Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker Strategy and Analysis for DDB Players

[alpax]

This new game looked intriguing, reminded me of challenges of analyzing Magic Deal Poker in the past on this forum. It has been quite awhile since I did a report, so it has taken much more effort than I thought these past couple of weeks. I have double-checked every calculation to validate the information.

NOTE: This report will be divided into 3 segments:

Part 1 – Information about the Game
Part 2 – Strategy Charts + Approach
Part 3 – Statistical Analysis (if you are interested)

Part 1 – Information about the Game

Introduction

Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker is the 2nd new game that has been released on videopoker.com in 2024. It is currently available for GOLD members as of June 2024. As the title states, this themed video poker game revolves around Wild cards, and video poker players can certainly appreciate having any form of help in hitting the big hands like Royal Flush and 4 Aces with Kicker. On every deal, there is a chance that 1, 2, or 3 Wild cards can get added to the standard deck of 52 cards before the deck gets shuffled and the player gets dealt 5 cards. This game is reminiscent of Magic Deal Poker, a past videopoker.com release from January 2017 where the random bonus feature offers Wild cards on the deal to help players land the rare and high payout hand outcomes more frequently. Except that in Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker, the Wild Cards can appear on the deal and the draw. Magic Deal Poker seemed to be well received by the videopoker.com players at the time, however there were not many casinos in the U.S. that offered the game on the actual floor. Could this one will have a better adoption at the casinos?



Help Page with Details

Help Page 1

HelpPage1.png (71.36 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

Help Page 2

HelpPage2.png (98.77 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

The pay schedule for 9/6 Double Double Bonus mentions that the feature on Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker triggers 1 in 1.96 games or 51.02% of the time.

Note: In addition to the standard 9/6 Double Double Bonus payouts, there are 3 Five of a Kind payouts in the form of:

(a) Aces - 4000 Credits
(b) 2s, 3s, 4s - 1600 Credits
(c) 5s thru Kings - 500 Credits

The rate at which the feature trigger varies by game variants and pay schedules. Currently the only pay schedule option for DDB is 9/6. Given the current casino climate in 2024, if a casino offers this game, it will likely be the 8/5 DDB pay schedule for lower denominations and the player may be fortunate if they are able to find the 9/5 DDB pay schedule.

Paytable96DDB.png (91.06 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker and Magic Deal Poker Comparisons


Pluses for Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker

• Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker introduces 5 of a Kind as a possible payout outcome, Magic Deal Poker does not payout for 5 of a Kinds.
• The feature on Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker triggers much more frequently than Magic Deal Poker, around 50% of the time in Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker vs 9% of the time in Magic Deal Poker

Pluses for Magic Deal Poker

• More Foolproof - When dealt Wild Cards on Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker, the Wild Cards can be discarded if it is not manually held on the draw. There is NEVER a strategic situation to discard a Wild card. In Magic Deal Poker, the Magic wild cards will remain in place and transform into the best possible card rank/suit when a winning hand is detected
• Easier Strategy - When Magic Wild Cards can only be dealt, there are 3 additional strategy charts to consider depending on number of Magic Wild Cards (1 – 3) on the deal. In Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker, there are strategy changes to consider when the player is dealt no Wild Cards to start. There can be 9 strategy charts to consider on top of conventional Double Double Bonus strategy. Magic Deal Poker is the easier game


Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker and Joker Poker Comparisons

• Joker Poker will require a bigger hand outcome like a pair of Kings or Two Pairs for the player to break even or win. Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker does not have a higher outcome requirement; it is Jacks or Better and up like most video poker variants.
• The Joker Poker payouts are normally depressed since it is easier to hit poker hands with the Joker. Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker does not reduce payouts from the conventional pay schedule. If a Royal Flush is formed with a Wild Card, the player still wins 4000 Credits but on Joker Poker it gets reduced to 500 Credits.
• Some Joker Poker pay tables can pay more than 4000 Credits for a Royal Flush with No Joker.
• Joker Poker does not require bonus wagers to play with a Joker card, the Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker requires a 10 credit wager per line to activate the feature.
• A Joker Poker game with 2 Jokers available called “Double Joker Poker” which is very rare to find in casinos in the U.S. In Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker, a scenario where 3 Wild Cards is introduced to quite possibly for the first time in which players will need time to get used to
• Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker Strategy is much more extensive to play compared to Joker Poker
• There are video poker software products and videopoker.com PRO Training to help players become more proficient at playing Joker Poker. There is no training assistance available for Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker as of June 2024

Screenshots of BIG hand hits aided by the Wild cards

With the help of 2 WILD cards, I was able to hit a Royal Flush and get paid 4000 credits

RoyalFlushWild.png (462.53 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

When a 5 of a Kind hand hit, there is a sparkle effect

Part 2 – Strategy Charts + Approach

Strategy Approach for Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker

Disclaimer / Word of Caution: The effort to fully learn how to play Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker 9/6 DDB is quite extensive and would require learning more than one strategy charts.

Deuces Wild strategy charts typically are organized with how many Deuces are dealt. Joker Poker strategy charts are based on if there is a Joker on hand. Thus I have taken a similar approach.

Step #1: See if a Bonus Triggered, there should be a sound effect. If it is not, play the hand using conventional DDB strategy

If it triggered, it will say the word INITIATED with the # of WILDS awarded

WildFeatureEnabled.png (87.08 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

If is not triggered, it will say the word ELIGIBLE

WildFeatureDisabled.png (89.78 KiB) Viewed 6441 times

Step #2: If a Bonus Triggered, find out how many Wild Cards are awarded and choose between the 53 (One Wild Card), 54 (Two Wild Cards), or 55 (Three Wild Cards) Card Deck.

In this scenario, the Bonus was initiated with 1 Wild Card added. There is 1 Wild Card dealt in my hand. On the strategy chart, the top most hold outcome is to hold Wild + Suited 24 in #25, so that will be the hold

Step #3: Find out how many Wild Cards are in your dealt hand and apply the strategy accordingly

Note: The strategy with Wild cards is aggressive towards hitting Royal Flush if 3 to the Royal Flush cards are dealt, other wise it will be towards the Premium Quads: Aces, 2s, 3s, 4s


Conventional Basic 9/6 DDB Strategy

The conventional strategy chart for 9/6 DDB can be found on the Wizard of Odds website: https://wizardofodds.com/games/video-po ... onus/10-6/

For those looking to learn the Conventional Double Double Bonus strategy at a deeper level, it is highly recommended to purchase the Winner’s Guide Volume 6 Double Double Bonus Poker Book by Dancer/Daily at the Las Vegas Advisor Shop

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/shop/pr ... -volume-6/

It is an important prerequisite for players to master the conventional 9/6 DDB strategy because it will be in play half of the time. For players that are not familiar with standard strategy the mistakes will be costly


One Wild Card in Deck (53 Cards – 2869685 5-Card Deal Possibilities)


One Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (270725Deal Possibilities on 53 Card Deck – 9.434% Occurrences on 53 Card Deck – 1 in every 10.6 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [1 Wild + Three Aces] (1166.667)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [1 Wilds + Three 2s, 3s, or 4s] (525)
8. Dealt 5 5s thru Kings (500)
9. 4 5s thru Kings (255.208)
10. Dealt Straight Flush (250)
11. 4 to Royal Flush (178.854 - 190.417)
12. 3 Aces (105.59 - 109.871)
13. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (56.653 - 58.098)
14. Full House (45)
15. 3 5s thru Kings (36.352)
16. 4 to Straight Flush No Gaps W345-W9TJ (32.396 - 34.167)
17. Dealt Flush (30)
18. 4 to Straight Flush With 1 Gaps (27.083 - 28.646)
19. 3 to Royal Flush JT, QJ, QT (23.129 - 24.131)
20. 4 to Straight Flush Ace Low or 2 Gaps with High Cards (23.125)
21. 3 to Royal Flush AT, AJ, AQ, AK, KQ, KJ, KT (23.121)
22. 4 to Straight Flush 2 Gaps with No High Cards (23.125)

Exception Note on #18 and #19 – If there is Ace is part of the Dealt Straight (#24), hold the Dealt Straight

23. Pair of Aces (19.272 - 20.136)
24. Dealt Straight (20)

Exception Note on #21 and #22 – If there is suited 34 is part of the Dealt Straight (#22), break the Straight

25. Wild Card + Suited 23, 24, 34 (14.375 - 15.439)
26. Wild Card + Single 2, 3, or 4 (13.474 - 14.334)
27. Wild Card + Suited 56, 67, 78, 89, 9T (13.244 - 13.446)
28. Wild Card + Single Jack, Queen
29. Wild Card Only (12.941)

No Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (2598960 Deal Possibilities on 53 Card Deck - 90.566% Occurrences on 54 Card Deck – 1 in every 1.1042 deals)

1. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
2. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
3. 4 Aces (1166.667)
4. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
5. 4 2s, 3s, 4s (525)
6. 4 5s thru Kings (255.208)
7. Dealt Straight Flush (250)
8. 4 to Royal Flush (173.229 - 179.688)
9. 3 Aces (105.59 - 109.871)
10. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (56.653 – 58.098)
11. Full House (45)
12. 3 5s thru Kings (36.352)
13. Dealt Flush (30)
14. 4 to Straight Flush No Gaps 2345 – 9TJQ (22.083 - 23.125)
15. Dealt Straight (20)
16. 4 to Straight Flush 1 Gap (16.667 - 17.604)

Note on #15, #19, #20: Keep one Pair of the higher value

17. Pair of Aces (15.445 - 16.079)
18. 3 to Royal Flush TJQ/JQK (13.444 – 15.306)
19. Two Pairs (9.167)
20. Pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings (9.076)
21. Pair of 2s, 3s, 4s (7.593 –7.802)
22. 4 to Flush (6.25 – 6.875)
23. Pair of 5s thru 10s (5.735)
24. 3 to Straight Flush 1 High 0 Gap 9TJ (4.854)

Exception Note on #25, $26: If 8 or 9 is present, Ace is held over Suited JQ

25. 4 to Outside Straight TJQK Only [3 High Cards] (4.6875)
26. 3 to Straight Flush 2 High 1 Gap 9JQ (4.455 – 4.637)
27. 4 to Outside Straight 9TJQ Only [2 High Cards] (4.375)
28. 3 to Straight Flush 0 High 0 Gap 345-89T includes 89J (4.357)
29. 2 to Royal Flush JQ
30. 2 to Royal Flush AK, AQ, AJ, JQ
31. 4 to Outside Straight 89TJ Only [1 High Card] (4.063)
32. 3 to Straight Flush 2 High Cards 9JK, 9QK
33. 2 to Royal Flush JK, QK
34. Ace Only
35. 4 to Outside Straight No High Card 2345-789T (3.75)
36. 2 to Royal Flush TJ, TQ
37. 3 to Straight Flush 0 High 1 Gap or 1 High 2 Gaps Includes 234 (3.351 - 3.648)
38. 2 to Royal Flush TK (3.314 – 3.505)
39. 4 to Inside Straight 3 High Cards KQJ9 (3.021)
40. High Card Jack, Queen, King – If Multiple Unsuited High Cards Appear, only one is held
a. If KQJ is present, hold Jack
b. If KQ/KJ are present, prefer Jack or Queen, but it is has more matching suits than the King, hold the King
41. 3 to Straight Flush 0 High 2 Gaps (2.85 – 2.939)
42. Discard All

Two Wild Cards in Deck (54 Cards – 3162510 5-Card Deal Possibilities)


Two Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (22100 Deal Possibilities on 54 Card Deck - 0.6988% Occurrences on 54 Card Deck – 1 in every 143.1 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [2 Wilds + Two Aces] (1224.49)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [2 Wilds + Two 2s, 3s, or 4s] (546.939)
8. Dealt 5 5s thru Kings (500)
9. 4 to Royal Flush (291.122 - 324.796)
10. 4 5s thru Kings (260.204)
11. Dealt Straight Flush (250)
12. 2 Wilds + Suited A2, A3, A4 (202.347)
13. 2 Wilds + Single Ace (198.61)
14. 2 Wilds + Suited or Unsuited 23, 24, 34 (112.653 - 138.469)
15. 2 Wilds + Single 2, 3, 4 (106.229 - 108.801)
16. 2 Wilds Only (93.6)

One Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (812175 Deal Possibilities on 54 Card Deck – 17.1209% Occurrences on 54 Card Deck – 1 in every 5.8408 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [1 Wild + Three Aces] (1224.49)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [1 Wilds + Three 2s, 3s, or 4s] (546.939)
8. Dealt 5 5s thru Kings (500)
9. 4 to Royal Flush (256.837 - 268.163)
10. 4 5s thru Kings (260.204)
11. Dealt Straight Flush (250)

Note #12, #13, #14 – These are 3 of a Kinds. A dealt Full House will never be held with a Deuce present, hold on to the more valuable 3 of a Kind

12. 3 Aces (193.23 - 155.727)
13. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (76.11 - 78.176)
14. 3 5s thru Kings (45.497 - 45.523)
15. 4 to Straight Flush No Gaps W345-W9TJ (36.837 - 38.571)
16. 3 to Royal Flush (33.52 - 35.863)
17. 4 to Straight Flush With 1 Gaps (31.429 - 33.163)

Exception Note on #18 and #19 – If there is Ace is part of the Dealt Flush (#18), hold the Dealt Flush

18. Pair of Aces (30.07 - 31.375)
19. Dealt Flush (30)
20. 4 to Straight Flush With 2 Gaps (26.224 - 27.755)

Exception Note on #21 and #22 – If there is suited 34 is part of the Dealt Straight (#22), break the Straight

21. Wild Card + Suited 34 (20.259 - 20.565)
22. Dealt Straight (20)
23. Wild Card + Single 2, 3, or 4 (19.148 - 20.258)
24. Wild Card Only

No Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (2598960 Deal Possibilities on 54 Card Deck - 82.1803% Occurrences on 54 Card Deck – 1 in every 1.2168 deals)

1. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
2. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
3. 4 Aces (1224.49)
4. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
5. 4 2s, 3s, 4s (546.939)
6. 4 5s thru Kings (260.204)

Note on #8: If 9TJQK Straight Flush is dealt, drop the 9 and go for the Royal Flush

7. 4 to Royal Flush (251.327 - 257.653)
8. Dealt Straight Flush (250)

Note on #9 - #11: Break ALL dealt Full House

9. 3 Aces (149.579 - 155.727)
10. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (76.11 – 78.176)
11. 3 5s thru Kings (45.497 – 45.523)
12. Dealt Flush (30)
13. 4 to Straight Flush No Gaps 2345 – 9TJQ (26.735 - 27.755)
14. 3 to Royal Flush TJQ/JQK (24.337 – 25.85)

Note on #15, #19, #20: Keep one Pair of the higher value

15. Pair of Aces (23.679 - 24.863)

Note on #16: If 4 to Straight Flush 9TJQ is dealt, drop the 9 and hold the 3 to Royal Flush TJQ

16. 3 to Royal Flush TJK/TQK/TJA/TQA/TKA/JQA/JKA/QKA (23.584 – 24.915)
17. 4 to Straight Flush 1 Gap (includes Ace-Low (21.02 - 22.04)
18. Dealt Straight (20)
19. Pair of 2s, 3s, 4s (11.815 –12.227)
20. Pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings (11.342 – 11.353)
21. Two Pairs – Both Pairs are 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s (9.898)
22. Pair of 5s thru 10s (8.205)
23. 4 to Flush (6.735 – 7.347)
24. 3 to Straight Flush 1 High 0 Gap 9TJ (6.246)

Exception Note on #25, $26: If 8 or 9 is present, Ace is held over Suited JQ

25. 2 to Royal Flush AK, AQ, AJ, JQ
26. Ace Only

Note on #27: The 2 to the Royal Flush (or 2 Suited High Cards) will be held. 3 to Straight Flush with 2 High Cards like KQ9 will not be held with 2 Wild Cards

27. 2 to Royal Flush JT, JK, QK
28. 3 to Straight Flush 0 High 0 Gap
29. 2 to Royal Flush KT, QT
30. 3 to Straight Flush 1 High 1 Gap 89J
31. 4 to Outside Straight TJQK Only [3 High Cards]
32. 3 to Straight Flush 1 Gap 345, 456, 567, 678, 789, 89T (4.605 – 4.685)
33. 4 to Outside Straight 9TJQ Only [2 High Cards]
34. Discard All
35. Not Recommended – Jack Only if other 4 cards do not match the same suit as Jack

Three Wild Cards in Deck (55 Cards – 3478761 5-Card Deal Possibilities)


Three Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (1326 Deal Possibilities on 55 Card Deck - 0.0381% Occurrences on 55 Card Deck – 1 in every 2623.5 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [3 Wilds + Single Ace] (1536)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with 2, 3, 4 [No Ace present] (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [3 Wilds + Single 2, 3, 4] (664)
8. 3 Wilds + Single 10, Jack, Queen, King (634)
9. 3 Wilds Only (614.6)

Two Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (66300 Deal Possibilities on 55 Card Deck - 1.906% Occurrences on 55 Card Deck – 1 in every 52.47 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [2 Wilds + Two Aces] (1280)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with 2, 3, 4 [No Ace present] (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [2 Wilds + Two 2s, 3s, or 4s] (568)
8. Dealt 5 5s thru Kings (500)
9. 4 to Royal Flush (365.3 - 398.3)
10. 4 5s thru Kings (265)

Exception Note: (#12) 5 Card Straight Flush A2345 with 2 Wilds beats (#11) 3 Aces with 2 Wilds + Single Ace

11. 3 Aces [2 Wilds + Single Ace] (241.4 - 252.7)
12. Dealt Straight Flush (250)
13. 2 Wilds + Suited 23 or 24 or 34 (146.7 – 151.7)
14. 2 Wilds + Single 2, 3, 4 (130.51 - 131.22)
Exception Note #15: WW234 must be the hand in order to hold WW+Unsuited 34
15. 2 Wilds + Unsuited 34 (126.8)
16. 2 Wilds Only (125.52)

One Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (812175 Deal Possibilities on 55 Card Deck - 23.347% Occurrences on 55 Card Deck – 1 in every 4.2833 deals)

1. Dealt Five Aces (4000)
2. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
3. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
4. Dealt 5 2s, 3s, 4s (1600)
5. 4 Aces [1 Wild + Three Aces] (1280)
6. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
7. 4 2s, 3s, 4s [1 Wilds + Three 2s, 3s, or 4s] (568)
8. Dealt 5 5s thru Kings (500)
9. 4 to Royal Flush (331.7 - 342.8)
10. 4 5s thru Kings (265)
11. Dealt Straight Flush (250)

Note on #12 - #14: These are essentially 3 of a Kinds, but if a Dealt Full House with a Wild Card appears, keep one pair that is of higher value

12. 3 Aces (193.23 - 201.09)
13. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (95.269 - 97.91)
14. 3 5s thru Kings (95.269 - 97.91)
15. 3 to Royal Flush (46.453 - 50.61)
16. Pair of Aces (42.348 - 45.063)
17. 4 to Straight Flush With or Without Gaps (30.5 - 42.3)
18. Dealt Flush (30)
19. 1 Wild Card only (28)

Not Recommended Exception to #19: Wild + Single 4 if the other 3 cards are TJQ or JQK

No Wild Cards Dealt Strategy (2598960 Deal Possibilities on 55 Card Deck - 74.709% Occurrences on 55 Card Deck – 1 in every 1.3385 deals)

1. Dealt Royal Flush (4000)
2. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (2000)
3. 4 Aces (1280)
4. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (800)
5. 4 2s, 3s, 4s (568)
6. 4 to Royal Flush (326.7 - 332.5)
7. 4 5s thru Kings (265)

Note on #8: If 9TJQK Straight Flush is dealt, drop the 9 and go for the (#6) Royal Flush

8. Dealt Straight Flush (250)

Note on #9 - #11: Break ALL dealt Full Houses

9. 3 Aces (193.23 - 201.09)
10. 3 2s, 3s, 4s (95.269 – 97.906)
11. 3 5s thru Kings (54.290 – 54.314)
12. 3 to Royal Flush (36.118 - 38.804)

Note on #13, #18, #19: Two Pairs are never held with 3 Wild cards in deck, keep one Pair of the higher value

13. Pair of Aces (33.888 - 35.737)

Note on #14: If 4 to Straight Flush 9TJQ is dealt, drop the 9 and hold the 3 to Royal Flush TJQ

14. 4 to Straight Flush No Gaps 2345 – 89TJ (30.5 - 31.9)
15. Dealt Flush (30)
16. 4 to Straight Flush 1 Gap (25.6 - 26.6)
17. Dealt Straight (20)
18. Pair of 2s, 3s, 4s (16.858 - 17.492)
19. Pair of 5s thru Kings (11.016 - 13.977)

Note on #20 and #21: If 2 to Royal Flush AK, AQ, AJ is dealt, if there is an unsuited J, Q, K present in the hand, hold Ace only

20. 2 to Royal Flush AK, AQ, AJ
21. Ace Only

Note on #22: The 2 to the Royal Flush will be held over 3 to Straight Flush like KJ9, QJ8 with 3 Wild Cards in the deck

22. 2 to Royal Flush KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, JT
23. 4 to flush (7.2 - 7.5)
24. 3 to Straight Flush No Gaps 345, 456, 567, 678, 789, 89T (6.967 - 7.188)
25. Discard All

Note on #21 and #22: Multiple unsuited high cards never held, Single Jack, Queen, King are never held either

Part 3 – Statistical Analysis (if you are interested)

More Frequent BIG hand hits!

Note: The odds assume optimal play, however the player can choose to be aggressive to hit the big hands but it will cost them losses in expected return.

Royal Flush – 4000 Credit Hand
With 1 Wild Card in the Deck - 5.7x More Frequent
With 2 Wild Cards in the Deck - 15.93x More Frequent
With 3 Wild Cards in the Deck - 35.553x More Frequent

4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 - 2000 Credit Hand
With 1 Wild Card in the Deck = 4x More Frequent
With 2 Wild Cards in the Deck = 10.35x More Frequent
With 3 Wild Cards in the Deck = 20.87x More Frequent

Game Returns + Odds of 9/6 DDB with Wild Cards Added

The complete frequency of outcomes.

One Wild Card added to the Deck – 53 Cards Total – 9.4666 Credit Return based on 5 Credit Pay Table – 189.34% Return



Two Wilds Card added to the Deck – 54 Cards Total – 16.8396 Credit Return based on 5 Credit Pay Table – 336.789% Return



Three Wilds Card added to the Deck – 55 Cards Total – 27.548 Credit Return based on 5 Credit Pay Table – 550.942% Return



Expected Overall Return for Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker 9/6 Double Double Bonus is not known at the moment

The only vital information that is disclosed within the HELP pages is the overall frequency in which the Wild cards get added. However, there is no specific breakdown in percentages when 1, 2, or 3 Wild cards are added to the deck respectively.

The expected return of conventional 9/6 DDB is known to be 98.9808%, or a return of 4.94904 credits of every 5 credits played.

Video Poker themed games developed by Action Gaming / videopoker.com generally offers slightly higher return over the conventional pay tables when spending extra for the bonus. This was seen with Quick Quads, Super Times Pay, and Wheel Poker (non-Deuces Wild variants) etc. Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker takes 10 credits, so to at least match the return of conventional 9/6 DDB, it must return at least 9.89808 credits of every 10 credits played.

Bonus Feature is 1 in 1.96 which is 51.02%
Non-Bonus Feature is 100% - 51.02% = 48.98%

.4898 * 4.94904 + .5102 * Bonus >= 9.89808
Bonus >= 14.649 Credits

The Bonus feature must return at least 14.649 Credits (292.985% in 5 credit returns) in order to make up for not getting the bonus trigger in order to meet conventional return

Using System of Equations, we can assume the percentage of getting dealt 3 wild cards, imaginably it must be the lowest since it provides the highest benefit. we can derive the percentage of 1 Wild Card and 2 Wild Cards added. Looking at the numbers, it feels like the odds of getting 1 and 2 cards are similar, but getting 3 is slightly less. Throughout my play experience, I felt I got 3 Wild cards adequately so it does not feel too rare.

Reminder: These are potential possible values, the actual values are not known.



Thank you for reading and best of luck to you at this game!

[dinghy]

Looking at the numbers, it feels like the odds of getting 1 and 2 cards are similar, but getting 3 is slightly less. Throughout my play experience, I felt I got 3 Wild cards adequately so it does not feel too rare.

Reminder: These are potential possible values, the actual values are not known.

I tried to collect data, but the game lags severely on my system. My numbers are from TDB and DDB, dealing and redealing without holding cards.

I tallied a little over 100 features and got 67/25/7% frequencies for 1/2/3 wilds. Maybe I just ran bad in my small sample.

I would note though that the Magic Deal probabilities are unbalanced to an even greater extreme. Wizard indicates 8.4/1.0/0.1 within a 9.5 feature frequency -- translating to around 90/9/1% of feature occurrences.

[Tedlark]

Great work, alpax. When Magic Deal first hit the scene, some here were wondering if I would lose my fondness for Dream Card and go to Magic Deal. I like Magic Deal but prefer Dream Card. I'm going to play Wild! Wild! Poker here and get my feet wet.

Thanks to dinghy too.

[alpax]

I tried to collect data, but the game lags severely on my system. My numbers are from TDB and DDB, dealing and redealing without holding cards.

I tallied a little over 100 features and got 67/25/7% frequencies for 1/2/3 wilds. Maybe I just ran bad in my small sample.

I would note though that the Magic Deal probabilities are unbalanced to an even greater extreme. Wizard indicates 8.4/1.0/0.1 within a 9.5 feature frequency -- translating to around 90/9/1% of feature occurrences.

Although 100 features is a lot to track on paper, I believe it is a very small sample size to reflect the true sense of the distributions. Maybe 10,000+ events is a more reasonable amount. Either way a huge bankroll is needed if it makes it to the casinos.

I was playing Jacks or Better game variant earlier today and while most game variants trigger the Wild Cards once every 1.96 hands, Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker game variant triggers more frequently at once every 1.67 hands. I was getting 3 Wild Cards added to the deck (55 cards) quite frequently with Jacks or Better than Double Double Bonus or Super Double Double Bonus which have big payouts for quads compared to 150 credits (up from 125) for Jacks or Better. So it does vary by game.

I saw that the distributions of Magic Deal Poker for all game variants are available on WoO. Once out of every 950 hands to get dealt 3 Magic Wild cards for 9/6 DDB Magic Deal Poker is more than an hour of play on average, but it is guaranteed at least 250 credits per hand for when that happens on DDB. It would take far more play to be dealt 3 Wild cards on a hand on DDB Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker. The feel is much different between Wild! Wild! Wild! Poker and Magic Deal Poker.

Great work, alpax. When Magic Deal first hit the scene, some here were wondering if I would lose my fondness for Dream Card and go to Magic Deal. I like Magic Deal but prefer Dream Card. I'm going to play Wild! Wild! Poker here and get my feet wet.

Thanks to dinghy too.

Thanks Ted!

Most of the games released on videopoker.com in the past 10 years have not lasted at the casinos, but DreamCard is still available as it is included in the IGT Five Star Poker and All Star Poker III (3) Multi Game Units along with Powerhouse Poker, Super Triple Play, Super Times Pay, Double Super Times Pay, Ultimate X, and Ultimate X Bonus Streak.

I am well aware of your fondness of Triple Double Bonus, it just so happens to be the best game variant for DreamCard because it offers highest return compared to the other game variants. DreamCard is all about hitting the big hands easier and there are no strategy changes needed for TDB, DDB, and Bonus Poker Deluxe. The other game variants on DreamCard requires strategy changes.

I was able to hit this beauty today

[OTABILL]

Great to see you back posting Alpax. Hope you are doing well health wise.

[dinghy]

I was playing Jacks or Better game variant earlier today and while most game variants trigger the Wild Cards once every 1.96 hands, Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker game variant triggers more frequently at once every 1.67 hands. I was getting 3 Wild Cards added to the deck (55 cards) quite frequently with Jacks or Better than Double Double Bonus or Super Double Double Bonus which have big payouts for quads compared to 150 credits (up from 125) for Jacks or Better. So it does vary by game.

Fascinating. They are really tricking up their game designs.

I did a tiny sample of 50 features at JoB and got 36/36/28% of 1/2/3 wilds respectively. Almost evenly distributed. That's in line with your observations.

JoB gets a 104% base pay (relative to 5 coins), AND superior frequencies on both trigger and wilds.

Deuces Wild is set at 107% base! Trigger frequency is the more favorable 1.67 as you would guess. A sample of 25 features yielded 40/12/48% of 1/2/3 wilds. Not statistically significant, obviously. But it looks like the game gives frequent opportunities to play with 7 wilds in a 55-card deck. I don't recall any previous design like that.

[Tedlark]

Thanks alpax and nice hit here. When Magic Deal was first released, I found it at Four Winds Casino, New Buffalo, MI one night after a Notre Dame football game that I went to. During play, I was happy to see that when dealt a Royal Flush the machine auto-holds. 3 magic deal cards rolled out and I was hoping for an ace or other good quality 4th card to work with as I was playing TDB. To my surprise, two royal cards came out on the deal, giving me a dealt royal flush and a 2k handpay.

With Dream Card, I do prefer the original version and I know a couple casinos that have a few versions of that game around. I'll play the "updated" version if I am in the mood for a Dream.

Best of luck to you.

[rascal]

Ted, the big question is, did you do better than Notre Dame that day?

[Tedlark]

Ted, the big question is, did you do better than Notre Dame that day?

They won too!!!

[alpax]

Great to see you back posting Alpax. Hope you are doing well health wise.

Likewise, it is personally great to see yourself, Ted, OMT, olds, FAA, Come Back Kid, and others are still actively participating on this forum. I was away for dealing with unfortunately personal matters. Reading through recent activity, I believe that most of the vitriol issues that you were concerned about have been resolved so Webman, yourself, and many others deserve credit for.

I am doing somewhat well healthwise, I always spend on quality vitamins/minerals (not the Centrum/1-a-day at retail drug stores) and I did not get ill fortunately. I am much more concerned about economic conditions these days. thus I have reduced my action at the live casinos recently. I still play the best EV approach, but I do not expect to win every trip.

I hope you are doing well healthwise and financially as well as dealing with the heatwave in your region that came much sooner than anticipated.

Fascinating. They are really tricking up their game designs.

I did a tiny sample of 50 features at JoB and got 36/36/28% of 1/2/3 wilds respectively. Almost evenly distributed. That's in line with your observations.

JoB gets a 104% base pay (relative to 5 coins), AND superior frequencies on both trigger and wilds.

Deuces Wild is set at 107% base! Trigger frequency is the more favorable 1.67 as you would guess. A sample of 25 features yielded 40/12/48% of 1/2/3 wilds. Not statistically significant, obviously. But it looks like the game gives frequent opportunities to play with 7 wilds in a 55-card deck. I don't recall any previous design like that.

I agree with your sentiment about the game design, and I appreciate that you've verified the bonus Wild Cards trigger rates for other games.

One important detail that I wanted to bring up when you say the Deuces Wild has a 100% + base.

If you play 1-5 credits per hand by pushing the bet per hand incrementally. You will see that the base paytable is based on NSU Deuces. More importantly, the Royal Flush pays 1250 Credits for 5 credits per hand instead of the usual 4000 credits. The player is forced to play the full bonus feature to get the elevated pay schedule, however this is all done for balancing reasons.

Thanks alpax and nice hit here. When Magic Deal was first released, I found it at Four Winds Casino, New Buffalo, MI one night after a Notre Dame football game that I went to. During play, I was happy to see that when dealt a Royal Flush the machine auto-holds. 3 magic deal cards rolled out and I was hoping for an ace or other good quality 4th card to work with as I was playing TDB. To my surprise, two royal cards came out on the deal, giving me a dealt royal flush and a 2k handpay.

With Dream Card, I do prefer the original version and I know a couple casinos that have a few versions of that game around. I'll play the "updated" version if I am in the mood for a Dream.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks Ted for sharing your story! I am glad you were able to actually play Magic Deal Poker at a live casino setting, and even better to hear that you've had great success in the limited time you were able to play it. I do not think slot operators liked looking at the PAR sheet seeing that the top prize has a higher than usual chance of happening.

It is good that you've experienced a Norte Dame victory. It was probably led by Coach Brian Kelly who brought the storied football program back to national relevancy. I followed NCAA football as extra entertainment on Saturdays as my alma mater did not have a football program. Since then Brian Kelly went to greener pastures (LSU).

Likewise I wish you continued good luck to your casino trips as well as any sports teams you follow!