A kibitzer was watching me play Video Poker at a dollar Jacks or Better game the other day and he saw me draw to an inside straight. I didn't win anything and he made the comment: "Didn't your daddy tell you to never draw to an inside straight?" My answer was simple: "My daddy didn't know how to play Video Poker."

At many VP games, it is proper to draw to inside straights; games like All American and Double Bonus pay extra for straights and it's the correct play. But, for the most part, it's not correct to draw to an inside straight at a Jacks or Better game where the straight pays only 20 for 5. However, if the hand you're dealt has 3 or more high cards in it, drawing to an inside straight may be the correct play. A lot of players are confused on this point, especially if the hand has two cards which are suited; is the Royal or the inside straight the better play? The answer is, as always, "it depends."

Let's first look at a hand about which there is no doubt. If a 10 is involved and it's suited with another high card, the inside straight is the way to go. Here are a few examples, with the expected payoff from a five-coin bet:

10d Ad Jh Qs 3s
Hold 10, J, Q, A: 2.6596
Hold 10, A: 2.4419

10c Jc Qd Ah 3s
Hold 10, J, Q, A: 2.6596
Hold 10, J: 2.4360

If the Jack and Queen are suited, hold only them over the inside straight:

10c Jh Qh As 3s
Hold J, Q: 3.0154
Hold 10, J, Q, A: 2.6596

Even without a 10 in the hand, holding a suited J, Q is still the better play. Here's an example:

Jc Qc Kd Ah 3s Hold J, Q: 3.0019
Hold J, Q, K, A: 2.9787

Here's the fly in the ointment:

Jc Qc Kd Ah 9s
Hold J, Q: 2.9763
Hold J, Q, K, A: 2.9787

You can see that the presence of a 9 negates the J,Q play. This 9 is a 'penalty' card which means that when you discard it, the chances of a straight are reduced just enough to make drawing to the inside straight a better play. But, if you go with the two-card Royal, you won't be making a very serious mistake.

What if the King and Queen are suited? Let's look at a few examples:

10d Qh Kh As 2d
Hold Q,K: 2.9439
Hold 10, Q, K, A: 2.6596

Here, because there are only 3 high cards, the Q, K is the better play. But, with 4 high cards, the inside straight is better:

Ac Kd Qd Jh 3s
Hold J, Q, K, A: 2.9787 Hold Q, K: 2.9106

A lot of players forget that 10s are not high cards, so they don't carry the impact of a Jack, Queen, King or Ace. The hand below is an interesting example of that:

10c 10d Jd Qh Ks
Hold 10, 10 4.1184 Hold 10, J, Q, K 4.3617

You can see that the pair is broken to draw to the straight. Weird little hand, isn't it?

See you here next time.

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