Bonus Poker Strategy
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This page provides the correct strategy for every situation in Double Double bonus video poker. By using the charts on this page you can actually achieve a payout percentage of roughly 100.07% if you're playing at a full pay Double Double bonus machine. My Double Double Bonus strategy was devised for machines using the pay table below. If you're playing a different Double Double Bonus pay table the strategy won't be perfect, but it will still be good.
The best tournament poker strategy is to recognize the three stages of any poker tournament and to have a distinct tournament poker strategy for each of the vital crunch times during a poker tournament. There are two approaches you can use when playing the early stages of a poker tournament. The first is the conservative approach.
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- Bonus Poker Rules. Bonus Poker is a version of Video Poker that is very similar to Jacks or Better. In fact, the only difference is that in Bonus Poker you get better payouts for Four of a Kind. So, to start you need to choose your stake, then you are dealt 5 cards from a standard 52 card deck. At this point, you can hold or discard each card.
| Hand: | Payout: |
| Royal Flush | 800 |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four Aces w/ 2-4 | 400 |
| Four 2-4's w/ A-4 | 160 |
| Four Aces | 160 |
| Four Two's-Four's | 80 |
| Four Five's-King's | 50 |
| Full House | 10 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
Please note that to achieve the 100%+ payout percentage, you need to be betting five coins per hand. By betting five coins you'll receive a bonus for all royal flushes, which drastically improves the payout percentage in the long run.
Beginner Double Double Bonus Strategy
If you want to play with decent strategy and increase your odds without following the full chart below, you should follow the rules listed here. We've identified the most troublesome hands for new players, and advised the correct move for each hand. To use this strategy, play your normal game and make the easy decisions, and if you come upon a tough decision refer to the rules below.
Here is how you should use the chart below:
- Find your trouble hand on the chart.
- Follow the chart's recommendation.
Double Double Bonus Poker Strategy
Example: Imagine you have Kc-Qc-Jc-Tc-9c. In this case you have a straight flush, but you also have a royal flush draw. By looking at the chart below, you'll see that a straight flush is better than a royal flush draw, so make sure to keep the straight flush and take your payout.
- Royal Flush Draw vs. Pat Straight Flush » Keep the Straight Flush
- Royal Flush Draw vs. Pat Flush » Keep the Royal Flush Draw
- Three of a Kind Aces vs. Full House » Keep the Three Aces
- Three of a Kind (besides Aces) vs. Full House » Keep the Full House
- Pat Straight vs. Four to a Straight Flush » Keep the Straight
- Two Pair vs. a Pair of Aces » Keep the Pair of Aces
- Two Pair vs. any Pair Besides Aces » Keep the Two Pair
- High Pair (Jacks or Better) vs. Four to a Flush » Keep the High Pair
- Four to a Flush vs. Four to a Straight » Keep the Four to a Flush
- High Pair (Jacks or Better) vs. Open Four to Straight » Keep the High Pair
- Open Four to Straight vs. Pair (Twos through Tens) » Keep the Pair
- Inside Straight Draw vs. Discard All » Keep the Straight Draw
Expert Double Bonus Strategy
Here is how you should use the chart below:
- Start at the top of the chart and work down.
- When you see a hand that matches up with yours, follow that strategy.
Example: Imagine you have Qs-Js-Ts-3s-Jh. In this case, you'd match up with a few rows on the table below. Your hand would qualify for a high pair of Jacks, a Q-J-T suited with one penalty (the other Jack is a penalty card), and four to a flush. However, on the table you'll notice that Q-J-T suited with one penalty is higher than a four flush or a pair, so you should keep the Q-J-T suited and ditch the four flush and pair.
Double Double Bonus Full Strategy Chart
Double Bonus Poker Strategy
Here are the ranks for every possible Double Double Bonus hand you can hold before the draw. Remember, find the highest match on the list for your hand and hold those cards. The middle column shows the expected return for the specific hand. In the example column, h = Hearts, s = Spades, c = Clubs, d = Diamonds, T = Ten, s = Suited.
| Hand | Expected Return | Example |
| Pat Royal Flush | 800.0000 | Th-Jh-Qh-Kh-Ah |
| Pat Four of a Kind Aces w/ 2-4 kicker | 400.0000 | Ac-Ah-Ad-As-3c |
| Four of a Kind Aces | 221.2766 | Ac-Ah-Ad-As-Kc |
| Pat Four of a Kind 2's, 3's, 4's w/ A-4 kicker | 160.0000 | 2h-2s-2c-2d-Ac |
| Four of a Kind 2's, 3's, 4's | 100.4255 | 2h-2s-2c-2d-Kc |
| Four of a Kind Fives - Kings | 50.0000 | 7c-7d-7h-7s-Jc |
| Pat Straight Flush | 50.0000 | 6h-7h-8h-9h-Th |
| Royal Flush Draw | 18.4255 | Th-Jh-Qh-Kh-4h |
| Three of a Kind Aces | 12.3349 | Ac-Ad-Ah-Js-8c |
| Pat Full House | 10.0000 | Ac-Ad-As-Js-Jc |
| Three of a Kind Twos, Threes, Fours | 7.4505 | 2c-2d-2s-Kc-Ah |
| Pat Flush | 7.0000 | Ac-Jc-6c-5c-4c |
| Three of a Kind Fives through Kings | 5.4339 | 8c-8s-8d-9h-3d |
| Pat Straight | 4.0000 | 4c-5s-6h-7h-8h |
| Open Straight Flush Draw | 3.4809 | 4c-5c-6c-7c-Th |
| Inside Straight Flush Draw | 2.2766 | Qs-Js-9s-8s-4c |
| Pair of Aces | 1.8967 | Ac-Ad-Js-8c-5h |
| Two Pair | 1.7660 | 3c-3s-4d-4h-Ac |
| K-Q-J suited (w/ no penalty*) | 1.5079 | Kh-Qh-Jh-4c-3c |
| Q-J-T suited (w/ no penalty*) | 1.5049 | Qh-Jh-Th-4d-3d |
| Q-J-T suited (w/ one Straight penalty*) | 1.4866 | Qh-Jh-Th-Kc-2c |
| K-Q-J suited (w/ one Straight penalty*) | 1.4783 | Kh-Qh-Jh-Tc-4c |
| K-Q-J suited (w/ one High Pair penalty*) | 1.4690 | Kh-Qh-Jh-Js-3s |
| Q-J-T suited (w/ one High Pair penalty*) | 1.4625 | Qh-Jh-Th-Jc-4s |
| Pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings | 1.4582 | Jc-Js-2h-4c-8s |
| Four to a Flush, 3 High Cards (w/ no penalty*) | 1.5319 | Ac-Jc-Tc-3h-2h |
| Q-J-T suited (w/ any two penalties*) | 1.4246 | Qs-Js-Ts-Kh-Jc |
| K-Q-J suited (w/ any two penalties*) | 1.4191 | Kh-Qh-Jh-Jc-Ts |
| A-K-Qs, A-K-Js, A-Q-Js (w/ no penalty*) | 1.4117 | Ac-Kc-Jc-2h-3h |
| K-Q-T suited, K-J-T suited (w/ no penalty*) | 1.4080 | Kh-Qh-Th-4c-3c |
| A-K-Qs, A-K-Js, A-Q-Js (w/ one Straight penalty*) | 1.3941 | Ac-Kc-Qc-Jh-2h |
| K-Q-Ts, K-J-Ts (w/ one Straight penalty*) | 1.3904 | Kh-Qh-Th-Jc-2c |
| K-Q-Ts, K-J-Ts (w/ one Flush penalty*) | 1.3580 | Kc-Qc-Tc-4c-2h |
| A-K-Qs, A-K-Js, A-Q-Js (w/ two penalties*) | 1.3441 | Ac-Kc-Qc-Qh-Ts |
| K-Q-T suited, K-J-T suited (w/ two penalties*) | 1.3404 | Kh-Qh-Th-Jc-Qc |
| A-K-Ts, A-Q-Ts, A-J-Ts (w/ no penalty*) | 1.3117 | Ac-Kc-Tc-6h-2h |
| A-K-Ts, A-Q-Ts, A-J-Ts (w/ one St. penalty*) | 1.2886 | Ac-Kc-Tc-Jh-2s |
| Four to a flush, No High Cards | 1.2127 | 9c-7c-4c-2c-8s |
| Pair of Deuces, Threes, Fours | 0.8760 | 2c-2h-6s-8c-Jd |
| Open Four to a Straight (Three High Cards) | 0.8723 | Kc-Qh-Js-Ts-3h |
| Open Four to a Straight (Two High Cards) | 0.7979 | Qh-Js-Ts-9c-3h |
| Open Four to a Straight (One High Card) | 0.7447 | Js-Ts-9c-8h-3h |
| Pair of Fives through Tens | 0.7434 | 5c-5h-Js-8d-2h |
| Q-J-9 suited | 0.7086 | Qc-Jc-9c-4h-3h |
| J-T-9 suited | 0.7021 | Jc-Tc-9c-4h-3h |
| Open Four to a Straight (No High Cards) | 0.6809 | Ts-9c-8h-7c-3h |
| Q-J-8 suited | 0.6098 | Qc-Jc-8c-6h-4h |
| Three to a Straight Flush, Open, No High Cards | 0.6050 | 4c-5c-6c-Th-9h |
| K-Q-9 suited, K-J-9 suited | 0.6004 | Kc-Qc-9c-4h-2h |
| Q-T-9 suited, J-T-8 suited, J-9-8 suited | 0.5939 | Jc-9c-8c-4h-3h |
| A-K-Q-J | 0.5938 | Ac-Ks-Jh-Ts-3s |
| Q-J suited (w/ no or one penalty*) | 0.5682 | Qc-Jc-4h-8s-2h |
| K-Q suited, K-J suited (w/ no penalty*) | 0.5666 | Kc-Qc-8s-4h-2s |
| Q-J suited (w/ two penalties*) | 0.5603 | Qs-Js-Th-6c-4s |
| A-Ks, A-Qs, A-Js (w/ no penalty*) | 0.5552 | Ac-Kc-6s-9d-2h |
| Q-J suited (w/ three penalties*) | 0.5505 | Qs-Js-Tc-8c-2s |
| K-Qs, K-Js (w/ one Flush penalty*) | 0.5500 | Ks-Qs-8s-6h-2h |
| K-Qs, K-Js (w/ one or two Straight penalties*) | 0.5491 | Ks-Qs-Jc-9c-2h |
| A-Ks, A-Qs, A-Js (w/ one Straight penalty*) | 0.5466 | As-Ks-Tc-2h-6h |
| K-Qs, K-Js (w/ 1 St. penalty + 1 Flush penalty*) | 0.5451 | Ks-Qs-Tc-6s-4d |
| A-Ks, A-Qs, A-Js (w/ one Flush penalty*) | 0.5385 | Ac-Kc-5c-2h-3h |
| K-Qs, K-Js (w/ three penalties*) | 0.5325 | Ks-Qs-Th-Td-2s |
| Four to a Straight, Inside, Three High Cards | 0.5319 | Qc-Js-Ts-8d-2h |
| A-Ks, A-Qs, A-Js (w/ two penalties*) | 0.5279 | Ac-Kc-5c-Th-3h |
| 3 to a St. Flush, 2 Gaps, 1 High Card | 0.5125 | 8h-Th-Qh-9c-2s |
| 3 to a St. Flush, 1 Gap, 0 Hi Cards | 0.5051 | 4h-5h-7h-9c-Tc |
| K-Q-J | 0.4903 | Kh-Qs-Jc-4c-2h |
| J-T suited (w/ no penalty*) | 0.4757 | Jc-Tc-6s-4d-2d |
| Four to a Straight, Inside, Two High Cards | 0.4681 | Qs-Jd-9c-8h-2s |
| Ace (w/ no flush penalty*) | 0.4678 | Ad-Tc-7s-4s-2h |
| Q-J | 0.4641 | Qc-Jh-7d-5c-2h |
| Ace (w/ one or more flush penalties*) | 0.4622 | Ah-Th-7s-5c-2d |
| J-T suited (w/ one Flush penalty*) | 0.4590 | Js-Ts-6s-4c-2h |
| K-Q, K-J (w/ no Straight penalty*) | 0.4544 | Ks-Qc-8h-5h-3d |
| J-T suited (w/ one or two Straight penalties*) | 0.4532 | Js-Ts-8c-7c-2h |
| K-Q, K-J (w/ one or more Straight penalties*) | 0.4504 | Kc-Qs-9d-5h-2c |
| Q-T suited (w/ no Flush penalties*) | 0.4476 | Qc-Tc-7s-5h-2s |
| J-Ts (w/ 1 Straight penalty + 1 Flush penalty*) | 0.4445 | Js-Ts-8c-2s-5h |
| J-T suited (w/ three penalties*) | 0.4394 | Js-Ts-7c-Ad-2s |
| Jack (w/ no flush penalty*) | 0.4370 | Jd-9s-7c-4h-2h |
| K-T suited (w/ no flush penalty*) | 0.4319 | Kc-Tc-7s-5d-2d |
| Q-T suited (w/ one flush penalty*) | 0.4302 | Qc-Tc-7c-5h-2h |
| Queen | 0.4281 | Qc-9d-7d-4s-2s |
| King (w/ no flush penalty*) | 0.4261 | Kc-9h-8d-4s-2s |
| Jack (w/ one or more Flush penalties*) | 0.4251 | Jd-8d-5d-3s-2s |
| K-Ts (w/ one Flush penalty*) | 0.4225 | Kc-Tc-8c-5h-2s |
| King (w/ one or more Flush penalties*) | 0.4217 | Kh-Ts-8d-5h-2c |
| 3 to a St. Flush, 2 Gaps, No Hi Cards | 0.4126 | 5h-7h-9h-2d-3d |
| Four to a Straight, Inside, No High Cards | 0.3404 | 5d-6c-7s-9h-2d |
| Everything Else » Draw Five New Cards | 0.3254 | 10s-8c-6d-4s-2h |
*Penalty cards are any cards which you plan to discard that hurt your chances of completing a draw. For example, if you have 7c-9c-Jc-8s-5h and plan to keep the 7c-9c-Jc, the 8s that you're discarding actually hurts you because there is one less card in the deck that completes your straight. However, it still makes sense to discard the 8s because you have better expected return going for the straight flush than to draw to the inside straight.
Straight (St.) penalty cards mean cards that interfere w/ a hand's possibility of making a straight. Flush penalty cards mean cards that interfere w/ a hand's possibility of making a flush. High Pair (HP) penalty cards mean cards that interfere w/ a hand's possibility of making a high pair (a pair Jacks or better).