A Single Quiz

5 March 2022

By Jerry Stickman

Today’s quiz is for hands played on a 9/6 Double-Double Poker video poker game.

All strategy is based on betting the five-credit maximum.

Hand number one: As Ks Jd Ts 3s

Do you know how to play this hand?

This hand has basically only three reasonably high-paying holds:

1. Four cards of an inside straight with three high cards (As Ks Jd Ts).
2. Three cards of a royal flush (As Ks Ts).
3. Four cards of a flush with two high cards (As Ks Ts 3s).

Let’s look at the returns for each of these holds:

1. Holding the four cards of an inside straight (As Ks Jd Ts) returns just 2.6596 credits for the five credits wagered, on average.
2. Holding the three cards of a royal flush (As Ks Ts) returns 6.2211 credits on average.
3. Finally, holding four cards of a flush with two high cards (As Ks Ts 3s) returns an average of 6.3830 credits.

As is the case more often than not, saving four of a flush – especially with some high cards – will outperform saving three cards of a royal flush.

Holding four cards of an inside straight usually pays poorly.

Hand number two: Ac Kc Js 5c 4d

This hand contains only a couple of decent possible holds:

1. Three cards of a flush with two high cards (Ac Kc 5c).
2. Two cards of a royal flush (Ac Kc).

Here are the returns for each of these holds:

1. Holding the three cards of a flush with two high cards (Ac Kc 5c) will return an average of 2.5948 credits for five credits played, over the long run.
2. Holding the (Ac Kc) and praying for a royal flush will return an average of 2.6340 credits over the long run.

With this hand on a Double-Double Bonus Poker game, shooting for the big one is the proper play by a slim margin.

Would you have played these hands properly?

As always, 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. He authored the video poker section of Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker! You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerryg@gmail.com