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EXACT ANSWER · 9/6 JACKS OR BETTER

Is a suited 10 with a face card worth holding?

Yes — hold both. J♥ 10♥ is worth 0.5074 per coin on 9/6 Jacks or Better vs 0.4713 for the jack alone. The suited 10 is free royal equity.

The exact numbers — 10♥ J♥ 5♣ 8♦ 2♠

10♥ J♥ 5♣ 8♦ 2♠ solved on 9/6 Jacks or Better — the best hold highlighted with its exact EV
10♥ J♥ 5♣ 8♦ 2♠ on 9/6 Jacks or Better: the winning hold, solved exactly.
HoldEV per coinvs best
J♥ 10♥ suited0.5074best
Jack alone (J♥)0.4713−0.0361
J♥ + 8♦0.3587−0.1488
Discard all five0.3405−0.1669

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

The ten costs nothing you were using — the other three cards are junk either way — and it buys a two-card royal, a straight-flush draw, and extra flush and straight chances on top of the jack's even-money pair. The suit is doing the work: the same jack with an unsuited ten is just a lone high card. One exception is worth memorising: with an ACE the ten stops paying its way. Solved on 10♥ A♥ 5♣ 8♦ 2♠, the lone ace is worth 0.4640 and A-10 suited only 0.4606, because A-10 makes no straight except the broadway.

Chart line #16 of 18 — 'Suited 10 + high card' — is written for 10-J, 10-Q and 10-K only, never 10-A. It is the last hold above lone high cards and a bare five-card draw. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.

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