DoubleDoubleBonus

[weasel squeezer]

Here are 2 hands:    Ace of dia, Q of hrts, K of spades, 2 of hrts, 4 of dia                 Ace ofclubs, Q of dia, 5 of spades, k of hrts, 4 of hrts .     The top hand requires a Q hrts and K spades hold.... While the bottom hand requires a Ace of clubs hold   anybody want to help me understand this one so i can make the correct hold every time? thx to anyone with the answer   Weez Squeez

[kjohn]

Go to this site http://www.vpgenius.com/ Click on DDB in the favorite game section and then the hand analyzer...You can put in any hand you want and it will tell you what the best play is...Very good site to learn the correct play..Good luck

[New2vp]

Hey Weez, you didn't say, but I'm going to guess that you were playing a game that pays 5 for 1 for a flush.  With the 9-6 version of DDB, it is correct in both hands that you listed to play the A.With 9-5 and possibly other games, the correct play differs as you say with the KQ being best for the first and the A for the second.  The KQ is worth the same on both hands so the difference lies with the Ace.  With the 2nd hand, holding an ace will get you one extra shot at AAAA2 (worth 2000 coins) and also a possibility of 2222A (worth 800); whereas with the first hand, you would get an extra shot at AAAA5 (worth "only" 800) and a possibility of 5555A (worth 250).This is a strange penalty situation that you don't see with games like Jacks or Better when every quad pays the same.  It doesn't occur very often, but is most likely to crop up when quads + a kicker pays considerably more than the quads without.Good luck on your journey to perfect play.  There are some other pitfalls out there as well, but once you learn to avoid one, the others will have more trouble tripping you up.