Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker

Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker presents an odd twist to those
who are used to wild card variety games. On the one hand, the wild cards, which,
in this case, are the twos in the deck, make rare hands very manageable. Yet, an
extra coin bet in the game boosts the payoffs for four of a kind hands that are
achieved without the help of a wild card.

Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Poker

When you play video poker, either in a casino or via a
top gambling website online, you
generally have one of two choices. You can stick with the most common form of
the game, Jacks or Better, which is the easiest form of the game to learn and
understand. Or you can stretch out to try something a little different by
playing one of the games that builds off Jacks or Better, but with different
twists and features.

There are games that mess with the pay tables and award certain hands more
aggressively than others do. Some games include wild cards, which allow players
the opportunity to make hands that are normally nearly impossible to achieve.
Still, others add a little bit of a twist with a bonus feature that comes into
play when an extra bet is added.

Well, with Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, all three of those
add-ons to the game are incorporated. The bonus pay table is in place, while the
twos in the deck are designated as the wild cards in the game. Finally, players
betting one coin more than the usual maximum will activate a pay table that
awards very aggressive payoffs for four of a kind hands.

The twist in Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker is that the four of
a kind hands that are rewarded in this fashion are those that occur naturally.
In other words, they don’t include the use of a wild card. As a result, gamblers
have to decide whether the extra coin bet will be worth their while in the long
run.

With all of these different factors coming into play, Deuces Wild Double
Double Bonus video poker certainly adds variety to the average video poker
formula. And the game does offer an increased chance of the kinds of payoffs
that are normally only reserved for the extremely rare royal flush hand. Yet
even with the bonus feature activated, the payouts for this game lag a little
behind most others in the video poker world.

In the following article, you’ll read about how to play Deuces Wild Double
Double Bonus video poker and how it compares to the basic form of the game.
We’ll take a close look at the different pay tables associated with the game and
also look at the strategy involved. Finally, we’ll assess the advantages and
disadvantages to see if it is a game worth your time at the casino.

Basic Video Poker Gameplay

When playing a game like Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, with
its many twists and turns in terms of betting and pay tables, it’s important to
understand how to play basic video poker first. Then you can move on to a more
advanced game with confidence.

Luckily, video poker is an easy game to learn. And, if you’ve never played it
before, you might be surprised to know how many advantages it holds over other
forms of casino entertainment. They include:

  • Ease of Play: Basically, if you’ve ever played
    five-card draw poker at home, you’ll know how to play video poker. And even
    if you haven’t played that game, you’ll learn video poker pretty much within
    the first few hands that you play (or by reading our upcoming tutorial).
  • No Pressure Play: In video poker, it’s just you
    and the machine. That means no dealers, pit bosses, or other gamblers
    looking at you funny if you violate the protocol of a table game. (For
    example, “Don’t touch those chips!” or “Why did you take my face card?”)
  • Strategy Involved: Even though they are found in
    the same section of the casino as slot machines, video poker games are far
    different. And the biggest reason for that, as you’ll see, is that you have
    some control over whether you win or lose via your strategy. There is no
    strategy in playing a slot machine.
  • Probability Factor: When you play a slot
    machine, you can’t possibly know how often winning spins will come up or how
    reliably the machine will pay out. With video poker, the
    probabilities of playing with a 52-card deck will determine the
    frequency of winning hands. That, along with the pay tables, allow you to
    know exactly how much you can expect to receive from a machine on average.
    (More on that when we get to pay tables.)
  • Competitive Payouts: Video poker games, on
    average, pay out very well compared to other casino games, especially the
    slots. Most games come very close to the break-even point if you choose your
    pay tables wisely and play the game with expert strategy.

Now that you know why you should play video poker, let’s take a look at how
to do it. Follow these steps and you’ll have it down in no time.

  1. Start Up a Bankroll: You do this by inserting
    money into the machine. Pick the denomination which you want to play. Your
    bankroll, which will be expressed in credits or coins, will be equal to the
    amount you inserted divided by the denomination. (For example, $10 in a $1
    machine will get you ten credits.)
  2. Make Your Bet: In most cases, video poker gives
    you the opportunity to bet between one and five credits. As you’ll see,
    Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker also includes the opportunity
    for you to bet a sixth credit. It is your choice, but, as we’ll explain, it
    is advantageous for you, if possible, to play the max credits per hand.
  3. See Your Deal: Five cards will appear on the
    screen, resembling the playing cards used in actual poker. Your chances of
    receiving any card are 1 in 52, just as the case would be playing with a
    deck at home. The hope is that these cards form, or at least have a good
    chance at forming, one of the winning combinations that provide payback to
    you, as determined by the game’s pay table.
  4. Decide on Holds And Discards: You have one
    chance to improve your hand by drawing from the same deck from which you
    were originally dealt. It is your choice at this point to hold all of your
    cards, discard them all, or hold a number of them while discarding the rest.
  5. Get the Draw: In the draw round, the cards that
    you discarded (if any) will be replaced by new cards from the deck. Once the
    draw occurs, your hand is over and the computer inside the machine will
    determine if you’ve won or not. Any credits you have accrued will be added
    to your bankroll.
  6. Repeat or Cash In: You can play for as long as
    you have credits in the machine. Or you can cash out, getting a ticket which
    you can either use at other machines in the casino or redeem for money. If
    you run out of credits, you either have to insert more money to replenish
    your bankroll, or quit.

There you have it: Video poker in a nutshell. Now that you have that under
control, we can move on to talk about Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video
poker.

Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker’s Unique Twists

The first unique aspect of Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker is the
option to bet an extra coin. If you bet one through five coins, the game looks
like just any other version of Deuces Wild bonus poker that you might find. As
with most video poker games, betting the fifth coin gives you an edge over one
through four coins because the royal flush hand will pay out more aggressively
in that case.

But you can bet a sixth coin in Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker.
And, if you do, an extra portion of the game’s pay table will open up to you.
That extra portion includes a special section for four of a kind hands achieved
without a wild card.

What does that mean? Well, that actually brings us to the next twist in
gameplay for Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, which is the presence
of four wild cards in the deck of 52. As you can tell from the name, the wild
cards are the twos in the deck.

A wild card gives you the chance to turn that card into whatever other card
in the deck completes your hand the best. Take a look at the following hand:

Two of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Six of Hearts, Seven of Hearts, Eight of Hearts

In normal video poker play, that hand would be a loser. The only thing it has
going for it is the pair of twos, which doesn’t meet the standard of Jacks or
Better that usually returns money to the player.

But in Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, or other wild card games,
the deuces can be changed into whatever card you like. And, in the case of this
hand, it becomes:

Four of Hearts, Five of Hearts, Six of Hearts, Seven of Hearts, Eight of Hearts

Just like that, you have an excellent hand possessing a straight flush. Now
let’s get back to the extra coin feature and the four of a kind payoffs. Here is
a distinction between the two:

Natural Four of a Kind

Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds

Wild-Card Aided Four of a Kind

Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Clubs, Two of Diamonds

If you were playing one through five coins on Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus
video poker, these two hands would pay off exactly the same. But, if you bet the
sixth coin, the natural four of a kind would pay off at least 50 times as much.

How do we know that? The pay tables tell us so.

Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker Pay Tables

When playing Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, or any video poker
game, the pay table is the most crucial piece of information you have at your
disposal. It tells you what kind of gameplay you can expect, what kind of
bankroll you might need, and even what kind of strategy you might consider
employing.

Let’s look at the pay table for the version of Deuces Wild Double Double
Bonus video poker that, on average, pays back the best to gamblers. It is known
as the “20/12/10” version of the game because of the odds on payouts for a
wild-card assisted royal flush, five of a kind, and straight flush.

Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Natural Royal Flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
4 Deuces 200 400 600 800 1000
Natural 4 Aces w/2 to 4 Kicker * * * * 2000
Natural 4 3s to 4s w/A to 4 * * * * 1000
Natural 4 Aces w/5 to K * * * * 1000
Natural 4 3s to 4s w/5 to K * * * * 500
Natural 4 5s to Ks * * * * 250
Wild Royal Flush 20 40 60 80 100
5 of a Kind 12 20 30 40 50
Straight Flush 10 16 24 32 40
4 of a Kind 4 8 12 16 20
Full House 4 8 12 16 20
Flush 3 6 9 12 15
Straight 2 4 6 8 10
3 of a Kind 1 2 3 4 5/6

First of all, the 5-coins column needs to be addressed. Since most of the
payouts for the game aren’t affected by the sixth coin being wagered, this
column represents the payoff for the six-coin wager as well. In the case of
natural four of a kind hands, they are listed in the 5-coin columns, but, as we
said, are only available to the gambler who bets six coins.

Also, note the asterisk for the three of a kind payout in the 5-coins column.
This is because the three of a kind hand is the only other payout that is
adjusted for the sixth coin bet. It is always an even-money winner in Deuces
Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, so five coins played returns five coins,
and six coins played returns six coins.

You can see that other hands are not adjusted in that way. For example, a
flush hand will return you 15 coins whether you are playing five or six coins.
With a five-coin bet, a flush would get you a profit of ten coins. But, with a
six-coin bet, that profit comes down to nine.

And therein lies the decision that you have to make when playing Deuces Wild
Double Double Bonus video poker. If you play the game with one through five
coins, you will actually have a higher expected payback percentage if you aren’t
able to corral any of those natural four of a kind hands during gameplay.

But, if you do hit one of those four of a kinds without a wild card, and
haven’t played the sixth coin, you are really going to regret it.
Mathematically, it is better to play the sixth coin option.

No doubt it’s an expensive proposition, and your bankroll can fizzle quickly
if those natural four of a kind hands don’t go your way. But you will make more
money in the long run, on average, playing the sixth coin compared to those who
don’t.

Some other notes on the above pay table:

  • Note that there is also a distinction between payouts for the natural
    royal flush (achieved without a wild card) and the royal flush in general.
    This is common in most games that include wild cards as part of gameplay.
    Since the natural royal flush is such a rare occurrence, it is the hand that
    pays out the most on the pay table.
  • Notice the big jump in payout for the natural royal flush between a
    wager of one through four coins and a wager of five coins. We stated above
    that you should bet six coins in Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker
    to max out your winning potential. But, if you can’t afford that, you should
    at least bet five coins to give yourself the best chance at the natural
    royal flush jackpot.
  • You’ll notice the mention of a “kicker” in some of the winning hands
    that are listed. A kicker is the card in a five-card hand that isn’t
    involved in four of a kind. For example, if you had a hand with four aces
    and a three, the three would be the kicker.

Payback Percentages For Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker

Percent Sign in Front of Money

Like all other video poker games, Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker
comes with a payback percentage that allows you to estimate what the machine
might pay back to you in each session. That allows you to determine whether or
not the game is more beneficial than others like it is in the casino.

In the case of Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker and the pay table
that we listed above, the payback percentage comes in at 98.7 percent. What that
essentially means is that you will walk away from the average session at the
machine with 98.7 percent of your initial bankroll intact after putting it all
through the machine. It also means that the house edge for that game is 1.3
percent (100 minus 98.7).

Of course, this doesn’t mean that winning is an impossible feat when playing
Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus, especially when you’re dealing with a small
sample size. Luck will be a big factor, as will your level of expertise in
choosing holds and discards. Still, playing the game for a long period of time
should yields results very close to that level.

Normally, we would recommend only choosing video poker games that come in
with a percentage of higher than 99 percent. But 98.7 isn’t too far below that,
which means that you can certainly play Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video
poker, particularly this pay table, without worries that you’re giving away too
much.

You do have to be concerned about finding a pay table that might pay you a
little bit less. For example, you might come upon the following pay table for
Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, which is the 20/10/8 version of the
game:

Hand 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins 4 coins 5 coins
Natural Royal Flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
4 Deuces 200 400 600 800 1000
Natural 4 Aces w/2 to 4 Kicker * * * * 2000
Natural 4 3s to 4s w/A to 4 * * * * 1000
Natural 4 Aces w/5 to K * * * * 1000
Natural 4 3s to 4s w/5 to K * * * * 500
Natural 4 5s to Ks * * * * 250
Wild Royal Flush 20 40 60 80 100
5 of a Kind 10 20 30 40 50
Straight Flush 8 16 24 32 40
4 of a Kind 4 8 12 16 20
Full House 4 8 12 16 20
Flush 3 6 9 12 15
Straight 2 4 6 8 10
3 of a Kind 1 2 3 4 5/6

The lesser payouts for the five of a kind and straight flush hands will
decrease your payout expectations. As a matter of fact, the payback percentage
for this version of the game sits at 97.4 percent.

Again, if you were only planning to play the game for a short amount of time,
you needn’t worry about the lower expected payout too much. But you do have to
reconsider if you are planning on making Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video
poker part of a regular rotation at the casino. If that’s the case, choose the
other pay table if it’s available to you.

Strategy For Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker

If you’re playing video poker and want to reach the payback percentage that
is listed for the game,
you need to
learn strategy
. In fact, the only way to reach those numbers is to make the
mathematically correct decision on each and every hand that you play. That seems
like a tall order, but it is essential that you at least try to make the right
decisions whenever faced with a hold or discard.

What does it mean to make the “right” decision in video poker? Well, it means
making the selection that maxes out the expected value of the hand. In other
words, if you played the hand an infinite amount of times, it would be the hold
and discard that would earn you the most money.

That’s not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes a deal will come up which leaves
you with tough choices. For instance, what would you do with the following deal
in Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker?

Two of Clubs, Nine of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, King of Hearts

The wild card gives you a lot of options. You will obviously hold on to that,
but what about the other cards?

You could keep the hearts and hope for a flush or a straight flush. Or you
could keep the two jacks, which would ensure you a three of a kind and open up
possibilities for a full house, four of a kind, or even five of a kind.

It’s a tough call, and you might not be able to figure it out off the top of
your head if you’re not a mathematical genius. The correct hold, for the record,
is to hold the two and the pair of jacks. But how would you know that?

In the case of Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, because it is
such a unique pay table, you might not be able to find an online strategy chart
which you can use for reference. And free play video poker, while helpful, won’t necessarily
teach you the correct plays.

That’s why your best bet is a video poker training software that allows you
to customize the pay table and include wild cards to resemble Deuces Wild Double
Double Bonus video poker. Normally these types of trainers are only available
for purchase, with free trainers generally being limited to only the most basic
video poker trainers that don’t include the customizing option.

If and when you do pick up one of these trainers, it will help you get very
close to perfect play. It does this by alerting you to mistakes that you’re
making. Most of the best trainers will also allow you to play tough hands like
this exclusively so that you’re getting help where you need it most.

Quick Tips For Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker

  • Play That Sixth Coin: We get that it is
    expensive to play a game betting six coins each and every time out. But you
    are short-changing yourself if you don’t give yourself the chance of the
    high payouts for the natural four of a kind hands.
  • Keep Those Pairs in Play: It might seem
    counterintuitive to keep even low pairs alive when the pay table requires at
    least three of a kind just to make your money back. But it is the best way
    to snag a possible natural of a kind and obtain the big score that comes
    with it.
  • No High Cards: What we mean by that is that you
    shouldn’t hold on to a high card (jack through ace) if you have nothing else
    going with the deal. In Jacks or Better, that is a wise play, but in a game
    like Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker, you’ll want to discard it
    to give yourself a better chance at snagging a wild card.

Pros & Cons of Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus Video Poker

Pros

  • Has a bit of every kind of video poker in it
  • Natural four of a kind payments are lucrative
  • Gameplay, besides the sixth coin bet, is no different than basic video
    poker
Cons

  • Expensive to play the game at the level where maximum payout is reached
  • Common hands return little to nothing
  • Tough strategy to learn

Conclusion

Deuces Wild Double Double Bonus video poker represents an interesting
combination of styles. Gameplay incorporates bonus, wild card, and extra-feature
versions of video poker. The question is whether the average overall paybacks
make all that worth it.