AUTHOR: Jerry "Jet" Whittaker TITLE: Holding two pair in bonus poker deluxe DATE: 9:29 AM ----- BODY: I was sitting at a video poker machine, just minding my own business and
waiting for four of a kind to come, when the couple next to me started
talking strategy.
She was playing Bonus Poker Deluxe and was dealt a pair of Jacks and a pair
of 5s, along with a 3. "What do you do with this?" she asked. He leaned over
from the next machine to take a look. "Just keep the Jacks," he said. "It's
worth five coins by itself. You'd get the same if you kept both pairs, and
you wouldn't get a chance at four of a kind." I winced a little, and
inwardly I groaned. He was giving her bad advice. But I kept my eyes on my
own screen, and pushed the button for another hand. I don't play Mr. Know It
All in the casino, offering unwanted advice. She still wasn't certain what
to do. "I could get a full house, though," she said. And she turned to me.
"What do you think?" When my opinion is asked for, I'm only too happy to
give it. I kept it short and simple. "If it was my hand," I told her, "I'd
keep both pairs. You're a LOT more likely to draw a full house starting with
two pairs than four of a kind just starting with a pair." The man jumped
back in. "But you could get three of a kind, too, or even a full house. I
think you have to go for it." I went back to my own game. She looked at her
companion, then back at the screen, and said, "Well, why not take a chance,
and held just the pair of Jacks. She didn't improve the hand, just collected
the five-coin payoff and went on playing. That, I thought, was one of the
more common video poker mistakes around, one that's been going on since
games such as Double Bonus Poker and Bonus Poker Deluxe were introduced in
the early 1990s. In the earlier video poker games, Jacks or Better and Bonus
Poker, it was a no-brainer. You'd keep both pairs, collect at least a
2-for-1 payoff, and take a chance on a one-card draw for a full house. But
in games such as Double Bonus Poker and Bonus Poker Deluxe, along with a
host of games that have followed, two pairs pay only 1-for-1, the same
get-your-bet-back payoff that you get on a high pair, Jacks or better. On
those games, you get more of your payoffs on big four-of-a-kind bonuses, and
less on the more common two-pair hands. Holding just a high pair sounds
logical enough, but the math of video poker doesn't back that up as a sound
strategy. When we hold two pairs, we have four chances in 47 to draw a full
house --- will make it an average of once every 11.75 hands. That far
outweighs the once per 360 trials we'll pull four of a kind when we start
with a pair, even if you add in the chances of drawing three of a kind or a
full house.

In 8-6 Bonus Poker Deluxe, the game woman next to me was playing, the bottom
line is that dealt two pairs, our average return per five coins wagered will
be 7.98 coins when we hold both pairs, but only 7.60 coins when we hold just
the high pair.

There are exceptions for Ace pairs when we're playing some games with big
four-Ace bonanzas, but that's a subject for another time. With those Ace
exceptions noted, your best play when dealt two pairs is to hold both of
them and take a shot at a full house, even if two pair pays only 1-for-1. --------