Jacks or Better strategy calculator
Pick any five cards. The calculator counts every possible draw for all 32 holds and shows the best one, what it returns and what each other hold would cost you.
Pick 5 more cards below.
How it works
You can hold any combination of your five cards: 32 choices, from keeping all five to discarding everything. For each choice, the calculator deals every possible replacement from the 47 cards you have not seen. Discarding all five alone has 1,533,939 possible draws. Across the 32 holds that is 2,598,960 final hands, all evaluated for every hand you enter.
Each final hand is paid from the pay table you choose, and the totals are compared exactly, as whole numbers, so a true tie shows as a tie. This is the same engine that runs the Perfect Hold video poker trainer.
How to read the results
Return per coin is what the hold pays back on average for each coin bet. A value above 1 means the hand is worth more than your bet; below 1, less. Cost per hand is what you give up, on average, by choosing that hold instead of the best one. The strategy line is the name the hold has on a standard Jacks or Better strategy chart.
Why the bet size matters
Take K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♣ 4♥ on 9/6. At 5 coins, holding the three hearts toward a royal flush returns 1.4533 per coin, ahead of the four-card flush at 1.3404. At 1 to 4 coins the royal pays far less, and the four-card flush becomes the best hold: 1.3404 against 0.9445. See it in the calculator.
Learn the best hold without looking it up
A calculator tells you the answer. Perfect Hold teaches it: play hands on a real machine layout and the tutor flags every costly hold as you go. Play credits only, no real money.
Coming soon to iPhoneCalculator questions
Is this calculator exact?
Yes. For each of the 32 ways to hold a hand, it counts every possible draw from the 47 unseen cards and adds up what each final hand pays. Nothing is estimated or simulated. It uses the same engine as the Perfect Hold app, which reproduces the published exact returns for all six pay tables.
Which pay tables does it cover?
The six common Jacks or Better tables: 9/6, 9/5, 8/6, 8/5, 7/5 and 6/5, each at max bet (5 coins) and at 1 to 4 coins. Other games such as Bonus Poker or Deuces Wild pay differently and need a different strategy.
Why does the bet size change the best hold?
A royal flush pays 800 per coin at 5 coins but only 250 per coin at 1 to 4 coins. That makes royal draws worth less at a short bet, so a few holds change. Try K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♣ 4♥ at both bets.
What does "cost per hand" mean?
It is how many credits you give up, on average, each time you choose that hold instead of the best one, at the bet you picked. Small costs add up over thousands of hands.
Can the best hold help me win money?
It helps you lose less. With perfect play, every common Jacks or Better table still returns less than 100% over time. The calculator shows the best decision; it cannot change the pay table.