The Game
Double Bonus Poker utilizes a deck of 52 cards, with the lowest rank for a winning hand being a pair of Jacks. This game and Bonus Poker have the same ranking of hands. However, for all Four of a Kind combinations, Double Bonus Poker will pay precisely twice the number of coins paid by Bonus Poker. As a compensation for this higher return, Double Bonus Poker will pay just 1 coin for a combination such as Two Pair, which explains why a different playing strategy is required compared to that used with Bonus Poker.
As far as the game version providing the greatest earning opportunity is concerned, experts recommend 10/7 Double Bonus Poker, which offers an expected return of 100.17%. When playing this game version, one will earn 10 coins for every coin bet, if a Full House is held, and 7 coins for every coin bet, if a Flush is held.
There are a number of other variations of this game. Unlike Jacks or Better, the 9/6 version of Double Bonus Poker may at times return 5 coins per 1-coin bet for a Straight, and sometimes 4 coins per 1-coin bet for the same combination. Thus, in order to draw the line between the two games, we shall label them 9/6/5 and 9/6/4, respectively. However, because of their lower expected returns, the reasonable player will likely avoid these versions of the game.
Another Double Bonus Poker variation, which is still to be found at some casinos, is 10/7/80. Note that it is not a part of IGT’s game mix, but is available on Bally GameMaker video poker machines.
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Now let us take a look at the pay tables for five variations of the Double Bonus Poker game.
| Double Bonus Poker Pay Tables | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 / 7 | 9 / 7 | 9 / 6 / 5 | 9 / 6 / 4 | 10 / 7 / 80 | |
| Royal Flush | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 80 |
| Four of a Kind: Aces | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 |
| Four of a Kind: Twos, Threes, Fours | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Four of a Kind: Fives to Kings | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Full House | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Flush | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Straight | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return | 100.17% | 99.11% | 97.81% | 96.38% | 100.52% |
The Strategy
We are going to present the play strategy for 10/7 Double Bonus Poker in a table form, where the possible combinations are shown in order, with the highest-ranking hand being on top. The table should be examined from top to bottom, so that one is able to locate the particular hand dealt.
The first column of the table shows the different hands dealt, while the second one points out which cards, if any, one needs to hold. After a player has found the specific combination, they need to conform with the instructions in the second column, unless, of course, their situation matches one of the exceptions in the third column. If the latter is true, the player needs to conform with the instructions in the third column, where exceptions are presented in order of relevance. If number one exception matches one’s situation, they need to follow it. If not, they will need to move further to the number two exception and etc. The fourth column features actions one should never take when dealt that particular hand. It includes useful information, which could prevent costly mistakes.
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| Dealt Hand (What is available) | What needs to be done | Exceptions | Actions one should avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | Hold Royal Flush | None | 1. One should abstain from selecting the Double Down option, which may be available. |
| Straight Flush | Hold Straight Flush | None | 1. One should never discard a Straight Flush in order to aim at drawing a Royal Flush. Keep all cards. |
| Four of a Kind | Hold Four of a Kind | None | None |
| Full House | Hold Full House | None | 1. One should never keep a Full House over three Aces. He/she should keep the Aces only. |
| Flush | Hold Flush | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Flush over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, hold only four to a Royal Flush. |
| Straight | Hold Straight | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should abstain from keeping a Straight over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, hold only four to a Royal Flush. |
| Three of a Kind | Hold Three of a Kind | None | None |
| Two Pair | Hold both Pairs | None | 1. One should never keep two Aces over Two Pair. Instead, keep the Two Pair. |
| Jacks or Better | Hold high Pair | 1. Hold four to a Royal Flush. 2. Hold four to a Straight Flush. 3. One should hold suited Ten, Jack, Queen; or suited Jack, Queen, King, unless a Pair of Aces is drawn. If a Pair of Aces is drawn, one should keep it. | 1. One should never keep Jacks or Better over four to a Royal Flush. Instead, always keep the four to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep Jacks or Better over four to a Straight Flush. Instead, keep the four to a Straight Flush. 3. One should never keep Jacks or Better over suited Ten, Jack, Queen; or over suited Jack, Queen, King, unless a Pair of Aces is drawn. If a Pair of Aces is drawn, one should keep only the Aces. |
| Four to a Flush | Hold Four to a Flush | 1. One should keep a suited Ten, Jack and Queen to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should never keep a Four to a Flush over a suited Ten, Jack and Queen to a Royal Flush. Instead, keep the suited Ten, Jack and Queen to a Royal Flush. |
| Open-Ended Four-Straight | Hold Four-Straight | 1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should never keep a Four to a Straight over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, keep the three to a Royal Flush. |
| Low Pair | Hold this Pair | 1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. | 1. One should never keep a low Pair (non-paying) over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, keep the three to a Royal Flush. |
| High Cards | Hold high cards | 1. One should keep three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should keep four to any Straight, which features two high cards. 3. One should keep unsuited Ten, Jack and Queen and not just unsuited Jack and Queen. 4. One should keep two to a Royal, unless the two cards are an Ace and Ten. If that is indeed the case, one should keep the Ace only. 5. One should keep three to any Flush, in case high cards are included in the three to a Flush, or in the three to any Straight Flush. | 1. One should never keep high cards over three to a Royal Flush. Instead, keep the three to a Royal Flush. 2. One should never keep high cards, if dealt four to any Straight, which features two high cards. Keep the four to a Straight. 3. One should never keep an unsuited Jack and Queen, if also dealt a Ten. Keep the three to a Straight. 4. One should never keep a suited Ace and Ten to a Royal Flush. Keep the Ace only. 5. One should never keep unrelated high cards over a three to a Flush, which features a high card. Keep the three to a Flush. |
| Inside Four-Straight | Hold the four to Inside Straight | None | None |
| Three to a Flush | Hold the three to a Flush | None | None |
