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EXACT ANSWER · 9/6 JACKS OR BETTER

A-K-Q-J unsuited — keep all four or just two?

Keep all four. The inside straight draw A-K-Q-J is worth 0.5957 per coin exactly — more than K-Q-J (0.4829) or any two high cards (0.4788). It's the only 4-card inside straight most simple charts get wrong.

The exact numbers — A♥ K♦ Q♠ J♣ 9♣

A♥ K♦ Q♠ J♣ 9♣ solved on 9/6 Jacks or Better — the best hold highlighted with its exact EV
A♥ K♦ Q♠ J♣ 9♣ on 9/6 Jacks or Better: the winning hold, solved exactly.
HoldEV per coinvs best
A-K-Q-J (all four)0.5957best
K-Q-J-9 (also an inside draw, one fewer high)0.5319−0.0638
K-Q-J0.4829−0.1129
Q-J only0.4788−0.1170

EVs are exact — every possible draw enumerated, not simulated — at max bet on 9/6 Jacks or Better. Check it yourself: the analyzer runs the same solver in your browser.

See all 32 holds of this hand ranked →

Why

Four high cards pay their own way while you draw at the straight: any pair among A/K/Q/J returns even money, and the ten completes a 4-coin straight. That double duty is why 'inside straights with 3+ high cards' earned a line on our solver-optimized chart while ordinary inside straights stay unplayable.

Chart line #14 of 18 — '4 to an inside straight, 3+ high cards' (a line the classic 16-line simple strategy is missing; adding it is worth +0.025% exactly). See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.

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