Video Poker Forum

In the ten play DW contest, I was dealt a straight flush with three deuces for a 500 point win. I elected to hold three deuces and take my chances. I wound up with 270. But that's still the right hold, correct? I barely made the points necessary for an entry. 

Yes, you're supposed to toss a straight flush for 222.

I know Mr. Dancer would probably ask posters to bring up additional details such as the game type and the pay schedule since the answer largely depends on that.

But virtually most DW games I ever come across, you always toss the Straight Flush when you have 3 Deuces.

If you are referring to the weekly contest which happens to be Stack the Deck, you keep the 3 Deuces. If you were playing Bonus Deuces Wild Stack the Deck, you only hold 5 Aces and keep the 3 Deuces otherwise.

Thanks. It seems a shame to incur a 230 point loss on the decision, but the upside is too good to ignore!

Thanks. It seems a shame to incur a 230 point loss on the decision, but the upside is too good to ignore!

First of all, Alpax said it correctly. You need to know more about the game, but usually . . .Moving on, the right choice is determined by what the average result will be over the next zillion times you play this hand --- NOT over your results this particular time. Holding 222 rather than a straight flush will USUALLY cost you money --- but on average it's a good play. If you would have received 500 coins, then that implies you get 50 for a straight flush --- which might mean it's the 16-10-4-4-3 version commonly called NSU. In that game, 222 is worth about 74 coins on average and holding the straight flush is worth 50. it would be a HUGE error to hold the straight flush IF YOU WERE PLAYING FOR REAL MONEY.But you weren't playing for real money. Apparently you were trying to get a certain minimum score to qualify for a long-shot win at an iPad, or something. Near the end of such a trial, it could make perfect sense to hold the straight flush rather than the deuces. By that point you were presumably too far gone to win one of the big prizes and you only wanted to squeeze out another entry. Or you could go with my father's theory, back when he was alive. He said that if God didn't want him to hold a straight flush, He wouldn't have given him a straight flush!

Great story. Yes, just squeezing out an entry. But I do want to mimic real world decisions, since it's only points on the line. Here I could serve both masters and it worked out, long shot notwithstanding.

FAA,
I almost exclusively play DW or DWB. Our general rule of thumb is the following for 3 deuce deals.:

1. Dealt Deuce Royal flush
2. 5 Kind
3. Hold the 3 deuces (obviously the Ace if DWB or Dbl DWB) and throw the Straight Flush away. But, boy is it hard when you begin the calculations.   

While I occasionally come up short, the long-term has been to my benefit.

Good luck,
LL

That's my dilemma back then. It would have cost $230, or $47 on quarter in the real world. Which is real money.