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Gaming Gurus Gaming News Weekly Newsletter CasinoCityTimes.com Gurus News Newsletter Author Home Author Archives Author Books Search Articles Subscribe Stay informed with the NEW Casino City Times newsletter! SEARCH ARTICLES: Author All Authors Newsletter Signup Stay informed with the NEW Casino City Times newsletter! John Grochowski Archives Over 1531 columns, articles and letters by John Grochowski More Strategy Experts Read articles by other strategy experts G aming G uru John Grochowski Homepage John Grochowski Archives Books by John Grochowski Two Pair Video Poker Hands 23 January 2020 By John Grochowski Video poker strategy isn’t always about making what seems to be a common-sense play. Two-pair hands are a prime example. That’s something I learned in the 1990s when Double Bonus Poker was a new game. I read a book that said when two pair included two Aces, Kings, Queens or Jacks, the best play was to hold the high pair and discard the other. That made sense to me. Double Bonus was the first game to pay 1-for-1 on two pairs instead of the 2-for-1 on Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker. So with no improvement from the draw, a high pair was as valuable as two pairs. Holding just a high pair and discarding three cards would open the possibility for a big four of a kind payoff. All I’d be giving up would be the one-card draw to a full house. Then I met Lenny Frome, the pioneer among video poker analysts, and he set me straight. I couldn’t make four of a kind often enough from a two-card start to make it worthwhile to pass up the one-card full house draw. The better play is to hold both pairs. There are exceptions, including one in Double Bonus Poker that Frome and I didn’t discuss because there was no need at the time. Full-pay 10-7-5 Double Bonus, rare today, was plentiful then, and the exception comes with reduced full-house pays. If full houses pay 9-for-1 or less in Double Bonus, it’s best to hold Ace-Ace and discard a second pair. By the numbers, in 10-7-5 Double Bonus, holding two pairs brings an average return of 8.83 coins per five wagered, while discarding a pair and keeping a pair of Aces brings 8.82. If full houses pay less, the numbers flip in favor of breaking up two pairs to hold Ace pairs. In 9-7-5 Double Bonus, the average return for holding two pairs dips to 8.40 coins, while holding the Aces and discarding the rest brings 8.77. So in Double Bonus, if the full house pays 9-for-1 or less, it’s better to hold a pair of Aces than two pairs. In games that didn’t yet exist when Frome and I had our initial talk, four-Ace jackpots sometimes are supersized. In Double Bonus, four Aces bring 800 coins for a five-coin bet. But in Double Double Bonus, the jackpot can grow to 2,000 coins if the Aces are accompanied by a 2, 3 or 4. White Hot Aces pays 1,200 on four Aces even without a kicker, and Super Aces pay 2,000. In those games, you’re better off holding an Ace pair than two pairs. Note that King, Queen and Jack pairs aren’t included in those exceptions. It’s still better to hold two pairs than a pair of Aces unless your game is Super Double Bonus Poker. Super Double Bonus returns 600 coins for a five-coin bet if you draw four Jacks, Queens or Kings. Still, if full houses return at least 9-for-1, it’s better to hold two pairs instead of two faces. If the full-house pay is reduced, the strategy flops. If you’re dealt two pairs including two matching faces while full houses return 9-for-1, the average return for holding both pairs is 8.40 coins. That beats the 8.21 on the face pair. However, if the full house return drops to 8-for-1, the average on the faces is 8.16 coins vs. 7.98 for holding two pairs. Most of the time, it’s best to hold two pairs. But pay attention to game, pay table and opportunities where a strategy flip can help you. . Look for John Grochowski on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/7lzdt44) and Twitter (@GrochowskiJ). This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press , the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net . It's a New Year! 19 January 2020 On a chilly mid-December afternoon, a text alerted me that Blackjack Bob wanted to talk. I had nothing more important going on than a newspaper crossword puzzle, so I got back to him right away,. Bob wanted to know if I was doing my usual New Year’s resolutions column. Once a year, I think it’s important ... ( read more ) No Zero Roulette 16 January 2020 QUESTION: I have an idea for roulette. What if they were to change the zeroes into just two more ordinary numbers, 37 and 38. Instead of 1 through 36 plus 0 and 00, it would have 1 through 38. Roulette gives the house an edge through the zeroes, right? So if it had 1 through 38, would it be an even game? ... ( read more ) Slot Decisions 12 January 2020 QUESTION: I recently was playing the IGT Hot Hit game. It’s a five-reel game with progressive jackpots for seven or more Hot Hit symbols. On one spin, the first two reels stopped on three symbols each. I pressed the button to stop the reels and ended up with 12 Hot Hit symbols for a jackpot of almost $1,100. ... ( read more ) Next 10 Articles > Featured Articles Craps Systems Craps players love systems, trying to mix and match bets in hopes of finding the magical formula that will beat the casino. Just about any system will work sometimes, and when a player wins with a system, it encourages another try, and another, and another. In the long run, of course, the casino comes out on top. ... ( read more ) Multi Strike Poker It was a Friday morning in Joliet, and I'd been playing a little video poker aboard Empress II, waiting for the 11 a.m. opening of Empress I and its video poker room. Soon, if it hasn't already happened by the time you read this, Empress' new barge will open, ending such little scheduling inconveniences, but on this day, I found myself passing time with a little quarter Triple Play Poker. ... ( read more ) Comps - The Basics A colleague of mine likes to refer to casino comps as "free stuff." And for those who know their basic strategy in blackjack, optimal strategies for certain video poker games and who know how comping systems work, the "stuff" really is free--the value ... ( read more ) Basic Strategy for Spanish 21 In the last couple of weeks, we've looked at basic strategy in blackjack. Sit down at most blackjack tables in any jurisdiction, play basic strategy and you'll narrow the house edge to a half-percent or so, perhaps a little more or a little less depending on house rules. ... ( read more ) Single-Deck Basic Strategy Those whose casino memories stretch back far enough may recall a time when the standard "Las Vegas Strip" blackjack game was dealt from a single deck of cards, with the dealer standing on all 17s. That started to change in the 1960s as operators grew ... ( read more ) John Grochowski John Grochowski is the best-selling author of The Craps Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book. His weekly column is syndicated to newspapers and Web sites, and he contributes to many of the major magazines and newspapers in the gaming field, including Midwest Gaming and Travel, Slot Manager, Casino Journal, Strictly Slots and Casino Player. Listen to John Grochowski's "Casino Answer Man" tips Tuesday through Friday at 5:18 p.m. on WLS-AM (890) in Chicago. Look for John Grochowski on Facebook and Twitter @GrochowskiJ . John Grochowski Websites: www.casinoanswerman.com Books by John Grochowski: The Video Poker Answer Book > More Books By John Grochowski SEARCH ARTICLES: This Author All Authors John Grochowski John Grochowski is the best-selling author of The Craps Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book. His weekly column is syndicated to newspapers and Web sites, and he...