Long time subscriber, first-time questioner. I swear that over the years after purchasing many books and software put out by Bob Dancer and others, this question was answered, but I just can’t remember where and it bugs the hell out of me. Simply, when playing NSU Deuces and you don’t have anything better, you hold two high cards to the royal EXCEPT NOT if one of cards is an ace. Assuming no better alternatives, if you're left with a ten, jack or queen or king suited, you keep those two cards, rather than redrawing all five. You do NOT, however, keep two to the royal if it includes needing to keep a suited ace. I understand the reason why, but I remember reading somewhere the house advantage you give up if you do add the ace. I seem to remember a very small difference in house advantage. How much do you “give up” if you always keep any two high cards, including the ace if nothing better is in your hand and how does this strategy change the frequency in pulling three cards to the royal?
I don't have the tools that will provide you with a precise answer (such as 0.03%, my best spitball guess, but might be off by quite a bit), though I can comment to help you decide whether to go this route or not.
Rephrasing the question slightly, you always hold JT, QJ, and QT in NSU Deuces, unless something better is in the hand.
With KQ, KJ, and KT, it’s very slightly better to hold these combinations rather than throwing them away. With a nod to Kenny Rogers’ "The Gambler," who was singing about live poker rather than video poker, serious players “know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.” The determining factor on whether to hold these K-high combinations or not has to do with what we call “penalty cards.”
With one rare, essentially worthless, exception, you should never hold AK, AQ, AJ, or AT in this game.
You always hold J-high and Q-high royal combinations. It’s 50-50 on the K-high royal combinations. And you basically never hold A-high royal combinations. The reason has to do with the number of straights and straight flushes you can draw starting from those combinations.
How much you give up by holding the A-high combinations depends on a flush penalty (a card in the same suit as the A-high combination) or a straight penalty (a unpaired king, queen, jack, or ten). Or both.
For the dollar five-coin player, each time you play AT instead of throwing it away, you usually give away between three and fifteen cents depending on exactly which three other cards are also in the hand. Surprisingly to some, you give up less holding AT and AJ than you do holding AQ and AK. Whether giving up this much money is “meaningless” or “too much” for those who don’t want to throw these combinations away is a question each player has to answer for himself/herself. For me, personally, making unforced errors of this size is much much too much.
The Dancer/Daily Winners Guide to NSU Deuces Wild goes into a lot more detail about exactly why and by how much. The Winner’s Guides series of books are close to required reading for serious players.
