9/6 DDB

Discuss proper hold strategies and "advantage play" and ask questions about how to improve your play.
AMS007
Forum Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 7:47 pm

9/6 DDB

Post by AMS007 »

I was curious if anyone could help me out on what the proper hold is in 9/6 DDB when dealt an A,K,Q or A,K,J (all off suit) and two low cards? I've seen it sometimes when it tells me the A only is the correct hold and other times the K,Q or K,J is the correct hold. Is there a certain FP or KP that I need to be looking for in these hands? I know the strategy on Q,J vs an A. Does the same apply for these hands? Thanks for any feedback.

Jstark
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1307
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:16 pm

Post by Jstark »

A few exceptions I find to hold KQ or KJ over A is when both small cards are the same suit as the ace but not a 3 card straight flush draw. An example is A♠️ K♥️ Q♦️ 4♠️ 8♠️ being the highest I can see where the KQ or KJ is better. Change the 4 to a 5 or the 8 to a 9, then the A is the superior hold. I'm guessing this is due to better chances to catch straights on the cards. Maybe Bob will see our posts and give a more detailed explanation.

Jstark
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1307
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:16 pm

Post by Jstark »

Here is optimal strategy with all of the exceptions at the bottom:

https://wizardofodds.com/games/video-po ... -50-d-800/

As shown, KQ or KJ offsuit is superior to A if the small cards are both suited with the A and are 2,6 through 4,8.

AMS007
Forum Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 7:47 pm

Post by AMS007 »

Thanks for clearing that up. Made note on my strategy card.

Jstark
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1307
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:16 pm

Post by Jstark »

You're welcome.

Vman96
Video Poker Master
Posts: 3288
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:49 am

Post by Vman96 »

Yeah it looks like if you have a kicker and a 6-8 suited with the Ace, then KQ, KJ off is the correct play.

I definitely wasn't aware of this one.

BobDancer
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1112
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:07 am

Post by BobDancer »

correct. The reason it's 6-8 rather than 6-9 is that a 9 is a straight penalty to the KQ or KJ

In the Winner's Guide for this game, Liam W. Daily said "The ace is penalized to the maximum while the KH is penalized not at all."

New2vp
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1793
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:02 am

Post by New2vp »

If you decided to always play KJ or KQ when you had two cards suited with the ace and one of them being 2-4 (i.e., ignoring whether or not there was a 9), you would actually be worse off (though minutely) than if you ignored the KJ or KQ and always played the ace in these situations.

BobDancer
Video Poker Master
Posts: 1112
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 2:07 am

Post by BobDancer »

New2vp wrote:
Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:31 pm
If you decided to always play KJ or KQ when you had two cards suited with the ace and one of them being 2-4 (i.e., ignoring whether or not there was a 9), you would actually be worse off (though minutely) than if you ignored the KJ or KQ and always played the ace in these situations.
Not being one who accepts the conclusions of others automatically, even from analysts I respect such as New2vp, I decided to look at this for myself.

Starting all hands with Ah Kc Qd 2h, the four cases that matter are when the fifth card is the 6h, 7h, 8h, and 9h. We can ignore the hand where the 5h is the fifth card because that would give us an ace-low 3-card straight flush draw.

On the 3 hands (6, 7, 8) where it is correct to hold KQ, it's correct to do so by 0.0048 cents --- which is about half a cent for the 5-coin dollar player.

On the 1 hand (9) where it is incorrect to hold KQ, it's wrong by 0.0195.

So making the KQ play all four times makes you wrong by 0.0195 - 3(0.0048) which comes to about 0.005, or a 20th of a cent for a 5-coin dollar player.

I'm willing to concede that a 20th of a cent total over four different hands qualifies as "minutely so." So count me as a thumbs up on the New2vp's conclusion

AMS007
Forum Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 7:47 pm

Post by AMS007 »

Well said Bob. Appreciate all the input and breaking this down guys. Feel 100x better now moving forward. Will be back in LV end of month so hoping for another good run.

Post Reply