The 10 most expensive Jacks or Better mistakes

Every number here is exact. For each hand we counted every possible draw for the right hold and for the common wrong one, on 9/6 Jacks or Better at five coins, with the same engine that runs the Perfect Hold trainer. "Cost" is credits lost on average per five-credit hand, compared with the best hold. At 25¢ a credit, a cost of 2.00 is 50¢ every time you make the mistake.

Each example links to the strategy calculator, so you can check it and try your own hands.

1. Keeping a pat flush instead of drawing to a royal

Hand: A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 4♥. Right play: hold A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ and throw away the 4♥. Cost of keeping the flush: 62.13 credits.

It feels wrong to break a paying hand. But four to a royal returns 18.43 per coin (the royal itself, plus flushes, straights and high pairs on the draw), against 6 for the flush. It is rare, so it matters less per hour than the mistakes below, but it is the single most expensive one you will meet. Check it.

2. Keeping only the high pair from two pair

Hand: K♥ K♦ 4♣ 4♠ 9♥. Right play: hold both pairs. Cost of holding only the kings: 5.28 credits.

Two pair already pays, and the draw gives a full house about once in 12 tries. The kings alone return 1.54 per coin; two pair returns 2.60. Check it.

3. Drawing to a straight instead of keeping a high pair

Hand: J♠ J♦ 10♣ 9♥ 8♠. Right play: hold the jacks. Cost of holding J-10-9-8: 4.07 credits.

An open-ended straight draw looks exciting, but it returns 0.72 per coin. A high pair has already paid your bet back and returns 1.54. Check it.

4. Keeping a kicker with three of a kind

Hand: 9♠ 9♥ 9♦ K♣ 2♠. Right play: hold the three nines only. Cost of keeping the king: 2.26 credits.

Drawing two cards gives you more chances at a full house or four of a kind than drawing one. Trips alone return 4.30 per coin; with the kicker, 3.85. Check it.

5. Keeping a low pair over four to a flush

Hand: 5♥ 5♣ 9♥ K♥ 2♥. Right play: hold the four hearts. Cost of holding the fives: 1.95 credits.

A low pair does not pay until it improves. Four to a flush returns 1.21 per coin here, against 0.82 for the fives. Check it.

6. Breaking a high pair for four to a flush

Hand: K♥ K♠ 8♥ 4♥ 2♥. Right play: hold the kings. Cost of chasing the flush: 1.73 credits.

This is mistake 5 the other way round. A high pair (1.54) beats four to a flush (1.19 here), because the pair has already won. Check it.

7. Breaking a low pair for two high cards

Hand: 7♠ 7♦ K♣ Q♥ 2♠. Right play: hold the sevens. Cost of holding K-Q: 1.64 credits.

Two unsuited high cards return 0.49 per coin; a low pair returns 0.82. Small pairs are worth keeping over almost any high-card draw. Check it.

8. Taking four to a flush over three to a royal

Hand: Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 4♠ 8♦. Right play: hold Q♠ J♠ 10♠. Cost of holding the four spades: 0.94 credits.

At five coins the royal pays 800 per coin, and that makes three to a royal (1.46) worth more than four to a flush (1.28). At one to four coins this flips. Check it at both bets.

9. Throwing away a lone high card

Hand: J♣ 8♦ 6♥ 4♠ 2♣. Right play: hold the jack. Cost of discarding everything: 0.70 credits.

A single jack, queen, king or ace is worth keeping when nothing better is there: it can still pair up and pay. It returns 0.48 per coin here, against 0.34 for five new cards. Check it.

10. Drawing to an inside straight with no high cards

Hand: 9♠ 8♦ 6♣ 5♥ K♦. Right play: hold the king. Cost of holding 9-8-6-5: 0.65 credits.

Only four cards complete an inside straight, and with no high cards nothing else pays. The lone king returns 0.47 per coin; the gutshot, 0.34. Check it.

The cheap mistake you make most often

Keeping a kicker with a high pair. With J♣ J♥ A♦ 8♠ 2♣, holding the ace with the jacks costs 0.60 credits per hand. Check it. That is less than most mistakes on the list, but it is the one most players repeat. With perfect play, a high pair is the best hold in about 130 of every 1,000 hands dealt, more often than any other paying start.

Two more small ones: holding A-K-Q unsuited instead of just K-Q (0.14 credits), and holding three to a flush instead of the lone high card (0.11 with K♥ 8♥ 3♥ 6♣ 2♠). Small leaks, but they never stop.

How to stop making them

Knowing the list helps. Making the right hold without thinking takes practice with feedback on every hand. That is what Perfect Hold does: it plays like a real machine, and the tutor flags a costly hold before you draw.

Remember what perfect play gets you: on 9/6 it returns 99.54%, which is still less than you bet. Fixing these mistakes makes your money last longer. It does not make video poker a winning game.