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Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column with Jeffrey Compton, "Player's Edge", featuring information on promotions at various Las Vegas casinos. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Neon section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.

For a 3,000-word preview of Bob's juicy new novel, "Sex, Lies, and Video Poker", visit www.bobdancer.com.

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Sep 20, 2006

These Hands Are Fit to Be Tied --- Part 1 of 3

A hand where there are two separate best plays in video poker is rare. Usually one play dominates the other 31 possible choices. Over the next three weeks, we'll look at the types of hands where these ties occur. This week, we'll look at the games without wild cards.

Jacks or Better (JoB)

For many types of decisions, the pay schedule is important. Here it isn't. There are only two types of hands in this game where there's a tie for the top spot, and both of them are fairly obvious.

1. Four-of-a-kind --- On a hand like 33337, you receive 125 coins whether you hold either 3333 or 33337.

2. KQJT versus a pair of tens --- KQJT is the ONLY 4-card straight that is more valuable than a low pair in this game, so if we have KQJThTd, it doesn't matter which red ten we hold along with the KQJ.

For those who find this discussion "too obvious" to be educational, you might want to work out the tie hands in the games 10/7 Double Bonus, 9/6 Double Double Bonus, and 9/7 Triple Double Bonus BEFORE looking at the analysis below. Each of the games has different rules and you might find those differences not obvious at all.

10/7 Double Bonus (DB)

In this case the pay schedule DOES matter, at least to a degree. The second item listed below is only valid when straights return 5-for-1, which happens in the top three or four pay schedules only.

1. Four of a kind --- same as JoB

2. Consecutive straight versus a low pair --- In DB, ALL straights without an inside (2345-TJQK) are more valuable than any low pair in the hand. These 4-card straights have much more value in this game because of the greater return for the straight.

3. Two inside straights with no high cards --- This is a hand like 35679, where there is neither 4-card flush nor a 3-card straight flush in the hand. This hand will be common to all non-wild games where two pair gives you even money, but is never held when two pair gives you double money.

Double Double Bonus (DDB)

These three types of hands are similar to those in 10/7 DB, but with important exceptions to two of them.

1. Four of a kind in the range of 5-K --- on a hand like 6666A, so long as we hold the four sixes, it doesn't matter whether we hold the A or not. On a hand like 3333K, though, it definitely DOES matter. If the fifth card is a premium kicker (A, 2, 3, or 4) we'll hold it. If it isn't, we won't.

2. Consecutive straight versus a low pair --- The only consecutive straights that are better than a low pair in this game are those with one or more high card --- namely KQJT, QJT9, and JT98 only. This is a different rule than we had in either of the previous games, and different yet from what we'll see in the next game.

3. Two inside straights with no high cards --- same as DB.

Triple Double Bonus (TDB)

1. Four of a kind in the range of 5-K --- same as DDB

2. Consecutive straight versus a low pair --- When the low pair is 55-TT, we always prefer the consecutive straight in the range of 2345-TJQK. Premium pairs, 22-44, are better than these straights. It isn't that 4-card straights are worth any more in this game than in DDB, it's just that low pairs are worth less. In this game, the extra high bonus on kicker quads (i.e. AAAA and 2222-4444) is "paid for" by reducing the return for 3-of-a-kind from 3-for-1 to 2-for-1. This has the effect of lowering the value of all pairs. (A rather shocking hand in the 9-7 version of this game is a 4-card flush versus a high pair --- like Kh Kc Tc 4c 2c. Because of the lower value of the pair of kings, we actually hold the 4-card flush in preference to the kings!)

3. Two inside straights with no high cards --- same as DDB

4. Premium 3-of-a-kind with two kickers --- On hands like AAA23, 22234, or even 333AA, the correct play is to hold the 3-of-a-kind PLUS ONE KICKER. In the first hand, AAA2 is the same as AAA3, in the second 2223 is equal to 2224, and in the third it doesn't matter which ace kicker we hold, so long as we hold one of them. This is definitely NOT like anything in DDB, as in that game we NEVER hold kickers.

Hopefully you noticed that each of these three games had different rules. One reason why understanding these differences is important is that several of you regularly switch between games without switching your strategy. This is an expensive way to play video poker.

Next week we'll go through this same exercise for some wild-card games.