DW Hold

[FAA]

On DW 800/200/25/15/9/4/4/3/2/1 I was dealt Kh 2d 5s 6c 7h.I merely held 2d. The software said Incorrect. But going for the straight yielded the same EV, 0.00. Same difference? How would you analyze the hold? 

[Waiting4RF]

What software are you using? Create a strategy guide from wizardofodds wed page to see the correct holds. Strategy Maker is what you want from the ViewAll video poker section.

[FAA]

Interesting. So I plugged in the pay table and created a strategy guide as you advised. They do list W567 ahead of W only, with no further explanation. I guess that it's because the trio of cards held are consecutive. 

4 to a Straight
W567; W678; W789; W89T; W9TJ; WTJQ

Wild Only

[onemoretry]

But going for the straight yielded the same EV, 0.00. I don't understand this statement. According to my software, the EV of the deuce with three consecutive straight cards is 5.0 (for a 5 credit bet).

Actually, while the straight play is better, it is not better by very much. Getting that one wrong isn't going to cost very much.

[FAA]

Thanks. I couldn't understand it either. They said no detectable difference btw holds, but they still opted for the straight. I'll have to take a screen shot if the issue comes up again. Like you said, looks like much ado about nothing.

[Jstark]

On DW 800/200/25/15/9/4/4/3/2/1 I was dealt Kh 2d 5s 6c 7h.I merely held 2d. The software said Incorrect. But going for the straight yielded the same EV, 0.00. Same difference? How would you analyze the hold? 
Holding the straight draw on this particular hand is worth 1.000000. Holding just the 2 is worth 0.999608.

[New2vp]

Jstark's numbers illustrate that your software is probably showing the difference in EV between the two holds, not the EV of any particular hold. And if the formatting is such that it only shows two decimal places, it would show the difference as 0.00 when it is in fact positive. Either 0.00039 bets or 0.00195 coins on a 5-coin bet. Both numbers round to 0.00, albeit +0.00, subtracting the deuce EV from the 4-card straight EV. As has been said, the 4-card straight is the better play if you care about such things. Some like simpler strategies rather than always being able to make the highest-EV play.

To add to the confusion, if the odd card that you got had happened to be an ace rather than a king, then your software would not have alerted you to an error when you played the lone deuce. The value of the 4-card straight is the same either way (5 coins). But having the ace missing from the 47 replacement cards instead of the king allows the deuce to generate slightly different outcomes. The primary difference is that the deuce can make a few more straights with an ace gone instead of a king.

If you have an extra king in the deck, more straights can be made when it is among the 4 drawn cards. AQJ2, AQT2, AJT2, QJT2, JT92, QT92, or QJ92 all combine with the K to make straights. An extra ace in the deck creates fewer straights because there are fewer combinations when holding the deuce (only 5432, KQJ2, KQT2, KJT2, or QJT2). That is two extra sets of ranks with the king in the replacement deck rather than the ace.

[Jstark]

Jstark's numbers illustrate that your software is probably showing the difference in EV between the two holds, not the EV of any particular hold. And if the formatting is such that it only shows two decimal places, it would show the difference as 0.00 when it is in fact positive. Either 0.00039 bets or 0.00195 coins on a 5-coin bet. Both numbers round to 0.00, albeit +0.00, subtracting the deuce EV from the 4-card straight EV. As has been said, the 4-card straight is the better play if you care about such things. Some like simpler strategies rather than always being able to make the highest-EV play.

To add to the confusion, if the odd card that you got had happened to be an ace rather than a king, then your software would not have alerted you to an error when you played the lone deuce. The value of the 4-card straight is the same either way (5 coins). But having the ace missing from the 47 replacement cards instead of the king allows the deuce to generate slightly different outcomes. The primary difference is that the deuce can make a few more straights with an ace gone instead of a king.

If you have an extra king in the deck, more straights can be made when it is among the 4 drawn cards. AQJ2, AQT2, AJT2, QJT2, JT92, QT92, or QJ92 all combine with the K to make straights. An extra ace in the deck creates fewer straights because there are fewer combinations when holding the deuce (only 5432, KQJ2, KQT2, KJT2, or QJT2). That is two extra sets of ranks with the king in the replacement deck rather than the ace.

FWIW, the numbers I provided are from the WizardofOdds.com hand analyzer.

And you're correct. Changing the Kh to the Ah changes the correct hold from the straight draw to just the 2. The draw is still worth 1.000000, but the lone 2 is now worth 1.001233.

[Vman96]

Nice opening posts Jstark, keep em coming.

[Jstark]

Nice opening posts Jstark, keep em coming.
Thanks. I had forgot I was logged on for the longest time. I usually just play on the phone app and not on the computer.