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Gaming Guru  Holding for a Straight Flush in Super Double Bonus Video Poker20 February 2021
By Jerry Stickman A reader has some questions about holding for a straight flush while playing Super Double Bonus video poker. Here is the email. Hi Stickman, I hope you're doing well and I hope you had a great week. I have three questions here and they have to do with Super Double Bonus Video Poker. How would you play these three hands in SDBVP? 1. As, Ah, 2h, 3h, 4h? I don't know if I should try for four Aces or if I should try for the straight flush. The bigger payouts for the four of a kind with high cards are confusing me here. 2. 8c, 9c, 10c, Jc, Jh? Should I try for four Jacks or should I try for the straight flush? Again the same confusion. What's mixing me up is the higher payouts for quad jacks. 3. 7d, 8d, 9d, Jd, Js? Do I go for four jacks or the straight flush? There's a gap in the straight flush here so I don't know if that makes any difference. Thanks for your guidance. Wishing you all the best. Answer: You didn’t mention pay table you are playing. I used the 8/5 game for the analysis. It doesn’t matter for the hands you sent me, however. The advice below is predicated on holding the cards that will return the highest amount overall. After all, isn’t that the reason one plays video poker? Super Double Bonus video poker complicates matters by paying a bonus over Jacks or Better for all four-of-a-kind hands as well as increasing the pay for a straight flush to 400-for-5 in Super Double Bonus from 250-for-5 in Jacks or Better. The five credit pay column used for the answers is as follows: • Royal Flush – 4000-for-5 • Straight Flush – 400-for-5 • Four Aces – 800-for-5 • Four Kings, Queens, or Jacks – 600-for-5 • Four 2’s, 3’s, or 4’s – 400-for-5 • Four 5’s thru 10’s – 250-for-5 • Full house – 40-for-5 • Flush – 25-for-5 • Straight – 20-for-5 • Three-of-a-kind – 15-for-5 • Two Pairs – 5-for-5 • Pair of Jacks or Better – 5-for-5 Now let’s look at the hands you sent: Hand One: As, Ah, 2h, 3h, 4h • Holding the four cards of the inside straight flush (Ah, 2h, 3h, 4h) returns 14.2553 credits on average for the five credits played. • Holding the pair of aces (As, Ah) returns 8.70585 credits on average for five credits played. Holding for the straight flush is the proper hold by a rout. Hand Two: 8c, 9c, 10c, Jc, Jh • Holding the four cards of an open straight flush (8c, 9c, 10c, Jc) returns 23.51065 credits on average. • Holding the pair of jacks (Jc, Jh) returns 8.1508 credits on average. Again, the correct hold is overwhelmingly for a straight flush. Hand Three: 7d, 8d, 9d, Jd, Js • Holding the four cards of the inside straight flush (7d, 8d, 9d, Jd) returns 14.2553 credits on average. • Holding the pair of jacks (Jd, Js) returns 8.1508 credits on average. Once again, the overwhelming choice is to hold for the straight flush. The inside straight flushes need one specific card to complete where the open straight flush can use one of two cards. That’s why the open straight flush has a higher expectation. Both pairs of jacks have the same expectation and the pair of aces has a higher expectation because they pay more. Summary: Notice that hand two returns nearly twice as much for holding for a straight flush than either hand one or hand three. There is a very simple reason for this – the straight flush hold in hand two is for an open straight flush. It can be filled by either of two cards – the 7 of clubs or the queen of clubs. Hands one and three are inside straight flush holds. Only one card will complete the straight flush in each hand – the 5 of hearts in hand one and the 10 of diamonds in hand three. In each of these hands there is only a pair going for a four of a kind. the extra pays for four of a kind hands are not sufficient to overcome the pay for a straight flush when there are four cards of it in the dealt hand. May all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small. Jerry “Stickman” Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Blackjack Betting Advice6 February 2021
The number of wins and losses are relatively even in the game of blackjack – 47 percent wins and 53 percent losses. Because of this fact, many novice blackjack players figure that can develop a betting scheme that will guarantee them winning sessions after winning sessions. I once was one of those novice players. ... (read more)
My Advice for Video Poker Play9 January 2021
Shortly after I started playing video poker, I read an article in a gambling rag about a great way to play the game. The article promised that the betting method detailed there would have an excellent chance of winning. It went on to promise that if you did not win, you would definitely be able to play for a very, very long time if you followed the rules. ... (read more)
Craps Betting Systems2 January 2021
Craps is a great casino game. It is a social game. Players cheer for other players to make their point (because it is also their point). Craps also has a seemingly unlimited number of possible bets. There are pass line bets, don’t pass bets, as well as come and don’t come bets. But that is only the beginning. ... (read more)
Jerry Stickman |
Jerry Stickman |
