Want to Become a Better JB player...

[FloridaPhil]

I am using Dancer's Video Poker for Winners to work on my Jacks or Better play.  I am confused about how to handle AKJTs.  Sometimes the software recomends holding all four cards and sometimes it wants me to hold a suited pair.  I suspect that some of the strategy involves penalty cards, which I don't clearly understand.  Does anyone have clear rules on how to handle this combination. Sometimes I think I have it figured out and the game recomends a different option.  All the other combos in the game I have down perfectly, but these cards seem to be a problem. Thanks for you input...

[shadowman]

The key to understanding this situation is the ten. Anytime the ten is one of the suited cards you hold all 4 cards. This is because you have one less card to make a high pair. In all the cases where you don't have a ten suited with another card, you just hold the two suited RF cards.

[FloridaPhil]

OK.  How about QS, AD, KD,7S,TS ?  The TS is suited with the QS, but Dancer's software says to hold only the AD & KD.  Thanks!

[shadowman]

Maybe I was confusing. You DON'T hold two suited cards if one of them is a ten. This is because drawing another ten is not a paying hand. In your example you can draw either an ace or a king, hence you hold any suited AK combination over the AKQT.


 
The fact that you have a suited QT in your example gives you 3 choices. In this case the AKQT is better than the QT, but it is not better than the suited AK.

[FloridaPhil]

Thanks for the feedback.  I just bought a copy of Dancer's Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner and he has a whole chapter on these odd plays.  I'm not a pro but would like to play as perfect as possible.