Video poker is always high on my list of games when I hit the casinos, but on some variations, years can pass between sessions.
So on a November outing, when I touched the icon to launch Super Double Bonus Poker, I had to think a little and play a little slower than usual. Complicating matters was that this machine had an 8/5 pay table, returning 98.7% with expert play, and not the 9/5, 99.7% I’d learned to play earlier.
Super Double Bonus is a quirky game in that four jacks, queens or kings pay 120-for-1, or 600 for a five-coin max bet.
The hands that caused me some qualms as I played were full houses that included three matched faces; two pairs that included two kings, queens or jacks; multiple high cards of mixed suits; and low pairs vs. a high card.
I knew strategies for 9/5 Super Double Bonus. Would they hold up when the full house payback dropped to 8-for-1?
Here are hands where I had to make those decisions – I kept track on my phone – and the verdict on strategy.
Jack of hearts, jack of spades, jack of diamonds, seven of diamonds, seven of spades: Is the 600-coin return on four faces enough to break up a full house?
In 8/5 Super Double Bonus, the answer is yes. Holding the three jacks brings an average return of 41.44 coins per five wagered, while holding the full house brings a flat return of 40 coins. However, in the 9/5 version, where the full house brings 45 coins, it’s a better play to stand pat.
Queen of diamonds, queen of clubs, 10 of hearts, 10 of spades, eight of spades: In most video poker games, it’s a better play to hold two pairs over a single high pair, even though the pair brings the same five-coin return per five wagered as two pairs. There is an ace-pair exception in games with big four-ace bonanzas, but with lower cards its best to hold both pairs.
However, in 8/5 Super Double Bonus, holding queen-queen brings an average return of 8.16 coins, and that’s better than the 7.98 for holding both pairs. As with the full house, that’s a reversal of strategy from 9/5 Super Double Bonus, where holding both pairs returns 8.40 coins and drawing three to queen-queen brings 8.21.
King of spades, jack of hearts, 10 of clubs, seven of spades, four of diamonds: It’s almost always better to hold two high cards than one, even if they’re in different suits. That remains true in Super Double Bonus. Average returns are 2.26 coins on king-jack, 2.21 on the lone jack or 2.14 on just the king in 8/5 Super Double Bonus. Normal strategy prevails.
Jack of diamonds, nine of hearts, six of spades, six of hearts, five of clubs: A low pair vs. a high card is an easy decision in most games – the pair has far more payback potential than the high card.
That holds up in Super Double Bonus. In the 8/5 game, average returns are 3.75 coins on six-six and 2.30 on holding just the jack. The allure of a 600-coin pot on four like faces is nowhere near enough to flip the strategy.
Bottom line: The lower full house return on 8/5 Super Double Bonus necessitates strategy changes vs. the 9/5 game on full houses with three like faces and two pairs with a face pair, but unsuited high cards and hands with a low pair and a face can be played normally.
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