Face Card Frenzy Strategy&Tidbits for DDB Players

[alpax]

Face Card Frenzy is the latest title to debut on this website and is currently available for GOLD members to play. I would think newer games would appear near towards the start of the month, but it has already appeared a week before February. I anticipate Face Card Frenzy will be the Game of the Month for February 2018 for 2x Player Club points.

This game was on display at the VideoPoker.com/IGT booth during the Global Gaming Expo 2017 (G2E), it was the one I was looking forward to the most as I personally enjoy playing 9/6 Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces whenever I get a chance to go out to Vegas. DDB Aces and Faces is difficult to find nationwide outside of Vegas/Reno.



From an initial glance, Face Card Frenzy seems to be a glorified version of Super Double Double Bonus (with the high card kickers), Double Double Bonus Plus (4 5s thru Kings with Kicker payout), and Double Double Bonus Aces and Faces (High Cards are kickers) all combined into one unique game.

Here is what industry expert Mr. Dancer has to say about Face Card Frenzy:

[QUOTE]
In FACE CARD FRENZY, you can play six coins per line or ten. These extra coins buy you extra rewards if your final hand consists of face cards — where for some reason an ace is considered a face card. So KKKKQ will pay more than KKKK4. Some of the lower elements on the pay schedule, such as the return for the flush or full house also change, so you need to learn a special strategy for this variation. Changes to the full house are relatively minor strategy-wise, but changes to the flush are critical.
[/QUOTE]

CDC Gaming Reports - What I liked about G2E 2017 by Bob Dancer

Screenshot of the lone Face Card Frenzy DDB Pay Schedule



There are 10 new payable outcomes added to the 14 outcomes that are on the Standard DDB.

Type 1 – Quads with Kickers

Outcome #1 - Four Aces with Jack, Queen, King – Aces quad remains the highest paying quad, but less than the 2, 3, 4 kicker seen in standard DDB.
Outcome #2 - Four 2s, 3s, 4s with Jack, Queen, King – More kickers for the low quads with a face card, but less than the Ace, 2, 3, 4 kicker seen in standard DDB
Outcome #3 - Four 5s thru Kings with 1 Ace – Getting a quad with an Ace kicker will yield a huge payout
Outcome #4 - Four 5s thru Kings with 1 King – Getting a quad with a King kicker will payout rather big as well
Outcome #5 - Four 5s thru Kings with 1 Queen – Getting a quad with a Queen kicker will triple the payout of 5 thru King quad
Outcome #6 - Four 5s thru Kings with 1 Jack – Getting a quad with a Jack kicker will double the payout of 5 thru King quad

Type 2 – Full Houses that are full of High Cards

Outcome #7 - Full House w/ 3 Aces – 5x payout of a Full House
Outcome #8 - Full House w/ 3 Kings – 4x payout of a Full House
Outcome #9 - Full House w/ 3 Queens – 3x payout of a Full House
Outcome #10 - Full House w/ 3 Jacks – 2x payout of a Full House

There are different payouts for 6 Credits and 10 Credits. The 6 Credits will make the payouts and the gameplay feel close to standard DDB. However, the 10 Credits will bring a whole different feel as it provides a great boost to all outcomes that are better than 3 of a Kind.

Screenshot of the game platform

To be able to play the 6 Credit mode, the player must push the Bet One button just enough times, one too many push will result in MAX mode. Playing 1 thru 4 Credits will yield standard 9/5 DDB with 250 for 1 Royal Flush payouts. Playing 5 Credits will yield standard 9/5 DDB with 800 for 1 Royal Flush payouts.

Betting 1 thru 5 Credits per Line will yield a reminder “Bet Up to enable special pays and higher payback!”

Betting 6 Credits per Line will yield a reminder “Bet Up for higher payback!”



Betting 10 Credits per Line will say “Max Payback Enabled!” with a sound effect



Analysis of Game Returns for 6 Credits and 10 Credits modes with my personal opinion

The 6 Credit Per Line wager pay schedule will return 98.105% with Optimal Play. This is better than playing standard 9/5 DDB, but the player will still need to make many strategy adjustments. There will be a reason why betting 6 credits will have a reminder “Bet Up for higher payback!”.



The 10 Credit Per Line wager pay schedule will return 98.599% with Optimal Play which is a significant increase over the 6 Credit Per Line. If a player wishes to play Face Card Frenzy, there should not be a good reason to playing anything but the MAX.



At 10 Credits, the DDB Variant of Face Card Frenzy will feel very similar to Triple Double Bonus due to the high variance factor, the 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (AWAK) pays equal to the Royal Flush also gives it away. Players will experience severe losing sessions if they go on a quad-less streak, and will gain a good impression if they get a few of the premium quads, particularly with Ace kickers. This game will be more geared towards hybrid DDB/TDB players, there are quite a few members that fit that style on this website. If the levels of swing on standard DDB is just right, it is best to avoid this game.

This game will require effort learning a special strategy and while DDB is one of the easier games to master, this game is much more difficult. In addition to the players who play video poker for real money wagers at the casino, the specialty games may have questionable staying power on the casino floors. Would the effort be worth towards that a game that might not arrive on the casino floors within a short timeframe or will even last like STP or Ultimate X. These are all something to give deep consideration about.

Jazbo Burn’s n-Play Variance

6 Credit Pay Schedule CoVariance: 6.05206

3-Play 6 Credit Total Variance: 60.1841 (20.0614 per line variance)
5-Play 6 Credit Total Variance: 72.2882 (14.45764 per line variance)
10-Play 6 Credit Total Variance: 102.5485 (10.2549 per line variance)

10 Credit Pay Schedule CoVariance: 12.4077

3-Play 10 Credit Total Variance: 120.5392 (40.1797 per line variance)
5-Play 10 Credit Total Variance: 145.3546 (29.071 per line variance)
10-Play 10 Credit Total Variance: 207.3931 (20.7393 per line variance)

Using Video Poker for Winners to help you play Face Card Frenzy Properly

Face Card Frenzy plays much like a standard video poker game. There are no random multipliers, no bonus payouts for having a dealt hand, no wheel spins, no card changing, or such.

Through several tweaks on Video Poker for Winners it is possible to replicate the playing experience as you would get from playing on the website without a GOLD membership.

Greatest Upside – VPW will correct you on every misplay and provide a strategy guide, the website does not provide that option

Greatest Downside – VPW will not award Player Club points or contests for prizes that the website can provide.

Some people may have both VPW and GOLD membership, that is great, the player can make sure they play each hand optimally during the daily or weekly contests.
Reasonable players who play at live casinos for real money wagers should have a copy of Video Poker for Winners, if not you could get it from the SHOP

Disclaimer: It is not possible to set up 10 Credit wagers as the limitation is 5. You cannot award half credits with respect ot 5 Credits. Please only use VPW as a method to practice holding the most optimal cards, the EV evaluation is still the same as 10 credits. Using VPW will not give an accurate protrayal of the negative swings of this game, if you do not get 3 of a Kind or better, you lose.

Instructions for Setup

Step 1 Open Video Poker for Winners and select the Three / Five / Ten Play Draw Poker



Step 2 Go to the Options Menu and select Change Paytable



Step 3 Push Edit Categories Button. We will need to modify existing payout outcomes before adding the new ones to avoid conflicts



Step 4 Select Four Aces and click Change button. Perform adjustments shown by the marked boxes. It must trigger from the non-bonus kickers 5s through 10s.



Step 5 Select Four 2s, 3s, 4s and click Change button. Perform adjustments shown by the marked boxes. It must trigger from the non-bonus kickers 5s through 10s.



Step 6 Select Four 5s thru Kings and click Change button. Perform adjustments shown by the marked boxes. It must trigger from the non-bonus kickers 5s through 10s.



Step 7 Select Full House and click Change button. Perform adjustments shown by the marked boxes. It must trigger from the 3K Rank from 2 through 10s.



Step 8 We will now add the ten new payout outcomes, push Add 4K or Add Full House accordingly. Please refer to the pictures to get an idea. For the 4 5s thru Kings quad, be sure to uncheck the quad that correlates to the specified kicker.

Four Aces + JQK



Four 2s, 3s, 4s + JQK



Four 5s thru Kings + 1 Ace



Four 5s thru Kings + 1 King



Four 5s thru Kings + 1 Queen



Four 5s thru Kings + 1 Jack



Full House with 3 Aces



Full House with 3 Kings



Full House with 3 Queens



Full House with 3 Jacks



Step 9 After adding the 10 payout outcomes, click OK

Step 10 Modify the 5 Coin payouts to match either the 6 or 10 Credit pay schedule. For the 10 Credit pay schedule please refer to the picture.



Step 11 It is important to save the pay schedule and the pay session. Customizing the pay schedule is rather tedious and you would want to avoid having to redo this each time you play.

Step 12 To analyze if you have done the customizations successfully, go to Analyze menu and then select Game… If your 5 credit return is 197.198% in which 10 credit return is halved at 98.599%, then you are ready to go.



Working proof of playing Face Card Frenzy using VPW

The Full House with 3 Queens Detected



The 4 5s thru Kings with High Card Detected



Strategy Errors Detected





Better than “Nothing at all” Strategy Chart for 10 Credit DDB Paytable

Note: The strategy is very difficult at the lower levels, I highly doubt anyone can play this game with better than 98.5% accuracy. For those who do not own VPW and want to play at the casino, this guide may be your best bet.

1. Dealt Royal Flush (6000)
2. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (6000)
3. 4 Aces – Discard 5 thru King Kickers (4102.127 to 4119.15)
VPW Proof Holding Dealt 4 Aces with a Jack/Queen/King Kicker is the INCORRECT PLAY although it is a payout outcome of 4000 Credits which is better than 4 Aces with payout outcome of 3200 Credits. A 100+ Credit per line mistake to boot!
Note: If you made this mistake because you did not own VPW, this mistake pays for the software itself!

4. Dealt 4 2s, 3s, 4s with Ace, 2, 3, 4 (3200)
5. Dealt 4 5s thru Kings with Ace Kicker (2250)
6. 4 2s, 3s, 4s Discard 5 thru King Kicker (2102.13 to 2110.64)
7. Dealt 4 5s thru Kings with Jack/Queen/King Kicker (900/1350/1800)
8. Dealt 4 5s thru Kings Discard 2 thru 10 Kicker (718.09 to 832.98)
9. Dealt Straight Flush (500)
10. Full House with 3 Queens/Kings/Aces (225/300/375)
11. 3 of a Kind Aces (211.78 to 216.96)
12. Full House with 3 Jacks (150)
13. 4 to Royal Flush (142.87 to 155.32)
14. 3 of a Kind 2s, 3s, 4s (112.84)
15. 3 of a Kind Jacks, Queens, or Kings with Ace Kicker (75.75 to 85.32)
16. Full House (75)
17. 3 of a Kind 5s thru 10s with Ace Kicker (70.96)
18. 3 of a Kind Queens with King Kicker (70.96)
19. 3 of a Kind Kings (66.22)
20. 3 of a Kind Jacks with King Kicker (70.96)
21. Flush (65)
22. 3 of a Kind Queens (61.38)
23. 3 of a Kind 5s through 10s with King Kicker (61.38)
24. 3 of a King 5s through Jacks (57.06 to 61.22)
25. Straight (50)
26. 4 to Outside Straight Flush (37.34 to 37.98)
27. Two Pairs – Aces/Any and Two High Pairs (26.91 to 33.3)
28. 4 to Inside Straight Flush (24.89 to 25.85)
29. Ace Pair (20.96)
30. Two Pairs with One High Pair (20.53)
31. 4 to Flush (13.04)
32. 3 to Royal Flush No Ace With 10 (11.39)
33. King/Queen Pair
34. 3 to Royal Flush With Ace No 10
35. Jack Pair
36. Two Pairs with No High Pair
37. 3 to Royal Flush With Ace With 10
38. Pair of 2s, 3s, 4s
39. 4 to Outside Straight
40. 3 to Straight Flush No Gaps
41. Pair of 5s thru 10s
42. 4 to Inside Straight with 4 High Cards AKQJ
43. 3 to Straight Flush 1 Gap
44. 4 to Inside Straight with 2 or 3 High Cards
45. 3 to Straight Flush - Ace low or with high cards
46. 4 to Inside Straight
47. 3 to Flush with 2 High Cards
48. Two suited high cards
49. Lone Ace
50. 3 to Straight 10-Jack-Queen
51. 3 to Flush with 1 High Card
52. 2 to Royal Queen/Ten or Jack/Ten
53. 3 to Straight Jack-Queen-King
54. 2 to Royal Flush King-Ten
55. 3 to Straight 9-10-Jack
56. 3 to Flush
57. 2 Non-Ace Unsuited High Cards
58. Lone Jack/Queen/King
59. 3 to Straight No Gap 456 thru 8-9-10
60. Suited 3 and 4
61. 2 Card Straight Flush with just 1 Straight Penalty
62. Discard All

Though there were no unique insights about this game, I believe I did my best to prepared you with a better feel for this newest game. Good luck to you should you play this game!

[New2vp]

2. Dealt 4 Aces with Any 2, 3, 4 (6000)
3. 4 Aces – Discard 5 thru King Kickers (4102.127 to 4119.15)
VPW Proof Holding Dealt 4 Aces with a Jack/Queen/King Kicker is the INCORRECT PLAY although it is a payout outcome of 4000 Credits which is better than 4 Aces with payout outcome of 3200 Credits. A 100+ Credit per line mistake to boot!
Note: If you made this mistake because you did not own VPW, this mistake pays for the software itself!

Hey alpax, this part of the pay schedule makes for an interesting paradox.

4 Aces w/234 = 6000 coins
4 Aces w/JQK = 4000 coins
4 Aces w/5-T = 3200 coins

So, would you rather be dealt AAAAJ or AAAA5? I know you know the answer. Of course, my answer in a casino is that I would be happy with any dealt quad aces regardless of the kicker ... especially if it was on 10-play!! But for those who believe in maximizing expected profit at max coin, AAAA5 is better because there will be one more J kicker to draw from in the deck when you discard the 5. AAAAJ will have one more 5 for lower value when the J is discarded.

So, here is a case where you would rather be dealt quads for 3200 than quads for 4000!

And some risk-averse types may decide not to risk the possible loss of 800 coins for an expectation of 102 more than the 4000 that was dealt.

I think Face Card Frenzy will be a fun game to play ... at least online here.

Thanks for the analysis. By the way, I think you'll find the bottom of the strategy chart much more difficult with FC Frenzy's TDB than DDB, especially if you venture into penalty card land.

[alpax]

As always New2vp, much-appreciated for the elaborate mathematical insight you provide to the forum. Thank you for describing the dealt 4 Aces situation to everyone and the reason it is such an unorthodox situation.

From #59 and below, you are certainly right the lower level strategy gets really difficult to explain hence I just said it is better than nothing at all.

Nobody is getting these types of hands correct:



I agree it can be a fun game for the players who do not place an importance on money being a playing factor.

I forgot to add, I cannot change the wagers to 10 coins on VPW so the negative swings are not exactly portrayed correctly. I did try to set half credit values like 32.5 for Flush but they require whole numbers only. Will provide that warning on the main post.

[Vman96]

Great work once again Alpax! Looks to be a crazy ride!

[alpax]

Much appreciated for the comment!

The February 2018 Newsletter came today and from the first sentence, it sounds like this game will be pushed out to the casino floors sooner if IGT has plans to do so. I must admit Haywire Poker came out sooner than expected, so I would not doubt this.

I think non-GOLD members will have an opportunity to play at the casino instead of waiting.



I fully support your stance with regards to DDB vs TDB. Not sure if you'd be interested in playing DDB for real money wagers and it will feel like TDB.

I was going to say Bonus Poker game variant of Face Card Frenzy should be an acceptable substitute for DDB players to keep the variance level swings to what they are used to.

But I discovered a revelation.

Bonus Poker Variant of Face Card Frenzy will return less than DDB Variant (98.24% vs 98.599%) AND have higher variance rating (104 vs 95).





This game will be for pure action junkies, and I recall Mr. Dancer saying the folks at VideoPoker.com prefer games with big swings.

[Tedlark]

I'm starting to get a feel for this game and statements about big swings are pretty accurate. For instance, I went from -1,100 to +11,000 in a very short number of hands.

As of now I don't know if its: Dream Card; Magic Deal; Face Card Frenzy, or: Dream Card; Face Card Frenzy; Magic Deal.

[BobDancer]

Wonderful wok, AlpaxIf you wish to enter a number such as 32.5 into a VPW pay schedule, one solution is to multiply all pay schedule quantities by 10 --- making a royal flush 60,000 rather than 6,000 and making 32.5 into 325.Since the algorithm inside the program uses ratios between these numbers rather than absolute amounts, this will work quite well, insofar as telling you the correct play. With returns this high, your score will skyrocket, so you need to ignore that.

[alpax]

Much appreciated Mr. Dancer for mentioning this thread during the commercial break of the latest GWAE podcast (the episode was great in its own right)!

I did not know the program uses ratios, so it is nice to know. I think the most vital part is that a player should have is to receive corrections.

It turns out that the top 10 placers for the game of the week are playing Triple Double Bonus, no surprise there. This guide can be used but different payout values should be used to generate a basic strategy and to get corrections.

TDB has 3 possible dealt hands that earn the maximum 6000 credit payout. If I get a chance I'll extend this to include TDB.