Tough Hand - DDB

[Raner]

I always hate this hand when I draw it...
The correct pick is the pair of tens...
But man there the lowest ranking on the totem pole...
Seems to me going for the straight would be the better option
what do you all think...

[BobDancer]

This is not a close decision at all. Going for the straight is only worth 72% as much as holding the pair. (BTW, the game in question is 9/6 DDB. The poster didn't say that, but the numbers presented in the WinPoker display tell us that.)I actually don't understand why you hate going for the pair. When you go for the straight, you're going to get 0 coins, 5 coins, or 20 coins. Going for the pair you're going to get 0coins, 5 coins, 15 coins, 45 coins, or 250 coins. It's not like you're giving up a chance for a big hand by going for the pair. the "hit frequency" for both plays is about 28%, so it isn't like there is a big emotional difference between how often you get 'something.'For me, there are rarely strong emotions about following a strategy. If the chart says hold xxx, then I hold xxx, hit the button, accept my score, and move on to the next hand. I'm far more concerned about playing the hand correctly than spending time worrying about what I get on a particular hand. I know I'm going to be playing many hundreds of thousands of hands this year and spending a lot of emotion over each one would be exhausting!I understand recreational players look at it differently than I do. But if this rather ordinary hand generates such a strong emotion in you, think of the struggles you must endure on more "interesting" hands (where quote marks indicates cards are suited with each other), likeAAA27   ------   hold AAAKK442   -------  hold KK44'KQJT9' -------- hold 'KQJT9'"AK" '345' ------ hold '345''AKT4' 6 -------- hold 'AKT4'I know from teaching classes that a number of newbie players will play one or more of these incorrectly--- and often anguish over the decision. But an unsuited AKJTT? Almost nobody has a big problem with that one.

[notes1]

 when i first read the posters question, i thought i was missing something. while i do not have mr. dancer's creditionals, his answer seems absolutley logical. i dispise drawing to an inside straight and avoid it whenever possible, except for a premium hand.

[FloridaPhil]

This is a good question.  Mr. Dancer knows his numbers.  If more players bought his software, matched their home tables to the game and practiced with it, they would be surprised at how much better they would do.  Guessing or making decisions based on feelings or hunches is rarely profitable.  Experience is the best teacher...

[pjmaui]

I don't play inside straights. On this hand I would cheerfully hold 10s each and every time with out a second thought.

[Raner]

Thanks for the input guys...
I leaned DDB strategy on Bob Dances win poker about 10 years ago. I still have it in my PC as you can see from the picture above. It has a very good any hand analyzer...
Now I use the software on this site. There pretty close as far as the picks go. They have some very slit different picks on a few of the hands...
I stay at station casinos when I go to vegas mostly Red Rock and GVR. I play 10/6 DDB dollar single line video poker at this casinos...
I've been practicing and got up to 1000 hands with no errors (100% correct play) on the training software on this site. I know what the right holds are so I guess I'll take Dancers advise and just go with the flow as far as the correct picks for a particular hand are...
Side Note: Headed for vegas this coming Sunday going to stay at GVR on this run... Just need to stick to the software strategy and a little bit of luck and maybe will bring home a few bucks... Two trips back I hit 2 royals in less then 25 minutes at the Red Rock...

[alpax]

That is the reason you pratice long before stepping into a live casino, you will learn things that you have not known A full coin average expected return that the low pair has over an inside straight is a lot.

If I do recall correctly, all strategy charts has a pair higher than the middle. The inside straight with 3 high cards is pretty low. The outside straight with 3 high cards beats the the low pair though.

[Vman96]

I don't play inside straights.

Never? Never holding AKJT is definitely a leak. It's a lot better than Ace only as shown by Raner's picture.

[BobDancer]

Now I use the software on this site. There pretty close as far as the picks go. They have some very slit different picks on a few of the hands...
 I've been practicing and got up to 1000 hands with no errors (100% correct play) on the training software on this site.   I don't understand why any of the hands would yield different picks
between this site and WinPoker (or Video Poker for Winners, for that
matter). Can you give us some examples of some of those slightly
different picks?Playing 1000 hands correctly in a row is good.
However, it rarely tests your knowledge very much because the tough
hands come about so rarely. WinPoker has a "hard hands" feature. Video
Poker for Winners has an "advanced hands" feature. Both of those let you
practice the harder hands one after another. If you're going to get
better, those are the hands you need to practice on.

[pokerpokerpoker]

I believe the difference in plays are because the trainer on this site uses perfect strategy (including penalty card situations). Other programs allow you to select between "simple" and expert strategy.