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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♣

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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