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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 more details and a schedule of Bob's free classes, visit www.bobdancer.com.

May 26, 2009

Another Quick Quads Puzzler

I've written a number of articles about Quick Quads, but the game continues to fascinate me. If you're brand new to the game, you might want to read some of the other articles on this site to bring you up to speed.

The game we're playing today is 9/6 Double Double Bonus Quick Quads. The pay schedule is the same as regular 9/6 DDB, except you get 260 for all quads instead of 250, and you get 1,000 for the two types of hands you used to get 800 for --- namely four aces without a kicker and four 2s, 3s, 4s with a kicker.

Here are the problem hands. Assume you are dealt four cards to the straight flush along with one other card. Specifically:

a. 'A235' A

b. 'A235' 3

c. 'A235' 5

Also assume you are told going in that in two out of the three hands you go for the straight flush and the other time you don't. Your problem is to decide which are which, and in the single hand where you don't play 'A235', you need to figure out the correct hold.

Holding the aces by themselves in (a) might appear to be the correct answer, but it's not. In very few games is a pair of aces better than a 4-card straight flush. Here a pair of aces is slightly more valuable than it would be in regular DDB for two reasons: if you draw three deuces you get paid $400 (for a 6-coins-per-line dollar player) in this game while you only get $45 in the regular game. Also, if you end up with quad aces without a kicker in this game you receive $1,000 instead of $800. Even so, it would be a major error to hold the aces here.

In both (b) and (c) we have "Quick Trips," namely 332A in (b) and 5532 in (c). In both cases, if we draw the correct fifth card we get paid for a quad. Can you see a difference between them that will make one of these Quick Trips more valuable than the 4-card straight flush and one of them worth less?

The major difference between the two is that if we connect on 332A we collect $400 and if we collect on 5532 we "only" get $260. A minor (and slightly offsetting) difference is that since we threw away an ace it's harder to get two pair from 332A than it is from 5532.

Since the way the problem was set up says that we can only hold one of these Quick Trips, it must be we hold 332A in (b) and 'A235' in the other two.

Did you get the right answer? If not, did it make sense after the answer was explained?

Here's a related puzzler. Deciding between (a) and (c) above, which of the two hands is more valuable? And of course I want you to tell me "why," so merely guessing won't give you the right answer. It is not a tie. One of the hands is definitely more valuable than the other.

In both hands, you're going to hold 'A235'. Insofar as getting a straight flush, flush, or straight, the odds are exactly the same. The only difference is getting a high pair --- specifically drawing another ace. When you are dealt the (a) hand, there are two aces remaining in the deck. When you are dealt the (c) hand, there are three aces remaining in the deck. So (c) is more valuable than (a).

— For those interested, I'm starting a new series of free video poker classes at the South Point on Tuesday June 2, 2009 beginning at 1 p.m. The Quick Quads class will be June 23.