VIDEO POKER PALEV TRAINER
EXACT ANSWER · 25/15/9/5 DEUCES WILD

Two deuces in a made flush — keep the flush or just the deuces?

Keep the two deuces alone. On 25/15/9/5 Deuces Wild 2♣ 2♦ by themselves are worth 3.2606 per coin; the pat flush pays 2.0000, and every hold that keeps a club with the deuces is worth less than the bare pair of deuces.

The exact numbers — 2♣ 2♦ 5♣ 9♣ K♣

2♣ 2♦ 5♣ 9♣ K♣ solved on 25/15/9/5 Deuces Wild — the best hold highlighted with its exact EV
2♣ 2♦ 5♣ 9♣ K♣ on 25/15/9/5 Deuces Wild: the winning hold, solved exactly.
HoldEV per coinvs best
Two deuces (2♣ 2♦), draw three3.2606best
Two deuces + K♣2.7253−0.5353
Two deuces + 9♣ K♣ (4 to a flush)2.6809−0.5797
Pat flush (all five)2.0000−1.2606

EVs are exact — every possible draw enumerated, not simulated — at max bet on 25/15/9/5 Deuces Wild. Check it yourself: the analyzer runs the same solver in your browser.

See all 32 holds of this hand ranked →

Why

A flush pays 2 in this game, and two deuces drawing three cards are worth more than that before a single card is turned over: any pair among the three new cards is four of a kind (5), a third deuce with anything is at least four of a kind and with a pair five of a kind (15), both remaining deuces are 200, and three suited cards inside a run are a straight flush (9) or a wild royal (25). The clubs you would keep do not help. Holding the king with the deuces, or two clubs for a 'four-card flush', only narrows the draw towards hands that pay 2 while blocking the four-of-a-kind draws that pay 5 and 15 — each of those holds is worth half a coin less than the deuces alone. The chart line is blunt about it: two deuces break a pat straight and a pat flush (a two-deuce full house cannot be dealt — two deuces with any pair are already four of a kind). The exceptions are the pat hands that already pay 9 or more (a wild royal, five of a kind, a straight flush) and the two-deuce draws that keep exactly two cards for a specific reason: a pair (four of a kind, draw one), two suited royal cards, or two suited touching cards 6-7 or higher.

Chart line #9 of 33 — 'Two deuces only — draw three (break a pat straight or flush)'. Lines #5–#8 above it list the only two-deuce holds that keep more. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.

Related questions