Video Poker Strategy Quiz: Royal Flush or Straight Flush?

27 May 2023

By Jerry Stickman

This article contains a video poker strategy quiz. The game is full-pay (9/6 – 9-for-1 full house, 6-for-1 flush) jacks or better.

The quiz assumes the maximum five credits are played. The maximum bet produces the highest long-term return because the royal flush pays 800-for-1 (4,000-for-5) rather than 250-for-1 when less than the maximum is bet.

Look at the dealt hand below and decide which card or cards you would hold. Then read on to see if you are right.

Note: The statistics shown are from “Video Poker for Winners.”

These quizzes will be posted periodically and will feature hands that have holds that produce very close results.

Here is today’s dealt hand: Ah, 5d, 7d, 8d, Qh.

• Ace of hearts – (Ah)
• 5 of diamonds – (5d)
• 7 of diamonds – (7d)
• 8 of diamonds – (8d)
• Queen of hearts – (Qh)

There are only two obvious hold possibilities for this hand:

1. Ah, Qh – (Two-card royal flush)

2. 5d, 7d, 8d – (Three-card inside straight flush)

Choice 1 (Ah, Qh) – a two-card royal flush can produce every paying hand but a straight flush – one royal flush, two four-of-a-kinds, 18 full houses, 164 flushes, 63 straights, 281 three-of-a-kinds, 711 hands with two pairs, and 5,022 high pairs.

Choices 2 (5d, 7d, 8d) – three cards of an inside straight flush two straight flushes, 43 flushes, 30 straights, nine three-of-a-kinds, 27 hands with two pairs, and 18 high pair hands.

Returns

Hold 1 (Ah, Qh) – returns 2.9402 credits on average for five credits bet.

Hold 2 (5d, 7d, 8d) – returns 2.6688 credits on average for five credits bet.

The winner?

Hold 1 (Ah, Qh) is the proper hold – by almost one-third of a credit.

There are several reasons for this:
.
• Because two cards are held rather than three, there are 16,215 different resultant hands possible. The three-card hold has only 1,081 different resultant hands possible.

• There are no high cards in hold 2. This eliminates many high pair possibilities.

• There are no full house nor four-of-a-kind possibilities from hold 2.

Did you play this hand correctly?

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of “Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker!” You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerryg@gmail.com