Strategy Adjustments for 9/5 Red Black DDB

[alpax]

The original motive for the 9/6 and 9/5 DDB strategy difference guide was to lead into learning about the strategy adjustments to 9/5 DDB Red Black. The starting basis will be that the player is proficient with the 9/5 DDB optimal strategy.

Ultimately it has been more than a year since it was posted, this guide is to fulfill a promise I made in the past, although it is late since it was much tougher than I ever thought to figure this out.

Video Poker Strategy - DDB Red and Black?

The availability of DDB Red Black is rare and not many have heard of this game. This website does not even offer the game even though it is found in the newest Game King machines. The thread suggests the game exists at a recently built casino, the Scarlet Pearl in the Biloxi region. I am not sure if the game still exists today as I do not know anyone who plays there. If you can find this game, this will be for you.



What is DDB Red Black?

It is basically the same as DDB except for one condition, there is another possible winning payout of 40 for 1 when the resulting hand is a 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace with the same colored suit. If it is of the same suit, it would be a Royal Flush; this game basically rewards the pity Royal Flush with a decent amount. There are 60 possible combinations of these color suited straights.

The Wizard of Odds – Red Black Double Double Bonus Poker

I found this image courtesy of WizardOfOdds.com



The benefit of this extra payout should be favorable for DDB players and it is indeed. With optimal play, JB the Wizard of Odds webmaster has determined the return of 9/5 DDB Red Black to be 98.5708% which is better than the standard 97.7873%. Unfortunately, JB told others they are on their own to figure out the strategy. This is where the guide comes into play.
To make sure I was doing things right I verified I got the same answer as JB. If 9/6 DDB is available to the player, that would be the better option if DDB Red Black does not provide better mailers.



Unlike the difference between 9/5 and 9/6 DDB, there will be some substantial differences between 9/5 DDB and 9/5 DDB Red Black. Out of the 2598960 possible five card deals, there will be 121344 differences. About 95.33% of the strategy is similar.

Good news is that only the deals revolving high cards Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten and a high card 3 to Straight Flush are affected.

If the standard 9/5 DDB strategy is played on 9/5 DDB Red Black, the player will get 98.3456% return, a difference of 0.22517% from the optimal amount. In perspective, for every $1000 coin in which is 800 max bet quarter denomination hands, it will be more than a $2 loss. It will be worth making the effort.



The optimal strategy is more aggressive towards the Colored Straights, 1 in 3588 vs 1 in 7616 for regular. Thus the Royal Flush cycle is longer 1 in 40065 to 1 in 41133.

I felt best It would be best to break down the differences by the number of colored straight cards being held.

Increasing font size to see the suits better


Category 1 – The Gigantic Mistakes

Situation #1: A dealt Red/Black Straight with 4 to a Royal

Dealt Cards: A ♣ 10 ♣ J ♣ K ♣ Q ♠
9/5 DDB Red Black Hold: A ♣ 10 ♣ J ♣ K ♣ Q ♠
9/5 DDB Standard Hold: A ♣ 10 ♣ J ♣ K ♣

Explanation: A 4 to a Royal is usually about more than 91 credits. When the Red/Black Straight pays 200 credits, take it.

EV Credit Difference per Hand: 102.766 to 108.830 Credits
Total Return Impact: 0.01655%
Number of Occurrences: 20

Situation #2: Neglecting the Color of the Suit

Dealt Cards: 10 ♦ Q ♣ K ♣ 10 ♠ J ♠
9/5 DDB Red Black Hold: Q ♣ K ♣ 10 ♠ J ♠
9/5 DDB Standard Hold: 10 ♦ Q ♣ K ♣ J ♠ OR Q ♣ K ♣ 10 ♠ J ♠

Explanation: The color of the suit does not matter in standard DDB so there are two possible correct holds in standard DDB when 4 to an Outside Straight with High Cards over a low pair of 10’s.

Holding the Right Color: Q ♣ K ♣ 10 ♠ J ♠ (EV 12.0213 Credits)
Holding the Wrong Color: Q ♣ K ♣ 10 ♦ J ♠ (EV 4.3617 Credits)

EV Credit Difference per Hand: 7.6596 Credits
Total Return Impact: 0.0007073%
Number of Occurrences: 24

Category 2 – The Superiority of 4 to Red/Black Straight

Important Note: I feel that it was best to organize the next category to emphasize the value of 4 to the Red/Black Straight. Just knowing to hold 4 to Red/Black Straight is half the battle to adjusting from 9/5 DDB to 9/5 Red Black DDB.

4 to Red/Black Straight has an EV of 10.2128 to 12.0213 Credits.

Situation #3: When spotting 4 to Red/Black Straight, check for these 2 conditions

a.     A dealt 5 Card Straight that awards 20 credits.
b.     A 4 Card Outside Straight Flush QJT9 that has an EV of 15.755 Credits

Situation #4: A 4 to Red/Black Straight beats everything else

a.     2 to Royal Flush [ QJ / KQ / KJ ] by 7.5464 to 7.6331 Credits
b.     3 to Straight Flush with High Cards [ QT9 / QJ8 / KJ9 / JT8] by 7.5486 Credits
c.     Pair of 10s by 6.653 Credits
d.     4 to Outside Straight QJT9 by 6.2766 Credits
e.     3 to Royal Flush by 2.914 to 5.3839 Credits
f.     Pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings by 4.6846 Credits
g.     Pair of Aces by 0.568 to 0.8871 Credits
h.     4 to Inside Straight Flush QJT8 by 0.5319 Credits

Cumulative Stats

EV Credit Difference per Hand: 0.5319 to 7.6331 Credits
Total Return Impact: 0.12803%
Number of Occurrences: 4192

Category 3 – 3 to Red/Black Straight Situations

To simplify the many situations, the 3 to Red/Black Straight has an estimated EV of 2.914 Credits

Situation #5: When spotting 3 to Red/Black Straight, check for this 2 conditions

a.     Pair of Aces has an EV of at least 9 credits will be superior to any 3 to Red/Black Straight and all 3 to the Royal Flush
b.     Pairs will be superior to 3 to Red/Black Straight. King, Queen, Jack pair will beat all 3 to Royals except for the QJT and KQJ. 3 to Royal Flush still beats all low pairs.

Situation #6: 3 to Red/Black Straight is held over

a.     2 Royal Flush Cards
b.     2 Color High Cards (With a same color 10 is present, hold that as well
c.     Any 4 to Inside Straight where 1 card is 8, 9, or the opposite color
d.     Any 3 to Straight Flush where 8 or 9 is present (e.g. QJ9, QJ8, KJ9)
e.     The lone Ace (this is a DDB habit to break)

Cumulative Stats

EV Credit Difference per Hand: 0.5319 to 7.6331 Credits
Total Return Impact: 0.06532%
Number of Occurrences: 43988

Category 4 – 2 to Red/Black Straight Situations
To squeeze a tiny bit of EV more, there are multiple rules to remember

Simplification #1A (by far the highest volume): If Ace is present, if Jack/Queen/King of the same color suit is present, hold that as well (e.g. 3 ♥ A ♣ 2 ♣ 9 ♣ J ♠, hold A ♣ J ♠ rather than A ♠ )
Simplification #1B (by far the highest volume): If 3 high cards are present, hold 2 out of the 3 that match color

Simplification #2: Jack, Queen, King suited with a Ten is superior to two high cards of different color suit (e.g. 10 ♦ Q ♦ 3 ♠ 4 ♠ K ♠, hold 10 ♦ Q ♦ rather than K ♠ Q ♦)
Simplification #3: Ace with same color high card is superior to Ace-low 3 to Straight Flush (e.g. A ♥ 2 ♥ 3 ♥ J ♦ 4 ♣, hold A ♥ J ♦ rather than A ♥ 2 ♥ 3 ♥)
Simplification #4: 2 Same Color High Cards is superior than 3 to Inside Straight Flush with 1 Gap (e.g. 3 ♥ 5 ♥ 6 ♥ K ♣ Q ♠, hold K ♣ Q ♠ rather than 3 ♥ 5 ♥ 6 ♥)
Simplification #5: 2 to Royal Flush High Cards is superior than 3 to Outside Straight Flush with No Gap (e.g. Q ♥ K ♥ 5 ♣ 6 ♣ 7 ♣, hold Q ♥ K ♥ rather than 5 ♣ 6 ♣ 7 ♣)
Simplification #6: 2 Same Color High Cards is superior than Ace of a different color suit (e.g. 2 ♥ A ♦ 9 ♣ K ♣ J ♠, hold K ♣ J ♠ rather than A ♦)
Simplification #7: With 4 to Inside Straight 10 thru Ace, with two suited high cards with one of them Aces, hold the high cards (e.g. A ♥ J ♥ 4 ♦ 10 ♦ K ♣, hold A ♥ J ♥ rather than A ♥ J ♥ 10 ♦ K ♣)
Simplification #8: For the 3 to Flush situation with King, Ten, and 2-8. Hold the King and Ten instead of just the King (e.g. 6 ♣ 10 ♣ K ♣ 4 ♠ 9 ♠, hold 10 ♣ K ♣ rather than K ♣)
Simplification #9: For 4 to Inside Straight QJ98 with QJ that are colored, hold just the high cards (e.g. 2 ♥ 8 ♥ Q ♥ J ♦ 9 ♠, hold Q ♥ J ♦ rather than 8 ♥ Q ♥ J ♦ 9 ♠)
Simplification #10: JT Suited > lone Ace > QT, KT Suited (e.g. 10 ♦ J ♦ 7 ♠ 8 ♣ A ♠, hold 10 ♦ J ♦ rather than A ♠)

Cumulative Stats

EV Credit Difference per Hand: 0.0006 to 0.728 Credits
Total Return Impact: 0.01438%
Number of Occurrences: 71060



Most of the guide is completed. I will see where revisions are needed. This guide I believe is almost WizardOfOdds quality.

[pokerpokerpoker]

Nice work as always, Alpax.

Unlike some games you've analyzed, the major differences seem pretty straightforward with this one.

This game is actually on the progressive bank I have been playing lately. But, this variant is 8/5 (I wanna say) whereas the regular DDB is 9/5.

[oobla]

Thank you for the info,Alpax.The game was available on the bartop machines at Coushatta in Louisiana last time I was there although it's been awhile since I was there.I don't remember the paytables,but when I get back I'll check to see if it's worth playing.If so,knowing the strategy will be a big help.

[alpax]

Nice work as always, Alpax.

Unlike some games you've analyzed, the major differences seem pretty straightforward with this one.

This game is actually on the progressive bank I have been playing lately. But, this variant is 8/5 (I wanna say) whereas the regular DDB is 9/5.

Thank you for the info,Alpax.The game was available on the bartop machines at Coushatta in Louisiana last time I was there although it's been awhile since I was there.I don't remember the paytables,but when I get back I'll check to see if it's worth playing.If so,knowing the strategy will be a big help.

You guys are welcome. It is fortunate some people here have access to this game and this will not be a wasted effort. I was not able to use Wizard's 134459 unique hand shortcut, had to run through all 2.59 million hands which took a while.

I was able to spot the differences from a larger scale so I felt it was easiest to group the strategy by the number of color straight cards to hold and it worked effectively.

Because the Flush always pays 5 for 1 and Straight pays 4 for 1, with Straight Flush being 50 for 1, I think the strategy plays out on all known Red Black DDB variants.

As for if it is worthwhile playing based on pay table, I would go down this list in descending order of return.

9/6 Regular DDB (98.981%)
9/5 Red Black DDB (98.571%)
9/5 Regular DDB (97.787%)
8/5 Red Black DDB (97.488%)
8/5 Regular DDB (96.79%)
7/5 Red Black DDB (96.418%)