Double Double Bonus Poker Vs Triple Double Bonus Poker
Welcome to Video Poker Genius! This is part 7 of a series of videos designed to help you become a better video poker player.In this part, I play 100 practice. Double Double Bonus Poker is one of the more recent and insanely successful variants, primarily made popular by online gamblers. Double Double Bonus Poker (DDB) is categorized as online video poker but it is also played at land-based casinos. Double Double Bonus Poker has more winning combinations than other traditional or older versions.
- Free Double Double Bonus Poker
- Double Double Bonus Poker Vs Triple Double Bonus Poker Deuces Wild
- Double Double Bonus Poker Machine
- Double Double Bonus Poker Game
- VpFREE2 has 5 unique pay tables for the Triple Double Bonus (aka: TDB) video poker game. Of these, vpFREE2 considers 1 game 'good' or 'playable', under typical circumstances, with a return of at least 99%, including TDB (FP). At least those 1 game may appear in the casino pages. Other, lower returning variants may also appear if they are.
- 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.
| The best way to learn our Double Double Bonus strategy is to use it as you play. We recommend practice Dbl Dbl Bonus at Bovada Casino. Bovada Casino offers Double Double Bonus for practice and real money play. One of my favorite parts about Bovada is that you don't have to download the casino to play - you can practice right in your web browser. Practice Double Double Bonus at Bovada now! |
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.
| 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.
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
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).
How to score big payouts while avoiding the pitfalls
By Henry Tamburin
The larger payoffs come at a price; namely, the payoff for two pair is only even money (or 1 to 1). By transferring some of the game’s payouts from the more frequent two pair to the less frequent four-of-a-kind, it becomes a much more volatile game.
Double Double Bonus Poker (DDB) is the most popular video poker game in the country. That’s because it’s possible to hit several big payouts besides the royal flush, and this draws players to the game. Unfortunately, there are also some pitfalls to playing DDB, which most players are not aware of.
Table 1 summarizes the different pay schedules for DDB that you are likely to encounter. The first thing that should jump out at you is the amount of the payoffs for four-of-a-kind hands. They are rather large payoffs, especially if the fifth card in the hand (the “kicker”) is a specific card.
For example, the payoff for four Aces is 160 times your bet but if the kicker is a 2, 3, or 4, the payoff jumps to 400 coins. (That’s a 2000-coin payoff, or one-half the payoff for a royal flush, betting the maximum of five coins.) Likewise, the payoffs for four 2s, 3s, and 4s increases from 80 to 160 coins times your bet with an Ace, 2, 3, or 4 kicker. These mini-jackpots are the magnet that attracts players to this game.
What most players don’t understand is the larger payoffs come at a price; namely, the payoff for two pair is only even money (or 1 to 1). By transferring some of the game’s payouts from the more frequent two pair to the less frequent four-of-a-kind, it becomes a much more volatile game (more about this shortly).
Tabl1 also summarizes the ER for the different DDB pay schedules (bottom of each column). The best DDB game pays 10 coins for a full house and 6 coins for a flush per coin played (see Table 1). The Expected Return (ER) for 10/6 DDB is 100.07%, meaning the player would have a tiny advantage over the house if he played every hand perfectly.
There are many casinos in the Las Vegas area that offer 10/6 DDB. (Just go to either www.vpfree2.com or the video poker page on www.lasvegasadvisor.com to obtain a list of casinos that offer 10/6 DDB at different denominations.) Unfortunately, 10/6 DDB is not readily available in other areas of the country. (Partly the reason for this in that in some gaming jurisdictions, casinos can’t offer a game where the ER is over 100%). Nevertheless, it behooves you to find a casino that has at least the 9/6 DDB pay schedule, which has a 98.98% ER. (I wouldn’t recommend playing the 9/5 or 8/5 DDB games because the ERs are woeful. Again, check www.vpfree2.com for a list of casinos outside Las Vegas that offer 9/6 DDB.)
The high volatility of DDB results in most players going broke rather quickly if they are not lucky enough to hit one of the high payoff hands. In other words, most players play DDB undercapitalized. For example, supposed you were to play 9/6 Double Double Bonus instead of the much less volatile 8/5 Bonus Poker (BP). Both games have roughly a 99% expected return (ER) but the variance for 9/6 DDB is much higher (41.99) compared to 8/5 BP (20.90) Let’s assume you have a $200 bankroll and you want to play for two hours (1000 hands). By using the bankroll function in the Video Poker for Winners software program, you can determine what your chances are of going broke for each game. The results are:
Playing the low-volatile 8/5 Bonus Poker, you will lose your $200 stake only 2.55% of the time on average (that’s roughly 1 out of every 40 sessions).
Playing the more volatile 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker, you will lose your $200 stake 28.66% of the time (that’s roughly 11 out of every 40 sessions you’ll tap out).
This means you are 11-times more likely to tap out with your $200 bankroll if you play 9/6 DDB instead of 8/5 BP. The point is this: Video poker games that are highly volatile (such as Double Double Bonus) require more bankroll to prevent going broke. (Also, your “emotional” bankroll will be tested in games that are highly volatile because you can experience some long “dry spells”.) Let me repeat this so it sinks in: DDB is very volatile.
Assuming you have the bankroll and the stomach to play DDB, you should master the playing strategy before you risk any money. The playing strategy for DDB is tricky because of the importance of the ace (see my Tip of the Month). You’ll find a playing strategy for DDB on the video poker page at www.wizardofodds.com. You should also consider practicing the strategy at home with video poker training software until your playing accuracy is at least 99% before risking money in a casino. (I recommend Video Poker For Winners or Optimum Video Poker training software, both available on my web site.) I also recommend that you purchase the DDB strategy card by Dancer and Daily and take it with you when you play so that if you are not sure how to play a hand, you can refer to the strategy card.
TABLE 1
Double Double Bonus Poker Pay Schedule
Free Double Double Bonus Poker
Payout Per Coin Played
Double Double Bonus Poker Vs Triple Double Bonus Poker Deuces Wild
10/6 | 9/6 | 9/5 | 8/5 | |
| Royal Flush | 800* | 800* | 800* | 800* |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| 4 Aces with 2, 3, 4 kicker | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| 4 Aces | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 |
| 4 2s, 3s, 4s with A, 2, 3, 4 kicker | 160 | 160 | 160 | 160 |
| 4 2s, 3s, 4s, | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| 4 5s-Ks | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Full House | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Flush | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Straight | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 3-of-a-Kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacks-or-Better | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Expected Return (ER) | 100.07% | 98.98% | 97.87% | 96.79% |
* 4000 coins for a five-coin royal flush
Tamburin Tip of the Month
You are playing Double Double Bonus and are dealt the following two hands. How would you play them?
Double Double Bonus Poker Machine
You should break up the full house in the first hand, hold only the three aces, and draw two more cards. In the second hand, you break up the two pair, hold the pair of aces, and draw three cards.
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Double Double Bonus Poker Game
Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. He is the host of the smartgaming.com website and the editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter (for a free three-month subscription, visit www.bjinsider.com/free). For a free copy of his Casino Gambling Catalog, which contains books, strategy cards, and software for video poker players, call toll free 1-888-353-3234, or visit the web store at smartgaming.com.