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The proper play for this hand seems to be the 4-card flush, but this is one I got at a game called 'High Fives' which is one of the choices on the Bally Game Maker machines found at Harrah's in St. Louis. It's just an 8/5 Jacks or Better machine that pays 25 coins for 3 fives and a whopping 500 coins for 4 fives.

Because of those 'bonus' payoffs, the proper play for the hand above is to hold the pair of fives. That play has an expectation of 6.2516 coins for each 5 bet, whereas the flush draw is worth 5.4255.

Video Poker Review #2

#1. All the hands below are from the 'High Five' game described above.

Hold 2-pair: 12.5532
Hold 5,5: 6.2812
Hold 8,8: 4.0984

Don't be tempted to break up the two pair in an effort to get 4 fives; the full house pays too much.

#2.

Hold Q: 2.3601
Hold 5: 1.7768

The bonuses for the fives don't outweigh the strength of a single high card.

#3.

Hold 5: 1.8455
Discard all: 1.7812

This is a nice feature of this game; it makes some of the 'dump' hands playable.

#4.

Hold J: 2.3684
Hold 3 clubs: 2.0537
Hold J,5: 1.9534
Hold 5 only: 1.7513

This is a good example to show you not to make too a big deal out of the five. The high card alone is still the correct play.

#5.

Hold 2,2: 4.0675
Hold 5 only: 1.8590

Any pair is much better than a lone 5.

#6.

Hold A : 2.2831
Hold A, 10, 5: 2.0537
Hold A,5: 2.0105

This is just in case you were dreaming up weird flush combinations.

#7.

Hold 3, 5, 7: 2.5116
Hold Q only: 2.3785

Normally you would hold a high card rather than go for an inside straight flush, but the presence of the five helps here.

#8.

Hold 5,5: 6.2516
Hold K, A: 2.8184

Any pair, not just the fives, outranks a two-card royal.

#9.

Hold fives: 46.1286

This expected value tells you to break up a full house with 3 fives, since the full house pays just 40 coins.

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