A-K-Q suited or the pair of aces in Double Bonus?
Keep the aces. On 10/7 Double Bonus the pair is worth 1.7615 per coin vs 1.4274 for the ace-high royal draw — 160-coin quad aces settle it.
The exact numbers — A♠ K♠ Q♠ A♥ 4♦
EVs are exact — every possible draw enumerated, not simulated — at max bet on 10/7 Double Bonus. Check it yourself: the analyzer runs the same solver in your browser.
See all 32 holds of this hand ranked →Why
The chart line that tells you to break a pair for a three-card royal names suited Q-J-10 and K-Q-J only, and this hand is why. An ace-high royal draw is the weakest of the family — it makes exactly one straight, A-K-Q-J-10, where K-Q-J also makes K-Q-J-10-9 — while the pair being broken is the one pair in Double Bonus with a 160-coin quad behind it. The result is a 0.3341 gap, four times the size of the 0.0803 gap that makes breaking a pair of kings correct.
Double Bonus chart line #9 of 36 (high pair) beats line #11 (3 to a royal flush). Line #8's break-the-pair exception is written for suited Q-J-10 and K-Q-J only. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.