The New "Old" Days

24 December 2023

By John Grochowski

A long time ago -- nearly 30 years, in fact -- I often crossed path with a video poker player named Paul. He'd attended a seminar I gave and always seemed happy to see me when we were at the same casino.

I ran into Paul in October at an Illinois casino. It was the first time I'd seen him in seven or eight years, and was surprised to find him at a video slot machine rather than one of his old poker favorites.

"I play a little video poker for old times' sake," Paul said. "It's fun, but it's not the same, is it? We used to get a good run for our money, and I played pretty often. Now for me, it's lower stakes and just for fun once in a blue moon."

I knew just what he meant. There are locations that still have high-paying video poker games, but they're fewer and farther between than they once were. For a long time, it was easy to find 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker. Now, in much of the country, I'm surprised if the pay table is higher than 8-5.

Paul said he still puts in the effort to adapt strategy to the pay tables. Getting the most from 8-5 DDB, which pays 96.78 percent with expert play, requires some changes from strategy for 9-6 DDB, which pays 98.98 percent.

The driver in strategy switches is the drop in flush return from 6-for-1 to 5-for-1. In the 9-5 or 8-5 versions, watch for these strategy changes:

• A pair of Kings, Queens or Jacks is more valuable than all three-card royals. In the 9-6 game, the only three-card royal with a higher average return than a high pair is the suited King-Queen-Jack. When the flush return drops, the pair is a better hold than that hand, too.


• Unsuited King-Queen and Queen-Jack are more valuable holds than suited Jack-10, the opposite of the play you’ll find on the strategy sheet for 9-6 DDB.


• Unsuited King-Queen-Jack becomes a better play than holding the three-card inside straight flushes King-10-9, Queen-9-8 and Jack-8-7.

Let's try a few sample hands, with average returns given for 8-5 Double Double Bonus Poker:

King of diamonds, Queen of clubs, Jack of hearts, 8 of hearts, 7 of hearts

Should you hold King-Queen-Jack, or Jack-8-7? With the reduced flush pay, it’s King-Queen-Jack, with an average return of 2.45 coins per five wagered vs. 2.36 on the three-card, double-inside straight flush draw.

Queen of clubs, Jack of hearts, 10 of hearts, 6 of spades, 2 of diamonds

The two-card royal Jack-10 is actually the third best play once the flush return drops, with average returns of 2.28 on Queen-Jack, 2.25 on Queen-Jack-10 and 2.23 on Jack-10. When you’re down into hundredths of a coin, a mistake isn’t going to cost you a lot, but this is the play for those who want the most out of the game.

King of clubs, Queen of clubs, Jack of clubs, Jack of spades 6 of spades

That three-card royal is tempting, and with a higher flush payback we’d go for it. But here the average return is 7.17 coins on Jack-Jack and 7.14 on King-Queen-Jack.

Paul and I didn't discuss the changes in any detail. He knows them from way back, and he says he uses them.

"Still," he said, "I'd rather have the 9-6 game and other high-payers back. I still go to Las Vegas once a year and I stay at locals places with good pay tables. I save my serious play for those trips."