It’s been a while since I’ve written about hands such as the ones we’ll discuss today. If you’ve read every one of my columns, you can find the first mention back in 2001. But this will be new for most of you.
Letting a W stand for a deuce, let’s compare the two hands W 6♥ 7♥ 9♥ 8♠ and W 6♥ 7♥ 9♥ 5♠. In each hand, we have to choose between a 4-card straight flush with one inside (on these hands an inside is the same as a gap, On certain other hands they are not identical) and a completed 5-card straight. Normally when I present a hand in this column, I am asking you to select which play is better. Not today. Either going for the straight flush or keeping the dealt straight could be correct, depending upon the pay schedule. More about that later.
Let’s assume that, right or wrong, we are going to go for the straight flush by tossing the spade and drawing one card. Now here comes the question. Does it matter if the spade that completes the straight is in the middle (as the 8 is in the first example), or on the edge (as the 5 is in the second example)?
Have you selected your answer? Here’s a hint. The first time I looked at this problem, more than 15 years ago, I got the wrong answer! And so did two of my most knowledgeable friends! So do you want to change your answer?
One-card draws are simple enough that we can count the possibilities exactly. In both cases, we are drawing one card to W679. Since we start with a 52-card deck and are looking at 5 cards, there are 47 cards we could select. In the first example (i.e. the one with the 8), we have 9 chances to get three of a kind (three each 6s, 7s and 9s), 8 chances to get a straight (three each 5s and Ts, and two 8s because we were dealt one 8 and threw it away), 6 flushes (all hearts that don’t make a straight flush), and 6 straight flushes (the 5♥, 8♥ and T♥ plus the other three deuces.) All other cards give us nothing.
In the second example (i.e. the one with the 5), the numbers come out exactly the same — 9, 8, 6, and 6.
The only thing the fifth card does in each case is to eliminate one straight. So there is no difference whether the fifth card is in the middle of the straight or on the edge.
The reason I missed this problem the first time I saw it was because I didn’t properly distinguish it from these deuceless combinations: K♣ 6♥ 7♥ 9♥ 8♠ and K♣ 6♥ 7♥ 9♥ 5♠. In these hands, the 679 in the first hand is weaker than the 679 in the second. The 8 in the first hand interferes with all straights including 679. The 5 in the second hand interferes with 9-high straights but not 10-high straights. (A side issue is that with most pay schedules, you would hold 6798 in the first example and 679 in the second. “What is the right play?” is usually the question, but here “Which combination is worth more?” takes center stage.)
Back to our original hands. When is it right to keep the straight and when is it right to go for the straight flush? As we saw earlier, there are an equal number of flushes and straight flushes arising out of drawing to this position. So a 1-unit difference in the value of a flush is just as important as a 1-unit difference in the value of a straight flush. Here’s a tip: If the sum of the values of a flush and a straight flush add up to 11 or less (for one credit bet), keep the straight. If the sum of the values of a flush and straight flush add up to 12 or more, go for the straight flush.
The “Full Pay” version of Deuces Wild returns 2 for a flush and 9 for a straight flush. Since this adds up to 11, keep the straight. In the NSU (not so ugly) version of Deuces Wild, flushes receive 3 and straight flushes receive 10. This adds up to 13, so go for the straight flush.
In Bonus Deuces Wild or Double Bonus Deuces Wild games, the straight only returns 1 coin rather than the 2 it returns in regular Deuces Wild variations. In those games, we keep all 4-card straight flushes over a 5-card straight.