Break a low pair for an open-ended straight flush draw. Value varies by number of gaps. |
| 12 | Low Pair (2s–10s) | 0.82 | Hold the pair. Draw 3. Beats most drawing hands. Multi-H: Consistent — produces trips/full house/quads frequently at 50+ hands |
| 13 | 4 to a Flush | 1.22 | Hold 4 suited cards. Draw 1. Beats a low pair only if one of the 4 is a high card (J, Q, K, A). Otherwise hold the low pair. |
| 14 | Open-Ended Straight Draw (OESD) | 0.87 | 4 consecutive cards with 2 ways to complete. Hold 4, draw 1. Two high cards in draw = bonus outs. |
| 15 | 2 High Cards (different suits) | 0.49 | Hold 2 high cards (J, Q, K, A — no flush potential). If 3 high cards, hold best 2 non-suited or the suited pair. |
| 16 | 3 to a Royal Flush | 0.54–1.41 | Beats 2 high cards when the 3 include strong high card coverage. Especially strong with A-K or A-Q of same suit. |
| 17 | 4 to an Inside Straight (3+ high cards) | 0.74 | Inside straight (gutshot) with 3 or more high cards. Only draw to gutshots when high card count justifies it. |
| 18 | 1 High Card (J, Q, K, or A) | 0.47 | Hold a single J, Q, K, or A when nothing better is present. Draw 4 cards. |
| 19 | 3 to a Straight Flush (open-ended) | 0.63 | 3 suited consecutive cards. Beats a single high card but not two high cards. |
| 20 | 3 to a Flush (with 2+ high cards) | 0.50 | Hold if the 3 suited cards include J+Q, J+K, Q+K, or A+any high. Otherwise discard all. |
| 21 | Suited J-Q, J-K, Q-K, or J-A, Q-A, K-A | 0.49–0.52 | Two suited high cards. Combines flush draw and pair potential. Ranked above unsuited pairs of high cards. |
| 22 | Suited 10-J (no high cards elsewhere) | 0.50 | Keep if no better draw exists. Opens royal, straight flush, and OESD possibilities. |
| 23 | 3 to a Straight Flush (1 gap, 2 high cards) | 0.54 | Inside SF draw with 2 high cards. Good coverage of non-SF outcomes. |
| — | Discard All 5 | 0.36 | When no hand ranks above this, draw 5 new cards. More common than new players expect. Multi-H: Discard all on one hand often means strong draws on others |
The hold strategy above is optimal for any hand count. But multi-hand play creates important bankroll and experience differences worth knowing.
A single-hand player hits a royal once every ~40,000 hands (~67 hours of play). A 100-hand player hits at least one royal in a deal once every ~400 deals — roughly every 30–40 minutes. The royal jackpot is a regular event in 100-hand play, which dramatically changes the session experience.
Four-of-a-kind (25:1) occurs roughly once per 425 single hands. In 100-hand play, every time you hold a three-of-a-kind, you have multiple shots at quads across all 100 draws. Expect quads multiple times per hour in 50+ hand play.
Holding a low pair (rank #12, EV 0.82) beats a 4-flush draw (rank #13, EV 1.22) only when there is no high card in the 4-flush. In multi-hand play, this decision plays out across all N hands simultaneously — making the correct call even more impactful. At 100 hands, choosing wrong on a borderline hold costs you hundreds of small decisions per session.
| Hands | Cost/Deal | Std Dev/Deal | Recommended Bankroll | Sessions in Bankroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0.25 | $1.10 | $100 | ~45 |
| 3 | $0.75 | $1.91 | $200 | ~27 |
| 5 | $1.25 | $2.46 | $300 | ~24 |
| 10 | $2.50 | $3.48 | $500 | ~20 |
| 25 | $6.25 | $5.50 | $1,200 | ~19 |
| 50 | $12.50 | $7.78 | $2,400 | ~19 |
| 100 | $25.00 | $11.00 | $4,800 | ~19 |
Bankroll for ~10% risk of ruin over 400 deals/session, 20 sessions. Use our calculator for custom scenarios.
JoB with bonus quad payouts. Familiar strategy, slightly higher variance. A natural first upgrade from 9/6.
View Strategy →The top positive-EV game at 100.76% RTP. Completely different strategy — wild cards change everything.
View Strategy →Positive-EV at 100.17% with big four-Ace bonuses. Higher variance than JoB, requires deeper bankroll.
View Strategy →Try our Multi-Hand Variance Calculator to see how Jacks or Better plays at different hand counts — and size your bankroll before you sit down.