Today I want to look at the advanced strategy features of 9/5 TBPP. Unlike the previous two weeks, I’m not comparing this game to another. I’m just listing exceptions to the intermediate rules.
I assume you’re generally familiar with penalty cards and the difference between ‘when’ and ‘with’ inside parenthesized exceptions. These are common for all the Dancer/Daily Winner’s Guides and strategy cards. If you’re not familiar with our notation, this might be tough going. It would take several thousand words to explain all the features of the notation, and that’s kind of tough for 800-word columns.
QJT
KQJ (with neither fp nor Tp) > KK, QQ, JJ > RF3 others. (This says that QJT is always better than these high pairs and KQJ sometimes is. KQJ can handle an Ap or a 9p, but not a Tp. When straight flushes return 50-for-1, QJT and KQJ have very similar values. The extra straight flush you get from QJT is worth approximately as much as 50% more high pairs you get with KQJ. In this game, where straight flushes pay 100-for-1 rather than 50-for-1, the difference in value between the two combinations is worth 21 cents to the 5-coin dollar player.
AH, KH with no fp > AHHT, KQJ9 > AH, KH no fp. (This is a very common rule for games where two pair pays even money. Players who are used to penalty card situations are familiar with this.)
QJ (<A with no fp when 87 or 86 or any 9) (<A with fp when 97 or 96). (This is fairly tricky. Within each of the two parenthesized sections, the first part refers to penalty cards to the ace, and the second part refers to penalty cards to the QJ. The reason the list of “97 or 96” doesn’t say “97 or 96 or 95” is because the 5 would be a straight flush penalty to the ace — which combined with a flush penalty would be enough to make QJ > A.)
A (< JT with neither sp nor fp when {(fp + lsp) or (sfp)} (< JT with 7p when two fp). (When I apply this rule, I first look for a flush penalty to the JT, or a 9, or an 8. If I see any of those, I just hold the A. If none of those are present, then I look to see if the ace is penalized twice (with a straight flush penalty counting as two penalties.) If both of these occur, which is a small percentage of the time, then I look closely to see if the exact rule applies.)
JT (< KJ when fp + sp). (This is considerably more restrictive than in DDB, which is because of the higher value for the straight flush.)
KT (no fp) < K. (This was mentioned last week using slightly different notation. KT (with fp) is never held.)
That’s it. There aren’t very many rules, but some have more than one moving part.
I’ll end with a 10-question quiz. Even if you’ve mastered what has been presented above, it’s going to be pretty difficult. When dealt the following cards playing 9/5 TBPP, select the cards you would hold:
- K♥ Q♥ J♥ Q♠ 7♥
- Q♣ J♣ T♣ J♦ 7♣
- A♦ Q♦ J♠ T♠ 7♠
- K♦ Q♦ J♣ 9♣ 6♦
- A♣ K♥ Q♥ J♥ J♠
- A♠ Q♦ J♣ 8♥ 7♠
- K♣ J♥ T♥ 6♥ 2♠
- A♦ Q♣ J♥ 9♥ 4♦
- A♣ J♥ T♥ 7♣ 3♦
- A♥ J♣ T♣ 4♦ 2♠
Answers — the cards in red or black are the ones you should hold. The ones in the yellowish color should be discarded.
- K♥ Q♥ J♥ Q♠ 7♥
- Q♣ J♣ T♣ J♦ 7♣
- A♦ Q♦ J♠ T♠ 7♠
- K♦ Q♦ J♣ 9♣ 6♦
- A♣ K♥ Q♥ J♥ J♠
- A♠ Q♦ J♣ 8♥ 7♠
- K♣ J♥ T♥ 6♥ 2♠
- A♦ Q♣ J♥ 9♥ 4♦
- A♣ J♥ T♥ 7♣ 3♦
- A♥ J♣ T♣ 4♦ 2♠
If and when I find an opportunity to play this game again, I’ll use these three articles to get up to speed fast. It gives me basically everything I need to know and quizzes me on the sneaky ones. I’ll still practice the advanced hands on Video Poker for Winners, but these articles will jump start the process I need to go through. Perhaps that’s true for you as well.