1. Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy Free
  2. Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy Rules
  3. Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy List

You’ll sometimes encounter video poker games that have a “double or nothing” feature. The way this usually works is that you play a bonus game in which the “dealer” (which is just the video poker machine itself) shows a card. You get to choose from four other cards. If your card is higher than the dealer’s card, then you double your winnings. On the other hand, if the dealer’s card is higher, you lose your winnings.

This is an interesting bet, because it’s one of only two bets in the casino which offers no house edge. In other words, it pays out as if there were a 50/50 chance of winning, and there really is a 50/50 chance of winning. (The other bet where this is true is the “odds” bet in craps.) The question is whether or not you can incorporate this fact into your video poker strategy.

  • Double or nothing poker strategy: the early stages: Double or Nothings are SNGs, so you should use standard SNG strategy as your starting point. The early stages are about tightness and about some aggression. Be extremely demanding of your starting hands, and only commit on rock solid monsters.
  • Double or Nothing (DoN) Sit and Go (SNG) poker tournaments have been around for a long time and they are becoming more and more popular. This tournament is a single table tournament, which is being played usually by 10 poker players.

Double Up Strategy

In Double Up Sit & Gos, often called Double or Nothing or DoN for short, the top half of the field are paid out double the buy-in. The flat payout structure can lead to unexpected strategies on and around the money “bubble.”.

Most video poker players are playing for fun. In other words, they’re not professionals, so they’re not sticking to a strictly positive expectation situation. Recreational players should go for the double or nothing any time they feel like it. Since it’s a bet with no house edge, you’re mathematically not at any kind of disadvantage taking this bet.

Of course, you should keep in mind your own tolerance for risk. For example, if you hit the rare royal flush with the 8000 to 1 payout, do you really want to lose that big jackpot half the time? A royal flush only comes around once every 50 or 60 hours on average, so that’s a long wait to get a big jackpot only to risk a 50% chance of losing it in an effort to double up.

The other consideration to keep in mind is whether or not you think the double up bet is fun. When I play video poker, I enjoy getting into a routine. It’s a fast-paced game with its own kind of rhythm, and I don’t necessarily want to break that rhythm up just to get an even-money bet. Your mileage may vary.

Most people suggest that you should take the odds bet every time in craps and put as much money on it as possible, because it effectively reduces the house edge. This holds true to a lesser extent with video poker, too. It’s still a negative expectation game, but the house edge for the combined bets—your initial bet + your bet on the double up feature—is reduced because the 2nd bet is an even money wager. (There’s no house edge.)

Most video poker machines have a limit to the number of times you can double up. This varies, but being able to double up four times in a row is the most common setting. If you’re dedicated to minimizing the house edge as much as possible, you should double up all four times, but that’s assuming that your tolerance for a lot of risk is quite high.

Your Goals

Strategy

Different gamblers have different goals. Lots of people hope to double or triple their bankroll and quit, but others just want to play and have fun for as long as possible. Your strategy depends on your goals. If you want to double or triple your bankroll, then mathematically, the best strategy with the double up feature is to double as often as you can until you reach your goal. If, on the other hand, you’re hoping to maximize the amount of time you spend playing, then you should either avoid the bet entirely or only wager small wins on this option.

Do You Need to Make Any Other Strategy Changes on a Game with this Option?

No. All other strategy decisions prior to the option of doubling up remain the same.

No Risk Double Up Video Poker

This is one of the multiple games offered by WMS My Poker machines. It’s similar to any other video poker game with a double up option, but it does offer some variation in terms of how it actually works in play. In this game, the maximum number of times you can double up is four, which means that you could theoretically increase your winnings on a specific hand by a factor of sixteen. (Your initial win X 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 = 16).

In order to enable the double up feature, you have to play ten coins. You can play for five coins, but you’re ineligible for the double up feature if you do so. This part of the game (other than the increased bet requirement) plays just like any standard video poker game.

But when you get a winning hand, you get to go on to the bonus round. In the bonus round, “the dealer”, deals five cards face down. Four of them are aces; the other is a joker. If you pick the joker, then your multiplier is X1, and the bonus round ends. If you pick an ace, you move on to the next round, where you’re dealt three aces and two jokers. If you pick a joker this time, your multiplier is X2. If you pick an ace again, then you get to move on to the next round—it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happens next. You get five cards again, but with one fewer ace and one more joker. This time if you pick a joker, your multiplier is X4. If you pick an ace, you move on again, and this time there is only a single ace with four jokers. If you get a joker on this final round, your multiplier is X8, but if you pick the single ace, your multiplier is X16.

The reason this game is called “no risk” is because the worst case scenario is that you’ll pick a joker on the first round of the bonus game, in which case you still get to keep your original payout on the hand. On the other hand, you have to pay the extra amount per hand to activate the bonus game, which is lost on those hands which don’t receive a payout.

No Risk Double Up is available for multiple video poker variations, including Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, Triple Bonus, Triple Triple Bonus, Deuces Wild, and Joker Wild. The 8/5 Bonus Poker game offers the best odds, with a payout percentage of 99.46% when played with perfect strategy.

As with earlier versions of “double up” video poker, no strategy changes are necessary when switching from one of these standard game versions to No Risk Double Up video poker.

  • Strategies
    • Jacks or Better
    • Deuces Wild
    • Quick Quads
    • Ultimate X

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Certain video poker machines have a 'double down' or double-or-nothing wager feature when you win a hand. I usually avoid this wager, not wanting to risk winnings in excess of my original bet. But I AM tempted to try this wager on winning hands that only pay even money on the original bet. My reasoning is that the machine's usual payback is somewhere in the 96-99% range, which includes rare hands over the long haul; but in this circumstance, this bet would seem to payback an even 100% over a shorter period of time.

The double or nothing feature in video poker is the only other casino bet, besides the odds in craps, with no house edge. Whether or not you take it depends on your reason for playing. If you are playing a negative-expectation game, for purposes of entertainment, then I think you should accept the double-up option in moderation, depending on on your desire or aversion to volatility. The reason is that it is better to play a game with zero house edge than a positive one. However, you have to balance that against your tolerance for risk. If you are fortunate to be playing a positive-expectation game, then I would decline the opportunity to double.

What are the guidelines for doubling up on winning hands in video poker? If I do double up and the 5 cards show a winning hand, would that have been my next hand had I not doubled up?

The double up feature is truly fair and has no house edge. This is one of the few times I say you can go either way and just do what you want. From what I know of how slots are programmed the cards you get in the double up screen are not what you would have got on the next hand. Random numbers are constantly being drawn and those chosen at the exact moment you hit 'deal' determine what cards you get.

You wrote, 'The double up feature is truly fair and has no house edge. This is one of the few times I say you can go either way and just do what you want.' The same, of course, is true of true odds bets at craps. So, why promote taking odds at craps and not promote doubling up? Just as you can drop the house edge to essentially nothing at craps, you can do the same thing at video poker or blackjack...My own reasoning is that cutting cards against the casino for fair stakes is just boring, but I'd be interested in your opinion.

You are of course quoting me from my March 24 column. This is a good and fair question. I should point out that taking or laying the odds in craps does not help the player to win more, only to bet more at no additional expense. The reason I encourage craps players to bet on the odds is that it is the cheapest bet on the table and is truly a craps bet. All odds, as well as place, buy, and lay bets win if one number is thrown before another. This is a very fundamental aspect of the game. It only makes sense for the player to make the bet with the lowest house edge. Refusing the odds in craps to bet on something else instead is like refusing a free coffee refill in a restaurant and instead buying another cup.

As I pointed out in the last column some video poker games allow the player to make a double or nothing bet with no house edge. The reason I am not as forceful about taking this bet is that it does not follow the flow of video poker. The video poker player is generally not there to make a mindless even money bet. Gambling should be thought of as entertainment, for which the player should expect to pay for. If the player doesn't get any entertainment value out of the double up feature then he shouldn't pay for it, even with no house edge. So my advice to the video poker player is make the double up bet if you enjoy it, otherwise don't.

How does multiple doubling up in video poker cut the house edge?

This question refers to advice I gave in my newsletter, suggesting video poker players take the double up option when playing for a bonus at a Playtech casino. Doubling up does not lower the house edge of video poker, but does introduce another bet with zero house edge. For the same reason you should take or lay odds in craps it cuts the overall house edge playing video poker if you take the double up feature. Playtech does count double up bets towards the play requirement, so it gets the player to the bonus with less expected loss. So unless you are playing a machine with a return of over 100% and you don’t mind extra volatility then I recommend accepting the double up option.

In your last column you said you liked the double up feature in video poker. How many times is the player allowed to double up and how many times do you recommend?

I understand that at least with some machines the number of doubles is configurable but is usually set to 4 or 5. How many times you should take the double up depends on how good or bad the pay table is and your tolerance for risk. If your goal is to achieve the highest expected return then you should double up the maximum number of times, or at least until a win would put your over the W2G threshold of $1200. When I play negative pay tables online I usually double up to $100 to $1000, depending on how much action I have to grind through and my winning goal. My advice is to ask yourself how much you are comfortable betting on the turn of a card and keep doubling up to that point.

Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy Free

If there is no house advantage in the double up feature in video poker, why do the casinos offer it?

Just to attract customers who like it. It definitely lowers hands per hour, and thus profits, but if they get extra players it may be worth it.

I am a very big fan of using the double up feature of video poker. Is there any limit to the amount of money you can win with double up or is it pure luck. For instance does a game only pay out for instance 99% of all credits doubled, or can you win any amount not matter how much credits has been lost at double up. It is crucial for me to know this.

Any legitimate game maker has the double up feature as a truly fair bet with a 100% return. So you have a 50/50 chance of winning any given bet (not counting ties) regardless of the amount bet or the results of past bets.

In slots or video poker, when playing with a double or nothing feature, how many times should I try to double?

Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy Rules

Poker double or nothing strategy 2

Poker Double Or Nothing Strategy List

It depends on your reason for playing. If you are trying to achieve some winning goal, like doubling your bankroll, then you should keep doubling until you reach your goal, or you reach the maximum number of doubles allowed. If you are trying to play as long as possible on a given bankroll, then I would double only on small wins, and then only once. If you have some combination of both goals, then I would have a mixed strategy. The more important winning is to you, the more aggressive you should be doubling. The more important “time on device” is to you, the less you should be.