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STRAIGHT FLUSHES MOVE UP
Triple Bonus Plus Strategy guide
A 100-for-1 straight flush and 240-for-1 Four Aces sit on a thin 9/5 base. Straight-flush draws break made hands, Aces play as their own rank, and the 5-for-1 flush makes flush draws weaker than they look.
Built for full-pay 9/5 Triple Bonus Plus (99.80%). The 8/5 and lower schedules return less and can move close holds.
View Triple Bonus Plus pay table →
REMEMBER THESE
The three rules that move the game
01
The straight flush pays 100
Four to an open-ended straight flush breaks a made straight or flush: 8 9 10 J Q throws the straight to keep the hearts, 5.49 per coin against 4.00. An inside straight-flush draw is not worth it — keep the made hand.
02
Treat Aces as their own rank
Four Aces pay 240. Three Aces break Aces full, a pair of Aces breaks Aces up, and with nothing better a lone Ace is kept alone rather than beside an unsuited King, Queen, or Jack.
03
The 5-for-1 flush is cheap
Three to a royal beats the four-flush around it, and three to a flush never beats a lone high card: J 6 8 4 2 keeps the Jack, 0.436 per coin against 0.380 for the three hearts.
DECISION LADDER
Start at the top; compare overlapping choices.
CORE ORDER
“Pat” means keep all five. “Four to” or “three to” counts the held cards, including any wild cards. An outside straight such as 5-6-7-8 can finish at either end; an inside straight such as 5-6-8-9 needs one rank. A-2-3-4 and J-Q-K-A also have only one completing rank. Discarded cards stay out of the draw and can weaken a competing hold.
01
Royal, straight flush, or four of a kind
Keep the premium made hand.
02
Four to a royal flush
Break a made straight, flush, or high pair for it.
03
Three Aces
Draw two even from Aces full: 13.46 per coin against the 9.00 you would keep.
04
Four to an open-ended straight flush
It breaks a made straight or flush on this schedule.
05
Full house, flush, or straight
Keep these made hands pat.
06
Trips, 2s through Kings
Draw two for the full house or the quad.
07
Four to an inside straight flush
Above every pair, but below a made flush or straight.
08
Pair of Aces
Throw the second pair: Aces alone are 1.98 per coin against 1.68 for Aces up.
09
Two Pair, high pairs, and three to a royal
Close calls. Kings stay over A-K-Q suited (1.45 against 1.33), but Q-J-10 suited beats a pair of Jacks (1.49 against 1.45).
10
Four to a flush, then low pairs
K 9 7 3 3 keeps the four hearts at 1.02 per coin over the 3s at 0.93. A low pair beats an outside straight with no high cards and any three to a straight flush.
11
Outside straights, suited high cards, and a lone Ace
A lone Ace beats unsuited A-K, A-Q, and A-J. Use the solver for the close two-card cases.
12
Inside straight with no high cards, or draw five
Four to an inside straight edges out a fresh five: 0.340 per coin against 0.325.
Why this isn’t an exception chart
Suits, gaps, discarded cards, and custom payouts can move close hands. This is a compact learning guide, not a complete first-match chart. For wild games, use only the branch for the wild cards actually dealt. SmartHold Practice compares all 32 holds for the exact deal. EV means average total return, including the stake, per coin wagered; it is not profit or the chance of winning. The examples use the schedule named above.
WORKED EXAMPLES
The deals that split from 9/7/5 Double Bonus
9
HOLD
10
HOLD
J
HOLD
Q
HOLD
2
DRAW
Break the flush for the straight flush
Double Bonus keeps the 7-for-1 flush. Here the flush pays 5 and the straight flush 100, so drawing to 9-10-J-Q of hearts is worth 5.53 per coin against the 5.00 you would keep.
7
DRAW
A
HOLD
Q
DRAW
5
DRAW
2
DRAW
Keep the Ace, not the three-flush
Double Bonus holds the three spades. At 5-for-1 that flush draw is worth only 0.377 per coin, while the Ace alone — chasing 240-for-1 quads — returns 0.457.
A
HOLD
K
HOLD
Q
HOLD
5
DRAW
3
DRAW
Three to a royal over the four-flush
Double Bonus keeps the four hearts, worth 1.53 per coin there. With the flush cut to 5-for-1, A-K-Q is 1.33 against 1.15 for the four-flush.
COMMON TRAPS
Mistakes worth recognizing on sight
Keeping a made flush out of habit
Four to an open-ended straight flush breaks it here. An inside straight-flush draw does not.
Playing it like Double Bonus
The flush pays 5 and the straight 4, not 7 and 5, so three-flushes and outside straights lose most of their value.
Assuming Two Pair pays like Jacks
It returns only the bet. With Aces up, keep just the Aces.
TURN THE LADDER INTO INSTINCT
Practice Triple Bonus Plus
Every miss comes back through Review until the correct hold is automatic.
PRACTICE THIS STRATEGY
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Educational video poker practice for adults 18+. No real-money gambling or prizes. Optional purchases available.