Two pair in Deuces Wild — keep both pairs or one?
Keep one pair, either one. On 25/15/9/5 Deuces Wild a pair of 9s and a pair of 5s are each worth 0.5613 per coin; holding both pairs is worth 0.5106. Two pair pays nothing here, and so does a kicker.
The exact numbers — 9♣ 9♦ 5♥ 5♠ K♣
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
Nothing below three of a kind pays in Deuces Wild, so two pair is worth exactly nothing as it stands and its only route to a payout is the full house, which pays 3 — four of the 47 unseen cards plus the four deuces fill it on a one-card draw. One pair with three cards to come has far more ways to grow: any card of its rank or any deuce makes three of a kind, two of them make four of a kind (5), and three deuces beside the pair are five of a kind (15). That is why the three-card draw is worth more than the one-card draw. Which pair you keep is a genuine toss-up: ranks have no value of their own here (a pair of aces is exactly a pair of 3s), so 9s and 5s solve to the same 0.5613 and the trainer accepts either. The king is just a card — pairing it pays nothing — and keeping it with a pair costs 0.2228, the usual kicker leak made worse by a game where high cards have no value at all.
Chart line #28 of 33 — 'One pair — draw three (with two pair, keep only ONE pair)'. There is no two-pair line, no high-pair line and no high-card line anywhere on the Deuces Wild chart. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.