Double Double Aces & Faces Video Poker

Double Double Aces and Faces video poker puts a premium on certain types of
hands, giving gamblers something different to shoot for when playing. On the one
hand, a player is encouraged to go for four of a kind hands, as is often the
case in bonus-style video poker games. But there is also more money paid out to
the quad hands that are driven by the aces and face cards in the deck.

Bonus video poker games were created with the idea of spicing up basic

Jacks or Better video poker games. While Jacks or Better is a good beginning
game for those learning video poker, it lacks a bit in terms of exciting play.
You mostly have to play for a long time and grind out your winnings when playing
that style of video poker online or at a casino.

The pay tables of bonus games are a response to this problem. Big payouts for
hands that aren’t necessarily as hard to achieve as the exalted royal flush and
straight flush bring a lot of excitement to video poker played in this manner.
And even though there is no “bonus” to be found in the name of Double Double
Aces and Faces video poker, it is clearly, based on its pay tables, modelled
after other bonus pay structures.

For those who are used to playing Jacks or Better, the hook of Double Double
Aces and Faces will be one that you can easily grasp. Just as in Jacks or
Better, the most valuable hands in the deck are the jack, queen, king, and ace
(or “Aces and Faces.”) Only they are more valuable for a different reason.

In Double Double Aces and Faces video poker, these cards give you an
opportunity for increased payouts if you can include them in four of a kind
hands. That makes strategy for the game relatively easy, at least among other
bonus variants. Most people who are familiar with five-card draw poker are
normally inclined to think of those cards as important anyway.

Of course, the increased payments for these special four of a kind hands
means that the machine has to take something away from the player elsewhere. In
the case of Double Double Aces and Faces, what is taken away are the size of the
payouts for common hands like two pair. Still, the overall payback percentages
for this game is relatively high, with some pay tables even removing the house
edge by offering more than 100% return on average to an expert player.

In the following article, we’ll take a deep dive into Double Double Aces and
Faces, starting with how to play it. We’ll also look at the pay tables and how
they affect gameplay, strategy, and payback percentages. Finally, we’ll make an
assessment of the advantages and disadvantages, so you’ll know if this game is
for you or not.

Playing Double Double Aces and Faces Video Poker

For the most part, if you know how to play one video poker game, you know how
to play them all. There are few exceptions that have twists that a player must
learn, but Double Double Aces and Faces video poker isn’t one of those quirky
video poker games. Other than the unique pay table, it plays just like your
run-of-the-mill version.

If you’re new to video poker, here is a quick rundown on how it works when
you walk up to a machine (or get set to play a game on a gambling website):

Set Up to Play

First, you have to get a bankroll in place. You do this by inserting money or
a ticket into the machine. If you’re playing online, you’ll first need to
deposit money into an account at your favorite gambling site.

Most games let you choose which denomination you’d like to play.

Make Your Bet

Playing a hand requires first making a bet. Most video poker games, including
Double Double Aces and Faces video poker, allow you to play between one and five
coins. As you will see when we get to the pay tables and strategy sections of
this article, it’s advisable that you play the max bet whenever you can.

That choice, however, is entirely up to you. When you make your bet and hit
the “Deal” button, your bankroll will automatically be deducted by the number of
credits that you bet.

Playing a Hand

If you have ever played
five card draw poker
at home, you should have no problem adapting to video poker. The same
probabilities in terms of making winning hands apply, as video poker uses a
simulated deck of 52 cards.

Most games that don’t include a wild card, including Double Double Aces and
Faces, begin paying off for a pair of jacks or better and then advance up
through tougher hands to achieve a hand like a flush or a full house. The
ultimate goal is a royal flush (ten through ace of the same suit), but, as we
mentioned in the introduction, the four of a kind is a very important hand for
this type of video poker as well.

Once you have made a bet and hit the “deal” button, five cards will show up
on your screen. You will have one opportunity to improve these five cards by
making a “draw.” This is when you discard any number of the cards in your hand
and have them replaced by cards from the same simulated deck that provided the
deal.

If your original hand is a winner, and you don’t think that you can improve
upon it, you have the option of holding on to all five cards. Otherwise, you’ll
need to rely on the draw. Here is a sample of how it works, starting with the
deal:

In this deal, you have two distinct possibilities in terms of the strategy
that you take. You could shoot for a potential straight by keeping one of the
sevens and the other three cards. If you were to draw a four, you would then end
up with a straight.

Another possibility is to keep the pair of sevens. It’s not a winning hand by
itself (the only pairs that pay off are jacks or better), but it can be
improved. Possibilities include a two pair, three of a kind, a full house, and
even a four of a kind.

When you first start playing, you might be at a loss about which way to go,
but experienced players will quickly realize that the pair is the right play.
First of all, there are far more ways to improve it, with the potential for the
lucrative four of a kind lingering on the horizon.

On top of that, the deal only gives you what is known as an inside straight
draw. That means that there is only one rank (the four) that will fill out the
straight. You barely have a one in 12 odds of drawing that card from what’s left
in the deck, and the payout isn’t that lucrative for the straight to take that
remote chance.

Once you make your choice, assuming that you do hold on to the pair of
sevens, you would press the “Draw” button to see what you receive. The computer
will then deal you out three cards to replace the ones that you are discarding.
Keep in mind that the new cards will come from the same deck from which you were
originally dealt, meaning that you won’t receive the same card twice.

Here is your draw:

With that draw, you made a two pair. Since that is a winning hand, you can
check the pay table to see how much you won.

In most pay tables for Double Double Aces and Faces video poker, a two pair
returns even money, meaning you would get back whatever you bet. The computer
will then adjust your credits accordingly.

Playing Again or Quitting

You can play as many hands as you want in that fashion as long as you have
credits remaining, either in the machine or online. Or you can cash out and take
your ticket to redeem for cash. Once you run out of money, you’ll have to put
more in if you want to continue playing.

Pay Tables for Double Double Aces and Faces Video Poker

As we said earlier, if you follow the steps above, you can play Double Double
Aces and Faces video poker with no problem. But to play it well, you need to
understand the intricacies of the pay table. The pay table will tell you how
much you will win for each hand.

Let’s take a look at one of the most commonly found pay tables for this game
and then we can explain it:

This pay table is typical of bonus poker in that it boosts payouts for four
of a kind hands. Notice that all of the four of a kind hands pay at the same
level or more than a straight flush. Yet the straight flush is actually a harder
hand to achieve based on probability.

What that means is that these high-paying hands are more in play in a
variation like Double Double Aces and Faces video poker. Players who like to win
a lot of money in a short amount of time have a much better chance of doing so
than they would if they were playing Jacks or Better. This is one of the main
draws of the game.

You can also see from the pay tables how the four of a kinds with aces and
face cards generate much higher payments for players. And you’ll also notice the
benefit of having aces and faces as “kickers” also gives a boost to payouts.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a kicker is a card included in a
hand that doesn’t factor into the winning combination. As an example, take a
look at the following hand:

The jack of diamonds is the kicker in that hand. If you managed that hand in
Double Double Aces and Faces video poker, you would be walking away with a hefty
1,600-coin payout if you bet the maximum five coins (like you should).

Of course, the game also must compensate for boosting the payoffs on those
four of a kind hands. It does this by reducing payoffs for common hands. These
are the hands that come up often in gameplay.

In this case, the hand that takes the hit is the two pair. Common Jacks or
Better video poker awards two to one for the hand. Yet, in Double Double Aces
and Faces, the payoff, as mentioned above, is only even money.

What that means is that Double Double Aces and Faces play will be prone to
large swings between big wins and losing streaks. Hitting a four of a kind or
two early in play will set you up with a nice profit. But failing to do so means
that you will have a hard time staying afloat with a less than substantial
bankroll.

As a result, those players wanting a long session of video poker without
putting a large chunk in a machine might do well to seek their video poker
elsewhere. If you don’t mind the chance of losing a lot early, or if you have a
large bankroll in place, you’ll be more likely to enjoy Double Double Aces and
Faces video poker play. That goes for whether you’re playing at a casino or on a
top gambling website.

Other Pay Tables and Payback Percentages

The pay table listed above for Double Double Aces and Faces video poker
returns an impressive 101.14% payback percentage to the player. What that means
is that, on average, a gambler who inserts $1,000 into the machine can expect to
walk away with $1011.40, an $11.40 profit.

That is an impressive total for any casino game. Any game where the house
edge, which is the amount that the casino is expected to take from the players,
is negative is one that gamblers should actively seek out.

You have to realize, however, that the payback percentage is based on the
game being played an infinite number of times. Within a short session of video
poker, your results might diverge significantly from that percentage, for either
good or bad. Think of the number as a baseline, and that you will probably come
close to that baseline after playing the game for a long period of time.

There are other pay tables available to you when playing Double Double Aces
and Faces besides the one above. Each will have a different payback percentage
because the different payouts for certain hands will create unique results.

The following chart goes through some of the different games you might see in
a casino or online under the Double Double Aces and Faces video poker banner.
Where they differ from the game above (also known as 12/5/4 Double Double Aces
and Faces video poker) and how that affects their payback percentage is listed.

The good news is that all of those payback percentages are excellent, even if
they fall a little short of the 12/5/4 version. For casual players, it doesn’t
make much of a difference which of these versions of Double Double Aces and
Faces video poker you end up playing. On the other hand, someone who wants to
play the game for a long period of time should try to find a machine that pays
them back at the most aggressive rate possible.

Learning Strategy for Double Double Aces and Faces Video Poker

The example hand that we showed you above displays how strategy comes into
play when dealing with video poker. Choosing the right holds and discards, based
on probabilities and the pay tables, is crucial to maxing out your winnings. In
fact, the payback percentages listed above can only be achieved by those who
make the right decision each and every hand that they play.

That might sound like a daunting concept, and making a few wrong choices here
and there won’t hurt you too much. In fact, you might even get lucky on the draw
after making a wrong choice and still win that specific hand.

But serious players should find a way to develop an airtight strategy that
works for Double Double Aces and Faces video poker. Here are the best two ways
to do it.

Buying Video Poker Training Software

You might try to save money by downloading a free video poker software training
program on your computer or phone. The major problem with this approach is that
these free trainers might not give you access to a specific game like Double
Double Aces and Faces video poker. You’re better off buying a program that lets
you acquire strategy on many different types of video poker.

Video poker training software lets you play out hands in a simulated fashion.
Most importantly, it shows you when you are making a mistake with a hold or
discard. Using the software on a regular basis will eventually make you an
expert in the game in question.

Consulting a Strategy Chart

Strategy charts have already done all the work for you in terms of which
cards you should hold and discard. After all, the probabilities and pay tables
are in place, so it’s just a matter of doing the math. Make sure, in this case,
that the strategy chart that you find online is meant to specifically give you
information on Double Double Aces and Faces and not one of the other games on
the market.

How does a strategy chart work? Imagine you had the following hand:

There are three different seeds in that hand that immediately stand out. You
have a pair of jacks, four cards to a flush, and three consecutive cards to a
royal flush.

The strategy chart will list all three of these combinations and have them
ranked. You simply need to find the one that is ranked the highest. Once you
have it, you can discard the cards that aren’t included.

Memorizing a strategy chart will allow you to achieve perfect play. That
memorization won’t be easy, but at least you can give the chart a good once-over
before tackling a specific game and playing for real money.

Pros and Cons of Double Double Aces and Faces Video Poker

Quick Tips for Playing Double Double Aces and Faces Video Poker

• Max Out: Don’t play less than five coins on a
  hand if you can avoid it. The royal flush hand doesn’t come around that
  often. When it does, you want to make sure that you are getting the biggest
  bang for your betting buck.
• Pairs Over Straights: In this case, we are
  talking about possible straights. The payouts for four of a kind hands make
  it imperative that you keep even low pairs in play. Unless you have four
  consecutive cards to a straight, you should go with the pair as your hold if
  there is a conflict.
• Don’t Bet Due: A video poker machine is governed
  by a random number generator in terms of the cards that it yields out. That
  means that the result of one hand has nothing to do with the results of
  previous hands. If you get caught up thinking that certain cards might show
  up on the draw just because they haven’t arrived in recent hands, you’re
  playing the game incorrectly.

Conclusion on Double Double Aces & Faces

Double Double Aces and Faces video poker takes a relatively simple approach
to bonus video poker play. The cards that you want are the most obvious
possibilities in the deck. If you can rack up a four of a kind with those cards,
you can easily make yourself a solid profit.