What are the Strategy Variations in Double Double Bonus Video Poker?

It’s time for another article on one of the many variations to the standard Jacks or Better video poker game.  This time we’ll talk about Double Double Bonus Jacks or Better.  This game is fascinating because it has big payouts for four-of-a –kind generally and for four aces especially.  There are even bigger payouts for four aces with certain kickers.  These changes cause the basic Jacks or Better strategy to change.

Use Our Money to Gain Experience

When you play Double Double Bonus Jacks or Better at Springbok Online Casino, it’s a good idea to play either in free play mode or with a no deposit bonus.  This way, you’ll get used to the game at no cost to your bankroll.  Springbok has a well-earned reputation as THE top no deposit casino for players from South Africa especially and also from Australia and New Zealand.  Our no deposit bonus gives you a lot of freedom to roam about the casino.  Stop at Double Double Bonus video poker for at least a few hands.

Check the Pay Table

Playing Double Double Bonus video poker at an online casino is a great way to both enjoy the game immensely and to practice for when you inevitably will venture forth to a land based casino.  When you play the game at a land based casino, be sure that you’re playing at a 9-6 video poker terminal.

After you’ve chosen the terminal you want to play at, look at the extra payouts for four aces.  We always assume that you’ll bet the maximum because that gives you the chance to win the big jackpot for a Royal Flush.  So, we’ll look at the right hand column for all the four-of-a-kind payouts.

• Four fives to Kings pay 250 coins.
• Four twos, threes, and fours pay 400 coins.
• Four aces pay 800 coins!
• Four twos, threes, or fours with ace, two, three, or four as kickers also wins 800 coins.
• Finally, four aces with two, three, or four as kickers wins 2000 coins.

Now, look and see that the payout for a straight flush is “only” 250 coins.  That means that it will usually be better strategy to go for four-of-a-kind rather than for a straight flush.  The payout for four aces with two, three, or four as kickers is only 2000 coins lower than the payout for a Royal Flush.  So, the best strategy may be to go for four aces when in regular Jacks or Better, the best strategy in given situations might be to go for the Royal Flush.  Here are a few changes in basic strategy for when you play Double Double Bonus video poker.

Keeping Just the Ace

In many hands, you’ll have an ace and four other cards less than the jack.  In this situation, it’s easy to see that the best play is to hold the ace and to draw four cards.  But what happens when you have an ace, a jack, or higher and other low cards?  In that case, you discard all the cards except the ace.

In regular Jacks or Better, you would keep the jack or above card hoping to pair it but in Double Double Bonus, the big payout for four aces requires that you go for it as often as it’s reasonable to do so.  A variation on this different strategy is when you have an ace and a two, three, or four.  In that case you still keep only the ace.  It’s much sounder strategy to give yourself four chances to get three aces as it is to give yourself only three chances to do so.

Some strategists claim that when you have two connected and suited high cards, you’re better off going for the Royal Flush instead of the four aces but this is not universally considered top strategy.

Aces Up

It should be obvious that the next area of change in strategy comes about when you have two aces which win 5 coins for a maximum bet and you also have a second pair.  Two pair also pay out 5 coins but two pair can become a full house which pays out 45 coins.

The first thing to notice is that the house gets back some of the extra bonus money by paying only 5 coins for two pair whereas two pair in regular Jacks or Better pay out 10 coins.  For this reason, in regular Jacks or Better, you would hold the two p[air and hope to get a full house.

In Double Double Bonus, you go for the big payout for four aces even when you have a chance to cash in on a full house.  So, when you have two pair—aces and any other pair—best strategy is to keep only the aces.

Full House with Aces

A full house has two of one card and three of another.  So, when we have a full house with aces in Double Double Bonus, we have actually three questions to ask.

• Should I break up the full house in order to go for the four aces?
• Should I break up the full house when I have three aces already?
• Should I break up the full house when I have only two aces?

The answer surprises a lot of players.  First, you should break up the full house if and only if you have three aces already.  If you have only two aces, most strategists say that you should take the 45 coins for the full house.  There is, indeed, a limit to the extent to which you’ll chase four aces.

Other Situations

As you might expect by now, in Double Double bonus, you go for four aces whenever it makes sense to do so.  While in regular Jacks or Better, you often go for a straight or a flush, in this variation, you more often go for the four aces.

If you have three to a flush with all low cards and no cards are connected, you can go for the flush; your chances of hitting a flush are higher than the chances of getting four aces on the draw.

If you draw five low cards, unconnected and unsuited, you will discard them in the long shot hope that you might get those four aces.  But if you have one high card that wins when it’s paired, you’ll keep that high card and forego pursuing four aces for at least that hand.