new club. opening 7/31 Freeroll top 5 get 100

I knew the basic 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy chart, but I still couldn't tell which mistakes actually mattered and which ones were basically rounding errors.

So I built Video Poker Pal.

Instead of only saying "wrong hold," it:

• ranks all 32 possible holds by exact EV

• shows the EV of your choice versus the best play

• calculates the exact EV loss of each mistake

• tracks your estimated return and your most expensive recurring leaks

• lets you analyze and share a specific five-card hand

The core 9/6 Jacks or Better trainer and hand analyzer are free. No account, no ads, and nothing to download. 10/7 Double Bonus is coming soon.

Try 10 hands and let me know: what was the biggest EV mistake it caught?

https://videopokerpal.com/

I built it, so I'm obviously biased. Honest criticism is welcome—especially if you spot a calculation error or a hand where the explanation is confusing.

Thats 2 in ❤️s and 1 in ♠️s

My king didn’t hold because of sticky buttons.
The free play paid out.

I started getting more into video poker after looking for an alternative to slots. I've mostly been playing Jacks or Better for a while and got tired of looking up strategy guides or online charts for marginal hands so I built an app that does the calculation instantly and quizzes you on real hands. I've also just been using this when I'm actually playing to look up the right holds when I'm stuck on marginal differences.

A few things it does:

• Full-deck exact EV calculation (not an approximation) for every possible hold
• Quiz mode that deals you a hand, you pick your hold, and it shows you the correct play + the exact EV difference
• Multi-play mode if you play multi-hand machines and for those that want to see the variance across multiple run outs when chasing for specific hands
• Session/lifetime stats so you can see your accuracy over time

Full disclosure: I built this myself, it's called Optimal Hold on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/optimal-hold/id6782296559 (iOS only right now, sorry Android folks). It's free to try with a paywall for unlimited quiz mode but feel free to dm me for a promo code for lifetime access. I'm still working on the app so if there's any feedback or feature requests I'm all ears too!

Mostly posting because I found working through the trickier hands (like when to break a made flush for a royal draw) genuinely improved my play, and figured others grinding 9/6 or 8/5 might find it useful too. Happy to answer questions about the math/methodology if anyone's curious. I'm also new to this subreddit so nice to meet y'all! Love seeing everyone's wins

First time hitting it!

Thanks for the free weed

So many options. Every Ace without the kicker was $400 and every Ace with the kicker was $2,000. Who can guess how many Aces I was dealt once the deal button was pressed after holding the three aces I was dealt?

Was with a buddy playing Hot Roll. I jokingly asked him to “rub the dice,” which we always do ironically because it obviously does nothing, but we think it’s funny. A 9x came out on the deal. Then he said, “I’ll hit four twos with the kicker,” and I figured there was no way that would happen. We hit the deal, and on the very first hand, we actually got it.

Went in with $90 and walked out with $300. Not bad at all.

This time with aces. Also got to meet Becky from Youtube, super nice!

Who says you cant win on Dime Denom lol

Most people treat video poker like a slot machine with a skin. They sit down, push buttons based on "gut feeling," and wonder why their bankroll vanishes.

The reality? 9/6 Jacks or Better is a solved mathematical puzzle. If you play with absolute, perfect strategy, the Expected Return (RTP) is 99.54%. The house edge is a microscopic 0.46%. But almost every casual player drops that down to 95% or worse because they make the same three emotional mistakes.

If you want to actually grind out a mathematical edge, stop making these three strategy blunders:

1. Breaking a Low Pair to Chase a Flush/Straight Draw

This is the most common mistake on the floor. You hold a pair of 4s, but you also have three cards to a Flush.

The Trap: Chasing the bigger payout because pairs of 4s "only gets your money back."

The Math: A low pair has an expected value (EV) of about 0.82 credits per coin played, because it has a realistic path to Trips, a Full House, or Four of a Kind. Breaking it to chase a standard 4-card Flush draw drops your EV to roughly 0.74 credits.

The Rule: Never break a low pair for a 4-card Straight or Flush draw. The only time you break a low pair is if you are four cards to a Royal Flush.

1. Keeping the "Kicker"

You get dealt a Pair of Jacks and an Ace.

The Trap: Holding the Jack pair and holding the Ace (the kicker) hoping to hit a high two-pair or three-of-a-kind with a nice backup.

The Math: Holding that extra Ace actively destroys your chances of drawing into a Full House or Four Jacks. It reduces the number of winning cards left in the virtual deck.

The Rule: Never keep a kicker. If you have a pair, hold the pair and dump the other three cards. Period.

1. Playing Less Than Max Coins (5)

You’re trying to stretch your $100 bankroll, so you play 1 or 2 coins per hand instead of hitting "Max Bet."

The Trap: Thinking you're playing conservatively to survive longer.

The Math: The entire 99.54% return rate relies heavily on the Royal Flush payout. If you play 1 to 4 coins, a Royal Flush pays 250-to-1. But the moment you hit 5 coins, the Royal Flush payout jumps exponentially to 800-to-1 (4,000 coins).

The Rule: If 5 coins is too expensive for your budget at the $1 level, drop down to a quarter machine or a nickel machine, but always play max coins. Otherwise, you are actively giving the casino an extra 1.5% edge.

Quick Reference Strategy Hierarchy (The Top 5)

If you get confused on a hand, memorize just this top order of operations. Always hold the highest option on this list:

1. Four of a kind, Straight Flush, Royal Flush
   
2. 4 cards to a Royal Flush
   
3. Three of a kind, Straight, Flush, Full House
   
4. 4 cards to a Straight Flush
   
5. Two Pair or a Pair of Jacks or Better

Stop playing on vibes. Treat the machine like a calculator.

Officially retiring from dollar denom

I was using the ‘test your skills’ feature on videopoker.com (this isn’t an add, settle down mods) and I got two duplicate hands in a 20 hand set. What are the odds of this happening? See the bottom two hands in the photo. Also, don’t judge my mistakes, I’m still learning.

Lost on another machine so had to do the walk of shame back to the room and grab cash. Changed machines and ran it up that got me almost even. Just set a new floor mentally and that beautiful sound hit. No bonus for kicker so just held all cards.

South Jersey boy with easy access to Atlantic City. I've only played twice but see the potential. I'm playing JoB. Gonna start asking newby questions as that's the only way I can seek to improve. Question 1: Best resources for exponential improvement? I'm reading Bob Dancer books. Your thoughts on him? Using Jacks-or-Better training app. Your thoughts on that? Thanks for any help.

Kicker would’ve been nice haha but this one was pretty sweet.

45 minute session, hit these two exactly 5 minutes apart. Before this had about 12 hours of play with no kicker hands. Still cant believe it