Strategy charts answer the holding question by ranking every possible card combination from strongest to weakest. A player compares the five dealt cards against that ranking and keeps the highest listed combination. Nothing else needs judging, because the chart already contains the mathematics of every choice. Video poker rooms inside crypto.games show the full paytable beside each machine, and the chart is built from those exact payouts. Beginners print a chart or keep one open beside the game, then check each hand against it. After a few sessions, the common holds become memory, and players need the chart only for rare borderline hands.
How do charts rank hands?
Ranking on a chart follows expected return, meaning the average payout each hold produces over thousands of repeats. Rows at the top carry the strongest situations, such as a dealt royal flush or straight flush, which a player always keeps complete. Lower rows hold partial hands, and the gaps between them decide every difficult choice. Reading works from the top downward. A player scans until the first row that matches the dealt cards, holds those cards, and discards the rest. Only one row can win, so the method removes hesitation completely.
Charts also differ by game version. A Jacks or Better chart places pairs of jacks or better above small pairs, while a Deuces Wild chart treats every two as the centre of the hand. Payout tables shape the rows too, since a version paying more on flushes lifts flush draws higher. Matching the chart to the exact game version keeps every hold correct.
Which cards form holds?
Held cards fall into three broad groups, and a chart orders the members of each group precisely.
- Made hands – Complete combinations pay immediately, so a straight, flush, full house, or high pair stays untouched. Charts place these near the top because a certain payout beats most draws.
- Strong draws – Four cards toward a flush, an open straight, or a royal sit next. A player discards one card and chases the finished hand, since the completion chance justifies the swap.
- High cards – When nothing else connects, the chart keeps single jacks, queens, kings, or aces. Two suited high cards rank above unsuited ones, since they also feed royal chances. One kept court card can still return the bet by pairing on the draw.
Everything outside these groups gets discarded, and a hand with no listed hold means all five cards go back for a fresh draw.
When do players break pairs?
Breaking a made pair feels wrong to new players, yet charts call for it in clearly defined spots. A low pair sits below four cards to a flush on nearly every chart, so the pair splits and the flush draw stays. Four cards to a royal outrank even a high pair, because the royal payout towers over everything else on the table. Charts settle these conflicts with row order rather than instinct. Whenever two listed hands share the same five cards, the higher row wins and the lower one dissolves. Following that single principle covers every awkward hand, from suited court cards inside a straight to a pair hiding within a flush draw.
Correct holds come from one habit: matching the dealt hand to the highest row on the right chart. A player who trusts that row order plays every version at near full return. With the chart beside the screen, each decision takes seconds and stays consistent.