Video Poker Strategy
The high-variance favorite. Four aces with the right kicker pays 2,000 on a max bet, but two pair pays almost nothing, and that reshapes the whole strategy.
Chase the aces. Three aces is worth more than a full house here. Because two pair pays only 1, several low-end plays shift versus Jacks or Better.
| Hand | Per coin | Max (5 coins) |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 4,000 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 250 |
| Four Aces + 2,3,4 | 400 | 2,000 |
| Four Aces | 160 | 800 |
| Four 2s-4s + A,2,3,4 | 160 | 800 |
| Four 2s-4s | 80 | 400 |
| Four 5s-Ks | 50 | 250 |
| Full House | 9 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 20 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 15 |
| Two Pair | 1 | 5 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 5 |
This is the complete 9/6 Double Double Bonus strategy chart, our cheat sheet with every play ranked by expected value.
Look at your dealt hand, find the highest entry here you can make, and hold exactly those cards. The number is the expected value per coin of that play, computed by the engine.
The royal flush pays 250 per coin on one through four coins, then jumps to 800 per coin (4,000 total) on the fifth. That single bonus is worth about 1.5 percent of return. Bet within your bankroll, but always bet max coins.
Reading strategy is not playing it. The free trainer deals real Double Double Bonus hands, grades every hold against this exact strategy, and shows the precise expected value you give up on a mistake.
Open the trainer →Three ways, all driven by the pay table. First, three aces is worth about 12.7 per coin, more than a full house, because of the shot at the big quad; hold three aces over almost anything. Second, two pair pays only 1, so it is worth about 1.68 here versus 2.60 in Jacks or Better. Third, single high cards and low pairs shift because the aces bonus pulls value toward ace-holding hands. Everything above two pair looks familiar; the low end is where Double Double Bonus rewrites the rules.
Playing the short-pay version? 9/5 Double Double Bonus actually flips one decision — worth reading before you sit down.