Answering a Reader's Questions

11 June 2022

By Jerry Stickman

Hey Stickman,

What is your opinion on these hands?

Super Bonus Aces poker (or whatever it's called) -- you get A A A 2 and a useless card like a 7. Dump both the 2 and 7 or just the 7?

Next, say you get 2 2 2 A 7. What is the proper play with this hand?

Now, how about in Deuces Wild? Say you get Ah, Kh, Qh, Jh and a 2. Keep the wild royal or dump the 2?

Just some random curiosities. I tend to go for the bigger money; it is gambling, after all.

Darren

Hi Darren,

Believe it or not, questions such as yours come up quite often. The temptation of a rare but very large win paired against a more common but just decent win is constant fuel for speculation.

Based on the cards you specified, I am assuming the game is Triple Double Bonus as this game pays extra for four aces with a kicker of a 2, 3, or 4 as well as four 2’s, 3’s, or 4’s with an Ace, 2, 3, or 4 kicker.

With that in mind, here is how the math works out.

Hand one: A, A, A, 2, 7
• Holding A, A, A, 2 returns 97.12765 credits for five credits bet, on average.
• Holding A, A, A returns 78.31635 credits, on average, for five credits bet.
• All other holds return significantly less.

So, holding the deuce as well as the three aces is the proper move.

Hand two: 2, 2, 2, A, 7
• Holding 2, 2, 2, A returns 54.57445 credits for five credits bet, on average.
• Holding 2, 2, 2 returns 45.0139 credits for five credits bet, on average.
• All other holds return significantly less.

Holding the three deuces and the kicker is the proper move with this hand also.

So much for the Triple Double Bonus hands. On to the Deuces Wild hand.

Ah, Kh, Qh, Jh, 2
• Holding all five cards returns exactly 125 credits for five credits bet.
• Holding just the four cards of a royal flush (Ah, Kh, Qh, Jh) returns 95.95745 credits for the five credits bet.
• All other holds return significantly less.

• Note: the return for holding the four cards of a royal flush will vary only slightly depending on pays for straights and flushes.

Holding the wild royal flush is the way to go.

If you are feeling really lucky, you could try for the natural royal flush paying 4,000 credits for the five credits bet.

Should you choose to do this, there is a 1-in-47 chance of snagging the natural royal flush. There is also a 3-in-47 chance of hitting another wild royal and breaking even with the original hand.

Is this worth the 23 percent reduction in the average return? Are you that much of a gambler?

Thank you for the great questions.

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