What Is "Autohold"?
In effect, it puts the player on autopilot and suggests a play for each hand. It will do this by holding cards automatically when it comes time to make the decision as to whether to keep or discard those that have been dealt to the player.
There is more than one purpose for it to exist. Frankly, it enables play to move faster, which from the casino's standpoint is a good thing because it maximizes drop and hold. Simple theory - more hands played constitutes more volume. But it also makes things a little easier and a little more automatic for the player who doesn't want to bother trying to negotiate the mathematical possibilities of each and every hand. This is not to say that it comes up with the mathematically optimum play for each hand, but that it comes up with a mathematically sound play.
This is a little bit different than Basic Strategy in blackjack, because while in blackjack there is one mathematically correct play for any given situation, in video poker, the player has different options they can go with. You, as the player, could be holding a pair of 2's, with the 10, Queen and Ace of spades as your other cards. And you can go the way of trying to get the third deuce, which will earn a payoff, or catching the Jack and King of spades, which gets you the royal flush, and a monster playoff. It winds up being whatever route you prefer to go.
The implementation of Autohold may keep you in the running for a win in the end, but may not evaluate to the point where it gives you the best percentage chance of winning for each individual situation.
Still, it is something that can come in handy for the player.
