How is the optimal hold computed?

For each of the 32 ways to hold or discard the five dealt cards, the trainer enumerates every possible draw from the 47 unseen cards, scores each resulting hand on the 9/6 Jacks or Better paytable, and averages the payout to get the exact expected value. The highest-EV hold is the optimal one.

What does 9/6 Jacks or Better return?

With perfect play, full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better returns about 99.54%, a 0.46% house edge — among the lowest on any machine, but still negative over time.

No. It is a free educational drill with no money and no wagering — you practice the optimal hold and the coach checks it.

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🎰 Practice — no money, no betting

Video Poker Trainer — Four Real Paytables

Free practice, no money — tap cards to hold, the coach computes the exact best hold. Paytables and the full math are below the machine.

🎰 Machine & coach

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Keys: 1–5 hold · E evaluate · N new hand

Practice mode — no money, no betting, no stakes. Pick your machine: 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%), 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%), 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%, quad-kicker jackpots but two pair only pays 1), or NSU Deuces Wild (99.73%, deuces are wild — a completely different strategy). Each is scored on its exact paytable rules; the coach evaluates the EV of all 32 hold combinations over every possible draw — genuine math, not a lookup heuristic.

The 9/6 Jacks or Better paytable — 99.54% with optimal play

“9/6” means the full house pays 9 and the flush pays 6 — always read the glass; an 8/5 Jacks or Better machine that looks identical returns about 97.3%. The table below follows whichever machine you select above.

Hand	Pays (per coin)

How the coach grades: for each of the 32 ways to hold/discard, it enumerates every possible draw from the 47 unseen cards, scores each resulting 5-card hand on the paytable above, and averages it. The highest-EV hold is the optimal one. EV is shown in coins returned per coin bet (1.0000 = break-even on that hand).

Play it smart. Gambling is entertainment, not income — the house keeps a long-run edge on every game and no system beats it. If gambling stops being fun, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537), available 24/7.

This trainer is an educational strategy drill with no wagering. Even perfect 9/6 video-poker play is slightly negative expected value over time. Every texture and sound on this page is generated procedurally in your browser — no images, no audio files.