Love those dealt 4 Aces w/234

Why do you play video poker? What is your favorite game and why?
TripleTriple
VP Veteran
Posts: 892
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:18 pm

Re: Love those dealt 4 Aces w/234

Post by TripleTriple »

One way to avoid the sting is to not change games, short coin, drop denomination or play certain pay tables that short premium payouts.
Playing TDB exclusively I feel little sting, only denomination regret- which I do my best to minimize. Yes there is the reduced return of 2 pair and 3oak but someone has to fund the hand pays (and of course I get the bonus if dealt). I just never understood DW for a number of reasons. Worthless straights, pauper quads, deuces interfering with naturals, and complex strategies. I like deuces like a coworker or business associate. I love Aces like a girlfriend. And her three besties.

atomic2025
Forum Regular
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:02 pm

Post by atomic2025 »

NSU returns 99.73%, and 9/7 TDB returns 99.58% - essentially the same in the long run. But when you break each game down by the easy hands, the picture changes.

On NSU (well, the basic strategy which pays about 99.71% is very easy to learn), if you strip out the two toughest hands - the Royal Flush and 4 Deuces - the game still returns about 94%.

On 9/7 TDB, if you remove the big drivers - RF, Straight Flush, Premium Quads, Aces, and Low Quads(234) - the return drops to around 80%.

During the time (most of the time) when you’re only getting regular or easy hands, if you’re playing a $5 game, then for every $100 bet (just 4 hands), you’ll average about $15 more on NSU than on TDB. That’s a huge difference in the “easy‑hand” portion of the pay table - but your brain won’t really register it, because those common hands aren’t nearly as exciting or memorable as the big ones.

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