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EXACT ANSWER · 9/6 DOUBLE DOUBLE BONUS

K-Q-J suited or the pair of kings in Double Double Bonus?

Break the kings. The three-card royal K-Q-J is worth 1.4690 per coin on 9/6 Double Double Bonus vs 1.4461 for the pair — Jacks or Better says the opposite.

The exact numbers — K♠ Q♠ J♠ K♥ 4♦

K♠ Q♠ J♠ K♥ 4♦ solved on 9/6 Double Double Bonus — the best hold highlighted with its exact EV
K♠ Q♠ J♠ K♥ 4♦ on 9/6 Double Double Bonus: the winning hold, solved exactly.
HoldEV per coinvs best
3 to a royal (K♠ Q♠ J♠)1.4690best
Pair of kings (K♠ K♥)1.4461−0.0229
Kings + one suited (K♠ Q♠ K♥)1.2673−0.2017

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

See all 32 holds of this hand ranked

Why

Two pair pays 1 here, so a high pair's follow-up value is thinner than it looks and the royal draw slips past it. On 9/6 Jacks or Better the identical cards reverse: kings 1.5365, royal draw 1.4884. The margin is narrow enough that the exact royal matters, which is the part no published chart explains: drop the royal one rank to 10-J-Q and the kings win again — on 10♠ J♠ Q♠ K♥ K♦ the pair solves to 1.4461 against 1.4403 for the draw. J-Q-K beats kings by 0.0229; 10-J-Q loses to them by 0.0057.

Chart line #14 of 39 — '3 to a royal flush: J-Q-K' sits above line #15, 'Pair of kings', while the 10-J-Q royal at line #16 sits below it. That three-line sandwich is the tightest ordering on the chart. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.

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