What is the correct play?

[leakysqueaky]

In TDB/DDB you're holding 3 to a royal with a pair of aces.........what is the correct play?

[shadowman]

The pair of aces is the correct play.

[rayj]

I once had this hand.  Kept the 3 to the royal and caught it!Name of the game is catch the royal!!!

[onemoretry]

Name of the game is catch the royal!!!

 Does that mean if you're dealt four aces, you discard three of them to go for the royal?

[Lucky Larry]

I once had this hand.  Kept the 3 to the royal and caught it!Name of the game is catch the royal!!!


In TDB, I hold the Aces. AWAK = 4,000 coin same as RF.

[Buffilita]

The only time I break up a pair of aces is if one of them makes 4 to rf, in both TDB and DDB.  3 to royal is tempting but then I catch myself lol.

[Quad Deuces]

Even without an Aces premium, such as 9/6 JoB, the correct play is the high pair.

[BobDancer]

I once had this hand.  Kept the 3 to the royal and caught it!Name of the game is catch the royal!!!
You will catch the royal once every 1081 times you draw 2 cards to a 3-card royal flush. Although how much better the aces are than the 3-card royal depends on the exact cards and the exact pay table, from 9/6 DDB when you are dealt Ah Ac Kc Tc 5c and hold the suited AKT, you're giving up $3.54 --- assuming you're a 5-coin $1 player.Giving up that much equity for 1081 hands means that even when you hit the royal, you're $3800+ worse off going for the royal than holding the aces. And if perhaps you don't hit the royal "on schedule," you'll be $7800 further behind over those 1081 hands.For 9/6 TDB, the numbers are the same hand are bigger. You lose $4.41 per hand and $4700+ over the 1081-hand "cycle."I know recreational players are less concerned with exactly how much a bad play costs than professional players are --- but this particular error is HUGE and it happens fairly frequently. Anyone making errors this big is also making considerably more errors --- although thankfully this error is larger than most..Practicing using the red-light green-light feature available for Gold members on this site --- or practicing with Video Poker for Winners (or similar product) --- will save you tens of thousands of dollars a year if you're making mistakes like this. Even if you're a recreational player, wouldn't you rather give the casino $10,000 or $20,000 a year less than you're giving them now?Bob

[EDC1977]

  It is that "catch the royal" mentality that makes it harder to find positive return paytables. The house always has the advantage. I choose to follow protocol rather than "gamble."

[BobDancer]

  It is that "catch the royal" mentality that makes it harder to find positive return paytables. The house always has the advantage. I choose to follow protocol rather than "gamble."I understood your second sentence --- but if you meant it literally you are very incorrect. I didn't understand either of your other two sentences.Bob