Video Poker Game Guide for Double Draw Poker

Double Draw Poker is a video poker machine that offers you the chance at two
draw rounds. This deviates from standard video poker rules, where you only have
one draw round.

The catch is that you need to be dealt a 3 of a kind or full house to get the
second draw.

The chance for two draw rounds creates extra excitement in Double Draw Poker.
But are there any downsides to this game?

Find out as we look at Double Draw Poker’s playing process, payback, pay
table, strategy, and where to find this machine.

What is Double Draw Poker Video Poker

Double Draw Poker is a video poker machine that offers you the chance at two
draw rounds. This deviates from standard video poker rules, where you only have
one draw round.

The catch is that you need to be dealt a 3 of a kind or full house to get the
second draw.

The chance for two draw rounds creates extra excitement in Double Draw Poker.
But are there any downsides to this game?

Find out as we look at Double Draw Poker’s playing process, payback, pay
table, strategy, and where to find this machine.

The Basics of Playing Double Draw Poker Video Poker

The drawing process in Double Draw Poker is certainly different from other
video poker machines.

This requires some getting used to and puts you to interesting strategy
decisions. But other than potentially having two draws, Double Draw Poker plays
like most video poker games.

Let’s discuss this below by covering how to make bets, play hands, and use
the second draw feature.

Betting Process

You can wager between 1 and 5 coins on each hand. We recommend making the 5
coin max wager because this is the only way to achieve optimal strategy.

The reason why is because the royal flush payout increases greatly in value
on a 5 coin bet. You can see how the payouts increase below:

• 1 coin royal flush = 250 coins
• 2 coin royal flush = 500
• 3 coin royal flush = 750
• 4 coin royal flush = 1,000
• 5 coin royal flush = 4,000

Most video poker machines in brick and mortar casinos have coin denominations
of $0.05, $0.25, or $1.25. This means your max bet will be worth $0.25, $1.25,
or $5.00.

The majority of video poker players won’t have a problem wagering $0.25 or
$1.25 per hand. But $5 max bets are out of some players’ bankroll range.

Double Draw Feature

You need a dealt 3 of a kind or full house to access the second draw.The full
house qualifies because it can become a 3 of a kind if you dump the pair.

According to Michael Shackleford (a.k.a. the Wizard of Odds), the Double Draw
feature adds 5.2% to the payback.

The nice thing is that you have a choice after the first draw whether or not
you want to draw again.

When you draw a second time, the new cards you picked up during the first
round are placed back into the deck. This essentially means you’re replaying the
first draw in hopes of getting a better hand.

Here’s an example of how the process works:

1. You’re dealt: Qc Qs Qh 6d 2c
2. Your discard the 6d 2c.
3. You receive 3h Ks, which doesn’t
   improve your hand.
4. You choose to draw again, which puts
   the 3h Ks combo back into the deck.
5. You receive Qd Ks on the second draw,
   which gives you a 4 of a kind.

Here’s another example:

1. You’re dealt: 5h 5s 5d Ah 3d
2. You keep 5h 5s 5d and discard Ah 3d on
   the first draw.
3. You receive 9c 9s and now have a full
   house.
4. You can either keep your full house,
   or discard the two 9s and try for a 4 of a kind.

One tough thing about being dealt a full house is that you must break it up
to pursue a second draw. Let’s look at this situation:

• You’re dealt: 8d 8h 8s 7c 7d
• You must decide whether you want to
  keep the full house on the first draw, or try for a better hand.
• If you stand pat, then you keep this
  hand and don’t get another draw.

Strategy will dictate what you do in many situations. But it’s still good
that you have an option to decide whether or not to pursue a better hand.

Playing Hands

Here are the steps to playing hands in Double Draw Poker:

1. Select how many coins to wager.
2. Choose the Deal button.
3. Decide what cards to keep and discard.
4. Choose the Draw button.
5. If you have a 3 of a kind or full
   house, you can choose to do a second draw.
6. Your hand is evaluated for any
   potential win.

Once a hand is finished, you can either select Deal to play again or change
your bet first.

We recommend that you play the 5 coin max wager every time to achieve optimal
payback. And this negates the need to change your bet size.

Onscreen Display

Double Draw Poker looks like a standard video poker machine in most respects.
The one difference is the prompt to decide if you want a second draw round or
not.

You won’t have to worry about this often because the majority of your hands
will be something other than a 3 of a kind or full house.

Below you can see other betting / game options featured in Double Draw Poker:

• Bet One – Changes your wager size by
  one coin every time it’s chosen.
• Bet Max – This button automatically
  changes your bet to the 5 coin max.
• Deal – Select this to receive your
  initial 5 card hand.
• Draw – Choose this button to replace
  discards with new cards.
• See Pays / Help – Allows you to see
  Double Draw Poker rules and a different view of the pay table.

Double Draw Poker vs. Double Draw Aces

Double Draw Poker and Double Draw Aces are the only video poker machines we
know of that have the second draw feature. And while this makes them similar,
they also have noticeable differences too.

Double Draw Aces’ second draw round is activated when you’re dealt 2 or more
aces.

Another difference is that Double Draw Aces’ pay table offers more bonuses.
Going further, two of these bonus payouts require kickers.

Here’s a look at this game’s bonuses based on a 5 coin bet:

• 4 aces w / 2 to 4 kicker = 2,000 coins
• 4 2s 4s w / A to 4 = 800
• 4 aces = 800
• 4 2s to 4s = 400
• 4 5s to Ks = 250

Double Draw Poker may not offer the size of bonuses that Double Draw Aces
does. But it does have better payouts for a full house, flush, and straight,
which we’ll cover next.

Pay Back and Pay Tables in Double Draw Poker

The Double Draw Poker pay table is very similar to Bonus Poker. In fact, the
two games have the same qualifying payouts.

The main differences, though, occur in the lower payouts. We’ll cover how
these two games compare later, but let’s first look at pay tables and payback.

Double Draw Poker Pay Tables

Earlier we discussed how Double Draw Aces has more bonuses and kickers on
some hands. Double Draw Poker has fewer bonuses and no kickers on any hand.

This might make Double Draw Poker seem less exciting. But the good news is
that its payouts are good enough to offer decent payback.

Let’s view two Double Draw Poker tables below:

7 / 5 Double Draw Poker

Hand	1 coin	2 coins	3 coins	4 coins	5 coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1000	4000
Straight Flush	50	100	150	200	250
4 aces	160	320	480	640	800
4 2s to 4s	80	160	240	320	400
4 5s to Ks	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	7	14	21	28	35
Flush	5	10	15	20	25
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
3 of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
2 pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

6 / 5 Double Draw Poker

Hand	1 coin	2 coins	3 coins	4 coins	5 coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1000	4000
Straight Flush	50	100	150	200	250
4 aces w / 2 to 4 kicker	400	800	1200	1600	2000
4 2s 4s w / A to 4	160	320	480	640	800
4 aces	160	320	480	640	800
4 2s to 4s	80	160	240	320	400
4 5s to Ks	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	6	12	18	24	30
Flush	5	10	15	20	25
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
3 of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
2 pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

The two numbers in front of each pay table indicate how much the games pay
for a full house and flush.

The 7 / 5 Double Draw game offers 7 coins for a full house and 5 for a flush.
The 6 / 5 pay table delivers 6 coins for a full house and 5 for a flush.

With all other payouts being equal, you definitely want to play 7 / 5 Double
Draw when available.

Pay Back

Here’s payback for the two pay tables above:

• 7 / 5 Double Draw Poker = 99.05% payback
• 6 / 5 Double Draw Poker = 97.98%

7 / 5 Double Draw Poker offers payback that’s 1.07% higher than the 6 / 5
table. But even if you have to settle for 6 / 5 Double Draw Poker, it’s not a
terrible game when compared to the video poker industry.

What is terrible is the 5 / 4 / 3 Double Draw Aces pay table, which only
offers 96.26% payback. If you ever have the choice between this game and Double
Draw Poker, you should definitely choose the latter.

Comparison to Double Bonus Poker

Given that Double Bonus Poker forms the basis for Double Draw Poker, we’ll
look at its pay table below and compare the games:

10 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus Poker

Hand	1 coin	2 coins	3 coins	4 coins	5 coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1000	4000
Straight Flush	50	100	150	200	250
4 aces	160	320	480	640	800
4 2s to 4s	80	160	240	320	400
4 5s to Ks	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	10	20	30	40	50
Flush	7	14	21	28	35
Straight	5	10	15	20	25
3 of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
2 pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

9 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus Poker

Hand	1 coin	2 coins	3 coins	4 coins	5 coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1000	4000
Straight Flush	50	100	150	200	250
4 aces	160	320	480	640	800
4 2s to 4s	80	160	240	320	400
4 5s to Ks	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	7	14	21	28	35
Straight	5	10	15	20	25
3 of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
2 pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

10 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus Poker offers 100.17% payback, while the 9 / 7 / 5 pay
table delivers 99.11% payback. This is certainly better than 7 / 5 Draw Poker
(99.05%) and the 6 / 5 pay table (97.98%).

At first glance, you may wonder why Double Bonus pays better because the
prizes look nearly identical. But the differences are seen in the full house,
flush, and straight payouts.

9 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus Poker offers 9 coins for a full house, 7 for a flush,
and 5 for a straight. Meanwhile, 7 / 5 Double Draw Aces only offers 7 coins for
a full house, 5 for a flush, and 4 for a straight.

This makes a significant impact because these hands occur far more often than
the bonus payouts.

Hand Probabilities

Here are the odds of each hand occurring in Double Draw Poker:

• Royal flush = 0.0025%
• Straight flush = 0.011%
• 4 aces = 0.03%
• 4 2s to 4s = 0.075%
• 4 5s to Ks = 0.23%
• Full house = 1.07%
• Flush = 1.09%
• Straight = 1.31%
• 3 of a kind = 7.41%
• 2 pair = 12.30%
• Jacks or better =21.59%

The vast majority of your payouts will consist of high pairs, 2 pairs, and 3
of a kinds. This is why it hurts that Double Draw Poker doesn’t pay much for
these prizes.

But the Double Draw feature helps you form 4 of a kinds more frequently than
most other video poker games.

Where to Find Double Draw Poker – Online, Offline, Free, or Real Money

One of the toughest things about playing Double Draw Poker is finding it.
This is especially hard when considering that there’s also a table game with the
same name.

The Double Draw Poker table game features a 54 card deck with 2 jokers. You
place ante and bonus bets, then try to get a 2 pair or better to win.

As the name implies, you also have two drawing rounds to try and improve your
hand.

The video poker and table game versions of Double Draw Poker have
similarities. But you won’t want to play the table game if you enjoy the
solitude of machine based gaming.

Compounding matters is that the Double Draw Poker table game is more
popular. We googled the Double Draw Poker video poker game and weren’t able to
find anything.

We also consulted vpFREE2.com, which is the best resource for finding land
based video poker. But again, we came up with nothing.

Shackleford noted seeing Double Draw Poker at Suncoast casino in 2006. But
this was well over a decade ago, so we’re unsure if it’s still there.

We assume that IGT quit manufacturing Double Draw Poker a long time ago,
along with some of their other alternative video poker machines. But it’s also
very possible that you’ll find this game somewhere in Las Vegas.

Like other IGT video poker games, Double Draw Poker isn’t available online.
This means you can’t play this game for free or real money at internet casinos
or websites.

Double Draw Poker Strategy

Double Draw Poker isn’t prevalent in casinos. Therefore, it’s no surprise
that you won’t find strategy specifically crafted for this game.

The best options include the following:

1. Using a Double Bonus strategy chart
   with slight modifications.
2. Using a video poker trainer.
3. Using a hand analyzer.

Here’s a closer look at each of these strategy methods.

Strategy Chart

The strategy chart listed below is for 9 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus Poker.

The good thing about using this chart is that it’s easy to master. The bad
thing is that it doesn’t account for the second draw feature or smaller full
house, flush, and straight payouts.

That said, this chart won’t help you achieve optimal strategy. But the pay
tables are close enough that it translates reasonably well to Double Draw Poker.

When reading this chart, begin from the bottom and scan down until you find
your hand:

• Royal flush, straight flush, 4 of a kind
• 4 to a royal flush
• 3 of a kind – Aces
• Full House, flush, straight
• 3 2s Ks
• 4 to a straight flush
• Pair of aces
• 2 pair
• 4 to a flush – 0, 2, or 3 high cards
• 4 to a flush – 1 high card only (ace)
• 3 to a royal flush – TJQ, JQK
• Pair – Jacks, queens, or kings
• 3 to a royal flush – TJK, TQK, TJA, TQA, TKA, JQA, JKA, or QKA
• 4 to a flush – 1 high card (J, Q, or K only)
• 4 to a straight – 2345, 3456, 4567, 5678, 6789, 789T, 89TJ, 9TJQ, or TJQK
• Pair of 2s, 3s, or 4s
• 3 to a straight flush – 9TJ or 9JQ
• Pair of 5s through kings
• 4 to a straight – JQKA
• 3 to a straight flush – 345, 456, 567, 678, 789, 89T, 89J /
  8TJ, 8JQ, 9TQ, 9JK, or 9QK
• 4 to a straight – 9JQK, TJQA, TJKA, or TQKA
• 3 to a flush – 2JK to 9KA, or 6TA
• 2 to a royal flush – JQ, JK, QK, JA, QA, or AK
• 3 to a straight flush – Ace low, 234, 235, 245, 346, 356,
  457, 467, 568, 578, 679, 689, 78T, or 79T
• 4 to a straight – Ace low, 89JQ, 8TJQ, 9TJK, or 9TQK
• 3 to a straight flush – 78J, 79J, 7TJ, 89Q, 8TQ, or 9TK
• 3 to a straight – TJQ or JQK
• 4 to a straight – 789J, 78TJ, 79TJ, or 89TQ
• 2 to a royal flush – TJ
• 2 to a straight – JQ
• 3 to a flush – 23J to 6TJ; 23Q to 7TQ; 28K to 8TK; 29A to 9TA (except 6TA)
• 2 to a royal flush – TQ
• 3 to a straight flush – 236, 246, 256, 347, 357, 367, 458,
  468, 478, 569, 579, 589, 67T, 68T, or 69T
• 3 to a flush – 23K to 67K; 26A to 78A
• 2 to a straight – JK or QK
• 1 high card – Ace
• 2 to a royal flush – TK
• 1 high card – Jack, queen, or king
• 4 to a straight – 2346, 2356, 2456, 3457, 3467, 3567, 4568,
  4578, 4678, 5679, 5689, 5789, 678T, 679T, or 689T
• 3 to a flush – no high cards
• Discard everything

Modifications for the Strategy Chart

When you’re dealt a 3 of a kind or full house, you should always keep the 3
of a kind only. This means giving up the guaranteed full house in pursuit of a
better payout.

You obviously want to discard single cards on the first draw when you have a
3 of a kind (ex. 7 7 7 9 A). After all, single cards won’t help you on the
second draw.

You definitely should keep a 4 of a kind on the first draw and skip the
second draw.

Practicing Double Draw Poker with a Video Poker Trainer

A video poker trainer shows when you make correct and incorrect decisions
while playing. Here’s an example:

• You’re dealt: 3d 10d 8c Kd Qc
• You hold Kd.
• The trainer points out that this is a
  mistake.
• The optimal play is to hold Kd and Qc.

Here’s another example:

• You’re dealt: 4s Jc 7h 3s Js
• You hold Jc and Js.
• The trainer points out that this is the
  correct play.

You’ll eventually develop perfect or near perfect strategy as you continue
using a video poker trainer.

Ideally, you’ll use a free trainer because it doesn’t cost any money. But the
problem is that free trainers only cover the most popular games like All
American, Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, and Jacks
or Better.

If you want to practice Double Draw Poker, you’ll need to purchase a trainer
and customize a pay table. The average trainer costs $35 to $50, which makes
this idea less attractive.

Nevertheless, this is a good route if you’re serious about Double Draw Poker
and other obscure video poker variations. Here are some options that you can
buy:

• Video Poker for Winners – $49.95 at
  VideoPokerforWinners.com
• WinPoker – $34.74 at Amazon.com (search
  “video poker trainers”)
• Optimum Video Poker – $54.95 on
  Amazon.com

Using a Hand Analyzer on Double Draw Poker

A hand analyzer lets you customize pay tables and then set up hands so you
can learn the optimal play.

We can’t find a hand analyzer that accounts for the Double Draw rule. But you
can get close enough to perfect strategy by customizing a Double Bonus pay
table.

Here’s an example:

1. Choose 5 Card Draw format.
2. Select the Double Bonus pay table.
3. Change the full house payout to 7 or 6
   coins (depending on Double Draw Poker table).
4. Change the flush prize to 5 coins.
5. Change the straight payout to 4 coins.

Now that you have the pay table set up properly, you can go about analyzing
hands. Here’s how you do this:

• Put together a hand.
• We created the following: 6d Ac 9s 8s
  Ks.
• Choose the Analyze button.
• The program shows the best play.
• Keeping Ac is the optimal play in our
  example.

The nice thing is that you can analyze any hand you struggle with and find
out how to best play it.

Another good point about hand analyzers is that they’re free to use. We’ve
used these free tools at both WizardofOdds.com and VideoPokerTrainer.org.

But the downside is that it takes time to set up hands and analyze them. If
you don’t want to do this, then we recommend buying a video poker trainer
because the hands are quickly dealt and analyzed for you.

Conclusion

Double Draw Poker puts an interesting spin on video poker by giving you the
chance to get a second drawing round. You just need to have a 3 of a kind or
full house to make it happen.

It’s exciting when you have either of these hands with the prospect of
getting a 4 of a kind bonus. And the Double Draw isn’t just some frivolous
feature because it adds 5.2% to the payback.

Speaking of which, the payback is decent for this game. You’re looking at
99.05% payback on the 7 / 5 pay table and 97.98% payback on the 6 / 5 table.

Earlier we compared this to the Double Draw Aces, which has atrocious payback
at 96.26%.

Double Draw Poker has several things going in its favor, including solid
payback, a second draw round, and bonus payouts.

But the major downside is that it’s hard finding this game. All our searches
brought up are numerous mentions of the same titled table game.