Ace & Deuce Bonus Poker

Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video poker creates opportunities for gamblers to
score payouts that wouldn’t be available to them in other video poker games. As
a “bonus” game, it heavily rewards players who make a four of a kind hand. If
they manage to involve an ace or twos in that four of a kind hand, their
winnings can skyrocket.

Video poker was modeled on the home card game known as five-card draw. This
game allows for players to be dealt five cards, which they can improve with a
draw round where they pick up new cards in exchange for the ones they discarded.
The most common form of this type of video poker game is
Jacks or Better, where winnings are based on the scarcity of the winning
hands, with the rarest hands paying the most.

Alas, Jacks or Better gameplay can get a bit stale. The chances of winning a
big payment are extremely slim because the one hand that pays off at a
jackpot-style level, the royal flush, is extremely rare.

In bonus poker games like Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video poker, payments for
certain hands are bumped up in the hopes of luring players looking for the big
score. While the royal flush is still the top-paying hand by a pretty wide
margin, the payouts for a four of a kind hand are increased pretty much across
the board. In fact, they all pay out at the same level or higher than the
straight flush, which is a significantly harder hand to achieve.

As for Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker, the target cards are located right there in
the name. Four aces or four twos will guarantee you a big score. Even better is
when you can add in an ace or two kicker to the hand, meaning a boost in the
payouts.

Like all bonus games similar to it, Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker makes up for
the higher payments near the top of the pay table by lessening some payments
down near the bottom. In the case of this game, you will lose out on the 2 to 1
payment that Jacks or Better games yield for a two pair. At a payoff of only
even money in this game, you will find that it is difficult to sustain your
bankroll without a better return for this common hand.

The following article will give you all the details you need to know on Ace
and Deuce Bonus Poker video poker. We’ll talk about gameplay, pay tables,
payback percentages, and strategy. We’ll also size this game up in terms of its
benefits and drawbacks so you can decide if it’s a game that fits your video
poker style.

How to Play Video Poker

It doesn’t take much to learn how to play basic video poker, whether you’re
sitting at a casino or in front of a computer playing on a gambling site. Once
you know how to do that, gameplay for Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker is essentially
the same. The only difference comes in terms of the pay table, and we’ll talk
more about that later.

Here is an easy, step-by-step look at the process for playing the game:

1. Set Up Your Bankroll: You can put either money
   or a redemption ticket into a video poker machine to get started (an online
   game will require you to set up an account). Your bankroll will be expressed
   in credits or coins. Each credit is equal to whatever denomination you
   choose, and the amount of credits that you have will be equal to the amount
   that you put in divided by the denomination.
2. Make a Bet: On each hand, you will have the
   chance to bet between one and five credits. Because of certain specifics
   with the payouts with the royal flush, which we’ll talk about below, you
   should really play the maximum of five credits. If you play less, you will
   essentially be cutting into your winnings.
3. Await the Deal: The software inside the machine,
   which is driven by a random number generator, will spit out five cards from
   a deck that it is constantly being shuffled. This ensures that each deal is
   random and is governed by the fact that there are only 52 cards in the deck.
   Ideally, the five cards that you see on the screen will either make up a
   winning hand or have the seeds of one.
4. Decide on the Holds and Discards: You have one
   chance to discard cards that you don’t think are essential to your hand.
   These will be replaced by cards that are also dealt from the constantly
   shuffling deck that provided your deal. If you choose, you can hold all five
   cards from the deal if you don’t think your hand can be improved.
5. Await the Draw and Scoring: The machine will
   replace the cards you have discarded, and the hand is over. If your hand is
   a winner at this point, the machine will award you the determined number of
   credits based on the game’s pay table. Winning hands range from a simple
   pair of jacks or better to the rarest of them all, the royal flush
   (consisting of a Ten through Ace, all the same suit).
6. Play Again or Quit: Players with credits
   remaining can continue to play hands in the same manner. Losing all your
   bankroll will require you to insert more money. Alternatively, you can cash
   out at any time and receive a ticket that you can redeem for cash elsewhere
   in the casino.

It’s a simple process, which is one of the reasons people love video poker.
They also like that it gives them some control over their winning and losing by
virtue of deciding on the holds and discards that will allow them to make the
best hands. Slot machines, by contrast, don’t allow you to have that same kind
of control.

Slot machines also lack probabilities in terms of when winning spins might
show up. But video poker is ruled by probabilities, meaning that you can have a rough idea of
the frequency with which winning hands will arrive. In conjunction with this
knowledge and the pay tables, you can also determine how much a specific video
poker machine will pay you back in an average session.

On top of all that, you get to enjoy the fact that the game is played in a
section of the casino away from the table games. That means less pressure and
the ability to play at your own pace.

As you can see, there are multiple advantages to playing video poker compared
to other casino games. Now let’s take a look at Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video
poker in specific, starting with the game’s unique pay tables.

Pay Tables for Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker Video Poker

There is no piece of information more important to a video poker player than
the pay table. It will tell you how you should play each hand. And it will give
you a good idea as to what the payback will be for that given game, at least
compared to others like it.

As we mentioned above, Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker features a pay table that is
similar to other bonus poker games. Four of a kind hands are placed at a
premium. And, on top of that, there is the ace-deuce hook, which tells you that
aces and twos are going to be extremely valuable if involved in a four of a kind
hand.

Here is a pay table for a common form of Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video
poker:

Reading the pay table is easy enough. Take your winning hand and match it up
with the number of coins that you played. For example, a full house with five
coins played would return you 45 coins, or a 40-coin profit (45 minus the
original 5 coins bet).

In this game of Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker, the number of coins paid out for a
four of a kind increases dramatically compared to Jacks or Better video poker
games. In Jacks or Better, a four of a kind pays off at 25 to 1, regardless of
what rank is involved. Here, even the lowest-paying four of a kind gives out
twice that much.

You also must realize that aces and twos get prime property on the pay table.
Like any piece of information on a pay table, that should be reflected in your
strategy. Twos are often the least useful cards in the deck in video poker, but
with Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video poker, they can really come in handy for
you.

Finally, you have to know what a kicker is in video poker to fully understand
the pay table for Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker. In a four of a kind, the kicker is
the fifth card that isn’t part of the quad. Take the following hand for example:

In that hand, the king of hearts is the kicker. As is the case with the
rest of the pay table, aces and twos make for the best possible kickers that you
can have.

While the increased payouts for four of a kind hands might make Ace and Deuce
Bonus Poker seem like a proposition that can’t lose, there is one big drawback
to that pay table. A two of a kind pays off at only even money, which means that
you will only receive your original bet back if you produce this hand.

In Jacks or Better, the two pair hand gives you a 2 to 1 return. That might
not seem like much of a difference, but it truly affects how much you can expect
to return from this game. After all, the two pair hand will come up often in
video poker play.

Rather than seeing your bankroll get a little boost when this hand comes
around in Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker, you will only be getting your money back.
Not only does this hurt your overall return, but it also makes it hard to
sustain your bankroll if you aren’t getting lucky with the bigger hands, like a
four of a kind.

For that reason, you need a stout bankroll if you expect to play Ace and
Deuce Bonus Poker for a long time without running the risk of losing it all. If
you’re the type that prefers the chance to grab a big payout over steady
long-term play, Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker will be just what the doctor ordered.
Other players might prefer the stability of Jacks or Better, whether they come
upon these games in a casino or while visiting a top gambling website.

Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker and Payback Percentage

The payback percentage for any video poker game will give you an average
estimation of what the typical session playing the game will bring you in terms
of payback. No two sessions will be the same, of course. Sometimes you might get
lucky playing video poker and beat the odds with a lot of winners, while other
times you might hit a losing streak and fall below the expected payback.

After playing a certain game over a long period of time, however, the payback
percentage will eventually come in at a specific level. In the case of the pay
table shown above for Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker, that level is at 98.78%.

To give you an idea of what that means, imagine someone puts $10,000 into the
machine. That person can expect to walk away with $9,878 when all of those
original credits are played out. That means they would have lost $122.

Again, that doesn’t mean you will automatically lose money playing this game.
It just means that the average is negative for the player. That should come as
no surprise, since casinos and online gaming sites need to maintain an edge on
players, or else they would go out of business.

In reality, that payback percentage is only mediocre, especially considering
that the pay table above represents the highest-paying one that can be found in
Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker. What’s more distressing is that there are other pay
tables for the games that actually decrease the payback percentage. If you find
this game in a casino or online, you should really strive to find this pay table
to get the best payout possible.

People often gravitate to bonus games like this one because of the excitement
factor. They are often surprised to find that simple Jacks or Better, in the
highest-paying version of the game, is often more lucrative (at 99.54% payback).
Still, the bonus games give you more opportunities for the quick strike payouts
that don’t come often in Jacks or Better.

Developing Strategy For Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker Video Poker

The payback percentages listed above were all based on someone who could play
the game without making any mistakes. In other words, every time they were faced
with the choices of holding certain cards and discarding others, they made the
right choice. Their decisions would maximize their expected winnings each and
every hand.

That might be a hard concept for people to grasp. A sample hand might help
explain. Let’s say you received the following on the deal:

In that hand, there are two basic combinations of cards with the potential to
turn into winning hands. On the one hand, the pair of threes is promising
because even more threes could come on the draw. Meanwhile, there is also
something known as an inside straight draw within that hand, meaning that the
three-five-six-seven quartet can be made into a straight with a four on the
draw.

For a beginning player, this kind of decision can be confusing. Experienced
players, however, will likely see quickly that the right play is to hold on to
the pair of threes and discard everything else in hand.

After all, the threes can become a two pair, a three of a kind, or a full
house. With a little luck on the draw, they might even turn into four threes,
and we know how much importance is placed on a four of a kind in Ace and Deuce
Bonus Poker video poker.

Meanwhile, the straight is a little more than a 1 in 12 shot because there
are 47 cards left in the deck and only four cards (the fours) that will complete
it. When you take that into consideration along with the fact that the straight
only pays off at 4 to 1, you’ll see that it’s not a chance worth taking.

But just because you make the right choice doesn’t mean that you’ll win. On
that example hand, you could receive three unmatched cards on the draw, none of
which is a three. That would make your hand a loser.

By the same token, even wrong choices can get lucky sometimes. You could take
a chance on the straight and get lucky on the draw with a four.

Time will even everything out. If you make the right choices on a consistent
basis, your payback will thrive. And if you keep making poor choices, you can
expect your payback percentage to drop several points, something you can’t
really afford if you are going to play video poker often.

That is why learning video poker strategies is highly recommended before
playing for real money. Learning on the job, so to speak, will cost you dearly.
Better to use one of these two methods to increase your strategic game:

• Strategy Charts: You can print these directly
  from the internet and bring them with you to the casino (or you can memorize
  them if you’re self-conscious). In any case, following accurate charts to
  the letter will guarantee perfect play. All you have to do is compare your
  deal to the ranked combinations of cards on the chart and find the one
  that’s highest on the list that matches yours.
• Video Poker Training Software: Whether
  downloading a trainer for free or buying a disc that you can use at home,
  you can work on achieving perfect video poker play in this manner. The
  software will let you play simulated hands and then show you when you are
  making a mistake. Using this will help drill the right choices into your
  head until they become obvious enough for you to play for real money.

Quick Tips For Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker Video Poker

• Go for the Max Bet: As you can see for the pay
  table above, the odds for the royal flush hand with one through four coins
  wagered sit at 200 to 1. That’s not bad, but it is well short of the 800 to
  1 that you’ll get when you bet the maximum five coins. Don’t short-change
  yourself by trying to save a coin here or there; you’ll regret that decision
  if you’re lucky enough to get a royal flush.
• Quads Rule: You have to realize that the four of
  a kind hand will bring you a bigger percentage of your winnings playing this
  game than they would if you were playing Jacks or Better. It makes sense
  then that you should try to grab those four of a kind hands if they are
  within your reach. That’s the best way for you to build hefty profits in Ace
  and Deuce Bonus Poker.
• Don’t Forget the Kicker: Normally, you would
  automatically discard the other cards in your hand if you had a three of a
  kind. But if you had an ace or two as one of the extra two cards, you should
  think twice when playing this game. After all, those two cards will give the
  payoff for a four of a kind a shot in the arm if they are the kicker.

Pros and Cons of Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker

Conclusion

Ace and Deuce Bonus Poker video poker can bring thrills whenever a four of a
kind hand shows up on the screen. Get ready to be even more thrilled when aces
and twos are involved in those hands. Just don’t be too surprised if you have a
hard time keeping your bankroll afloat if you don’t get those quads to come in
for you.