Double Double Bonus Poker

The Basics

The rules of Double Double Bonus Poker are very simple. It is essentially a game of five-card draw that you are playing against the house.

To start a round you have to set your bet. You will be able to bet up to five coins per hand and you can also adjust the size of these coins to suit your budget. Next, you are dealt five cards from a standard deck of cards. You then have to choose which of these cards you wish to hold and which you want to discard. The discarded cards are then replaced and you are paid out according to the strength of your hand.

Whatever version of video poker you play, it is always worth betting the full five coins per hand. This is because there is nearly always a boosted payout for a Royal Flush with five coins bet. Therefore, if you are to have any chance of winning the top prize, betting the maximum five coins is a must. Luckily, you can reduce the coin size to ensure that the game remains within budget. For example, if you have a budget of $1 per hand, rather than betting one $1 coin, you should bet five $0.20 coins.

Winning Hands

The most important thing when playing Double Double Bonus Poker is the ability to quickly spot the different types of poker hands you may have been dealt as well as how close you are to forming different types of hands.  Furthermore, Double Double Bonus Poker has a few extra hand types that aren’t found in other video poker games. Here is a list of all the winning hand types from weakest to strongest:

• Jacks or Better – A hand that contains a pair of Jacks or above.
• Two Pair – A hand containing two pairs, for example two 3s and two 7s.
• Three of a Kind – A hand that contains three matching cards, such as three 8s.
• Straight– A hand containing five sequential cards, such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The suit is irrelevant and Ace can be at the beginning or the end of a Straight.
• Flush– A hand of five cards from the same suit, for example, 2, 7, 8, K and A of Clus.
• Full House – A hand built of a pair and a three of a kind, for example two 7s and three Qs. The suit of the cards is irrelevant.
• Four of a Kind (5s – Ks) – A hand that contains four matching cards, that are 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, Js, Qs, or Ks.
• Four of a Kind (2s – 4s) – A hand that contains four matching cards that are 2s, 3s, or 4s.
• Four of a Kind (A) – A hand that contains four Aces.
• Four 2s, 3s, 4s with A, 2, 3, 4 – This is a four of a kind hand (2 to 4) with the fifth card as an A, 2, 3 or 4.
• Four As with 2, 3, 4 – This is a four of a kind hand of Aces with a 2, 3 or 4 as the fifth card.
• Straight Flush– A hand that combines a straight with a flush. i.e. five sequential cards from the same suit. For example, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of clubs.
• Royal Flush– A hand containing a straight flush composed of the highest cards, 10, J, Q, K, A of spades/clubs/diamonds/hearts.

Double Double Bonus Poker Strategy

All forms of video poker have a mathematically optimal strategy. This is because once the cards have been dealt, you know exactly what is left in the pack and therefore what the chances are of being dealt specific cards.

For example, if you were dealt 5c, 9s, Js, 3h, and 2d, then you know that the chances of being dealt another 5, 9, J, 3 or 2 is 15/47. Using this knowledge, it is possible to calculate which cards should be held and which should be discarded.

Don’t worry if this sounds horribly complicated. The mathematically optimal strategy can be shown in a simple chart that you can make use of without having to perform a single calculation. The chart shows a list of hands and all you have to do is start at the top and work your way down the list until you come to the first hand that matches your own. You then play that hand. It can’t guarantee a win, but it does minimize the house edge.

The Double Double Bonus Poker strategy chart looks like this:

1. Royal Flush
2. Four Aces/2s/3s/4s with A/2/3/4 kicker
3. 4 of a Kind
4. Straight Flush
5. 4 to a Royal Flush
6. 3 of a Kind: Aces
7. Full House
8. Flush
9. Straight
10. 3 of a Kind: 2s through Ks
11. 4 to a Straight Flush
12. 1 Pair: Aces
13. 2 Pair
14. 3 to a Royal Flush: JQK
15. 1 Pair: Kings
16. 3 to a Royal Flush: TJQ
17. 1 Pair: Jacks or Queens
18. 4 to a Flush
19. 3 to a Royal Flush: TJK/TQK, TJA/TQA/TKA/JQA/JKA/QKA
20. 4 to a Straight: 89TJ, 9TJQ, TJQK
21. 1 Pair: 2s through 10s
22. 4 to a Straight: 2345, 3456, 4567, 5678, 6789, 789T
23. 3 to a Straight Flush: 345, 456, 567, 678, 789, 89T, 89J/8TJ, 8JQ, 9TJ, 9TQ/9JQ, 9JK/9QK
24. 4 to a Straight: JQKA
25. 2 to a Royal Flush: JQ, JK/QK, JA/QA/KA
26. 4 to a Straight: 9JQK, TJQA/TJKA/TQKA
27. 3 to a Straight Flush: Ace-low, 234/235/245, 346/356, 457/467, 568/578, 679/689, 78T/78J/79J, 79T/7TJ, 89Q/8TQ, 9TK
28. 3 to a Straight: JQK
29. 4 to a Straight: 89JQ/8TJQ, 9TJK/9TQK
30. 2 to a Straight: JQ
31. 1 High Card: Ace
32. 2 to a Royal Flush: TJ
33. 2 to a Straight: JK/QK
34. 3 to a Flush: 2TK to 8TK
35. 2 to a Royal Flush: TQ, TK
36. 1 High Card: J/Q/K
37. 3 to a Straight Flush: 236/246/256, 347/357/367, 458/468/478, 569/579/589, 67T/68T/69T
38. 4 to a Straight: 2346/2356/2456, 3457/3467/3567, 4568/4578/4678, 5679/5689/5789, 678T/679T/689T
39. Discard Everything

There are a few things you need to know to understand this list:

• x to a y – This simply means that you have x amount of cards for the type of hand y. For example, 3 to a Royal Flush means that you have three of the cards needed to form a Royal Flush.
• Kicker – This is the term used to describe the fifth card in a four of a kind hand. When looking at the list of winning hands above you will see hands such as Four As with 2, 3, 4; in these hands, the 2s, 3s or 4s would be the kicker.

Practice Makes Perfect

The above may look complicated at first. The trick is to approach it slowly with a free to play version of Double Double Bonus Poker. You will be surprised at how quickly the strategy starts to become instinctive. You can of course keep the chart by you at all times when playing, even for real money, and with a bit of luck, you will soon be enjoying some sizeable payouts.