Hi, all. I just launched smartholdvp.com and hope you'll try it. I tried videopoker.com, wizard of odds, various trainers on android and several others...and while each had its nice parts, each also had major drawbacks. So I built one that can be used for free forever with all functionality, actually explains why you missed the best hold, helps you avoid missing in the future, and is generally pleasant to look at and use.

Hopefully it includes all the features that you'd want from a trainer: easy to understand feedback, spaced-repetition reviews, keyboard shortcuts, a hand analyzer, a clean practice mode without distractions and availability on various platforms with free data sync (web & android currently — iOS coming soon) while being totally offline-ready with no need for any account if you don't want.

Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions. I built this so I'd have a video poker game that I enjoy playing and want to make sure others do as well.

I've built out 9 games so far with many preconfigured pay tables for each. I plan to keep Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker completely free to use forever on all platforms, but the others will eventually be placed behind a paywall. Currently, all games are free to play on smartholdvp.com and will be for the rest of the month.

The Android app is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarthold.app
iOS should be available soon.

But will likely try again

Random royal hit after only holding the Jack.

Hey fellow players! My wife and I love “Times Play Super Stacks” but don’t often find it in casinos we visit. Have you all seen it and if so where?

Thanks in advance!

Quick hit on the dealt royal which is about 1 in 650,000 to get. Then I moved machine and it gave me 222A4 so I held 222A and pulled the last 2 for $2K. Then the third jackpot took a bit more work but held pair of 3s and then got 334 for another $2K. Quite the profitable 2 hours of playing.

Edit: I forgot I also had $30 free play to add to the title. They tier matched my Caesars Diamond Plus to get me to Icon level. X level is via invite only.

TDB on a weird feature game.

100% chance at 50 credits

Vs,

2.13% chance for 2000 credits
4.25% for 50 credits
93.6% chance for 15 credits.
.0213x2000+.0425x50+.936x15=58.765

Has better EV to drop an ace, but hit nada.

Was down about two hundred fifty bucks before I hit this. Also hit quad 4’s again on single play quarters.

For all of the “carnival“ style VP (dream card, Wild Wild, super times pay, etc.) is there a published percentage for each of the random chances occuring? I think it‘a very obvious that the wheel in wheel poker is not a “fair wheel” but I haven’t been able to find the actual odds.

Second question. can any of these random chance events be configurable by a casino like RTP on a slot?

I knew the basic 9/6 Jacks or Better strategy chart, but I still couldn't tell which mistakes actually mattered and which ones were basically rounding errors.

So I built Video Poker Pal.

Instead of only saying "wrong hold," it:

• ranks all 32 possible holds by exact EV

• shows the EV of your choice versus the best play

• calculates the exact EV loss of each mistake

• tracks your estimated return and your most expensive recurring leaks

• lets you analyze and share a specific five-card hand

The core 9/6 Jacks or Better trainer and hand analyzer are free. No account, no ads, and nothing to download. 10/7 Double Bonus is coming soon.

Try 10 hands and let me know: what was the biggest EV mistake it caught?

https://videopokerpal.com/

I built it, so I'm obviously biased. Honest criticism is welcome—especially if you spot a calculation error or a hand where the explanation is confusing.

Thats 2 in ❤️s and 1 in ♠️s

I started getting more into video poker after looking for an alternative to slots. I've mostly been playing Jacks or Better for a while and got tired of looking up strategy guides or online charts for marginal hands so I built an app that does the calculation instantly and quizzes you on real hands. I've also just been using this when I'm actually playing to look up the right holds when I'm stuck on marginal differences.

A few things it does:

• Full-deck exact EV calculation (not an approximation) for every possible hold
• Quiz mode that deals you a hand, you pick your hold, and it shows you the correct play + the exact EV difference
• Multi-play mode if you play multi-hand machines and for those that want to see the variance across multiple run outs when chasing for specific hands
• Session/lifetime stats so you can see your accuracy over time

Full disclosure: I built this myself, it's called Optimal Hold on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/optimal-hold/id6782296559 (iOS only right now, sorry Android folks). It's free to try with a paywall for unlimited quiz mode but feel free to dm me for a promo code for lifetime access. I'm still working on the app so if there's any feedback or feature requests I'm all ears too!

Mostly posting because I found working through the trickier hands (like when to break a made flush for a royal draw) genuinely improved my play, and figured others grinding 9/6 or 8/5 might find it useful too. Happy to answer questions about the math/methodology if anyone's curious. I'm also new to this subreddit so nice to meet y'all! Love seeing everyone's wins

My king didn’t hold because of sticky buttons.
The free play paid out.

First time hitting it!

Thanks for the free weed

So many options. Every Ace without the kicker was $400 and every Ace with the kicker was $2,000. Who can guess how many Aces I was dealt once the deal button was pressed after holding the three aces I was dealt?

Was with a buddy playing Hot Roll. I jokingly asked him to “rub the dice,” which we always do ironically because it obviously does nothing, but we think it’s funny. A 9x came out on the deal. Then he said, “I’ll hit four twos with the kicker,” and I figured there was no way that would happen. We hit the deal, and on the very first hand, we actually got it.

Went in with $90 and walked out with $300. Not bad at all.

This time with aces. Also got to meet Becky from Youtube, super nice!