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VIDEO POKER
 Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column each week with Jeffrey Compton titled Player's Edge, which features information on promotions at various Las Vegas Hotel. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.
Feb 26, 2002
Holding Deuce Four Five in NSU Deuces Wild --- Part II of II
Last week we discussed the rules for when you hold W45 in NSU deuces and when you just hold the deuce. If you missed that column, or maybe need a refresher on what it said, you can find it a few mouse clicks away. I suggest you start there and then re-join this column. The earlier column said that 90% of all players should hold W45 with no consideration at all given to penalty cards, and that the rule of holding W45 except when there are two separate penalty cards is a rule satisfactory to at least 98% of all players. This column is meant to satisfy the last 2%.
There is one case where you can have two separate straight penalties and still hold W45 --- and that is the case where you have both an A and a 8. With W 4s 5s Ah 8s, holding W45 is worth about a half cent more than holding just the deuce.
The other special cases all have to do with a 3 being present in the hand. A 3 being present doesn't affect the value of W45 any more than a 6 being present. In both cases (assuming the fifth card is any card between a 9 and a K), you will get a straight 11% of the time on average. So if the possibility of a straight doesn't matter when you consider the difference between W 4h 5h 3s Qc and W 4h 5h 6s Qc, why should you hold just the W on the first hand and the W45 on the second?
The reason has to do with the value of holding just the deuce. In round numbers, while holding the W45 is worth $5.07 to the dollar players on both hands in the previous paragraph, the deuce by itself is worth $5.09 in the first case and $5.05 in the second. In other words, having a 3 present in the hand INCREASES THE VALUE OF HOLDING JUST THE DEUCE by 4¢ compared to having a 6 present in the hand. Very strange indeed.
The reason for this difference is that the 3 is right next to the deuce, which is rather "tucked into a corner" straight-wise. A 3 only reduces the chances for getting a 7-high, 6-high or 5-high straight. A 6 reduces the chances for getting a T-high, 9-high, 8-high, or 7-high straight. (For practical purposes, I am counting a W6543 straight as a 7-high straight). So since a 6 HURTS more in your chances of getting a straight, when you "only" have a 3, the value of the W by itself is a little more.
Surprisingly, it also matters if the final two cards are suited with each other or not. If the last two cards (i.e. the ones that are not the deuce, the four or the five) are suited with each other, the value of holding the deuce by itself is about a half cent greater than when the last two cards are suited differently from each other. Without explaining it precisely, this difference is due to the probability of getting straight flushes and regular flushes. So sometimes when you have suited cards, it is slightly better to hold the deuce, and when they are unsuited, it is slightly better to hold the W45. Since we are talking about a half cent making a difference, and these situations happen only rarely, it is easy to see why most people do not want to worry about a strategy that is this precise. For most practical purposes, it simply doesn't matter.
If you do want the exact rule, however, here it is:
Hold W45 except when you have two penalties, except Ap + 8p is okay.
Also, hold just the W when you have a suited 3+9, 3+J, 3+Q or 3+K or an unsuited 3+K or 3+Q.
Liam W. Daily and I will likely simplify this rule somewhat and put an asterisk afterwards when NSU Deuces is added to our strategy card set. This asterisk with signify that the rule is a slight simplification, but that the simplification is not financially significant.
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