Faces n’ Deuces Video Poker

Faces n’ Deuces video poker puts a spin on common Jacks or Better video poker play. It does this by utilizing a different pay table that most closely resembles Double Bonus video poker. But it even veers off from that by including special rewards for a hand with fall the twos and a face card for a kicker.

Video poker has become such a popular game in casinos and online gambling websites that it’s not surprising to see it branch out. Once upon a time, there were only Jacks or Better machines.

These machines rewarded poker hands based on the chance of them coming up during gameplay. The rarer the hand, the higher it paid.

But soon enough, games with pay tables that added a little more spice to gameplay began to crop up. The problem with Jacks or Better is that there are relatively few high-paying hands on the pay table. And what ones there are rarely come up during gameplay.

For those hoping to get the chance for more of these jackpot-style hands during gameplay, Bonus Poker pay tables were created. Bonus Poker pay tables pay off very well for four of a kind hands, often more than what you would get for a straight flush. This is unusual because four of a kind is more likely to come up during gameplay than a straight flush.

What’s Different About Faces n’ Deuces Video Poker

Faces n’ Deuces video poker takes a cue from Double Bonus, which is one of the most popular Bonus video poker variations. Double Bonus pays off different amounts depending on the ranks of cards involved in the four of a kind hand. And, no matter what kind of four of a kind it is, it pays off at least as much as the straight flush.

And if you happen to be dealt that hand? The payoff you’ll receive matches the payoff for the royal flush. Considering that the royal flush is the most lucrative hand in the game, you can understand why this is such a big deal.

But you have to realize that the higher payouts for four of a kind have to come at a cost elsewhere on the pay table. In the case of Faces n’ Deuces video poker, this discount comes whenever you receive two pair. That will return you only even money, as opposed to a 2 to 1 payout in Jacks or Better or other less aggressive Bonus pay tables.

In the following article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about the exciting game known as Faces n’ Deuces video poker. We’ll take a look at how you play your hands and how the pay tables will affect play and payout. And we’ll also talk about learning proper strategy for this game so that you can make the most of the action.

Why Gamblers Love Video Poker

Faces n’ Deuces video poker is just one of many variations of video poker games that can be found in casinos or as a part of online gambling websites. That kind of variety is just one of the many reasons that people love video poker. But it goes beyond that.
You’ll hear a lot of people say that video poker takes the best elements of table games and slot machines and combines it into one package. How is that the case? Take a look at some of the ways that video poker mimics these two types of casino games.

• Video poker is extremely easy to play, like slot machines. If you have a basic knowledge of poker hands, you should be able to learn to play in no time. But even if you don’t, just a few hands and you should have a solid understanding of the rhythm of play.
• Video poker can be played alone at a machine, like slot machines. You don’t have to worry about being in the middle of the action. Nor do you have to concern yourself with rubbernecking patrons or employees watching and possibly criticizing your moves.
• Video poker translates extremely well to online play, like slot machines. If you play video poker at a website or with an app, you won’t notice any difference in play from what it would be like in a casino. You can also find most of the major varieties of video poker online as well.
• Video poker allows you to use strategy, like table games. You have to decide which cards from your deal and what you want to discard. The better the decisions you make, the more likely you are to win in the long run.
• Video poker incorporates probabilities, like table games. There are only 52 cards in the deck, which limits the outcomes than can occur. As a result, you can estimate how often winning hands can be expected to show up.
• Video poker shows you the payback percentage, like table games. Since there are probabilities involved and the pay tables demonstrate how much each winning hand pays, you can determine your payback percentage from that. As a result, you’ll know how well one machine pays out compared to another.

As you can see, combining all of these elements together makes for a game that is very beneficial to gamblers. And the payback for video poker generally rises above what you can expect from slot machines and is very competitive with table games. That’s just another cherry on top.

For all of those reasons, you ought to think about playing video poker the next time you head to a casino or are searching an online gambling site. First, you need to know how to play, so let’s take care of that right now.

Learning to Play Video Poker

Step 1: Create a Bankroll

By a bankroll, we simply mean the money you’re going to use to wager on each hand so that you can potentially win money in return. When playing in a casino, you will insert money into the video poker machine to create your bankroll. If you’re playing online, you will need to fund a wagering account at a gambling website to start up video poker play.

Your bankroll will show up on the screen as coins or credits. The value of each of these units will be equal to one unit of the denomination that’s in play at the machine or online game.

For example, let’s say that you put $10 into a machine with a denomination of 25 cents. 10 multiplied by .25 is 40. That means you’ll have 40 credits to play.

Step 2: Make Your Bet

Faces n’ Deuces video poker, like most video poker games without extra features, gives you the choice to wager between one and five coins per hand. You can switch up your bet every single hand if you prefer. But you’re better off playing the maximum wager, or maximum bet, of five coins each time.

Why? Well, it comes down to the payoff for the royal flush. As you’ll see when we start to talk about how winning hands are made, the royal flush is the most lucrative hand in video poker. It’s also the rarest, coming up only once in a blue moon, so to speak.

But if you’re lucky enough to get one, you’ll be sorry if you don’t have the “Max Bet” in place. At one to four coins bet, the royal flush pays off at 250 to 1. That’s not bad, but it’s small potatoes compared to the 800 to 1 payoff you’ll get for a royal flush with a five-coin bet.

If you find that betting five coins per hand is too expensive, we suggest you move to a machine with a lower denomination if you can find one. In that way, you can bet five coins and get the highest ratio for the royal flush.

Step 3: Play Your Hand

Video poker requires you to make the best five-card hand possible. You do this by taking the best cards from your five-card deal and combining with cards you can draw from the deck. These cards will replace the cards you don’t want from your deal.

If that sounds similar to the table game known as Five-Card Draw Poker, you’re on the right track. Video poker essentially mimics the rhythm of play. Only, instead of using a real deck of cards, you’re using a simulated deck of 52.

And instead of trying to beat everyone at the table, you just have to beat the machine. You need to make a hand that the pay table for the machine considers a winning one.

In some video poker games, most notably wild card games, the threshold for what constitutes a winning combination of cards changes. But Faces n’ Deuces video poker is like most video poker in that it rewards the following hands:

• Pair of jacks or better
• Two pair
• Three of a kind
• Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
• Flush (five cards of same suit)
• Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
• Four of a kind
• Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
• Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)

As you move down the list, the hands will move from common to rare in terms of how often they show up during gameplay. And the payouts get progressively larger, with one exception.

Because Faces n’ Deuces video poker is modelled after Double Bonus video poker, the payout for four of a kind either matches or exceeds the straight flush payout. It depends upon the rank of cards that are involved.

When you hit the deal button after you’ve made your wager, a simulated deck of 52 cards within the machine’s software will stop shuffling and spit the top five cards out to you. You’ll see them on the screen and assess them to see if any combinations like the ones listed above show up.

You might find a winning combination right off the bat. In which case, if you don’t think it can get any better, you can hold all five cards. There would be no draw round in that case and the hand would essentially end there.

But getting a winning hand on the deal doesn’t happen very often. As a result, you’ll need to decide which cards in your hands are useful enough to keep going into the draw.

The cards that you don’t think are useful can be discarded in favor of others that will be drawn from the deck. Keep in mind that the deck will have just 47 cards remaining after the deal.

Let’s take a look at a sample deal to see how this might works:

There are no winning combinations in this hand according to a Faces n’ Deuces video poker pay table. But there are several so-called “seeds,” which is another name for a group of cards that has the potential to be turned into a winning hand. You just have to decide which seed is worth pursuing.

For example, you have a pair of fours. If you were to discard the other three cards from the deal, you would have three cards coming.

Those three cards could possibly improve that pair. You might end up with three of a kind, a full house, or even four of a kind.

You’ll also notice that you have a stretch of consecutively-ranked cards in the four through the seven. That leaves you just one card short of a straight, which you could fill out with a three or an eight on the draw. You could drop one of the fours to pursue this possibility.

Finally, you might have realized that the four, five, and six of spades can be valuable if you keep them and discard the four of diamonds and seven of hearts. If you were to draw two more spades, you would have a flush.

And, if you were to draw two spades that linked up in the just the right way with the ones that you have, you could even make a straight flush. That’s one of the top-paying hands. It might be worth it to take a long-shot draw at it.

What it comes down to is that you need to assess your chances of making those winning hands based on the probabilities of drawing the cards you need. You then also have to factor in the payout for those winning combinations. Are they worth the risk of losing the hand to pursue them over the other choices?

Most video poker hands won’t be quite so confusing. You’ll be able to tell quickly in most cases what to hold and discard. Cases like this where there are many possibilities are why it’s important to learn proper strategy, which we’ll talk about in a little bit.

Once you’ve made your decision, the machine will replace the cards you’ve discarded with others from the top of the deck. Again, the draw will come from those 47 cards left, which are always being shuffled until you hit the button.

That means every deal and draw is random. Don’t go looking for patterns based on hands that have come before on the video poker machine, or online version of the game, that you’re playing.

When your cards have been replaced on the draw, the hand is over. Any winnings will be added to your credits. (Your account will be debited before your hand when you make the bet.)

That’s basically how a hand of Faces n’ Deuces video poker works. You can keep playing by repeating previous steps as long as you have credits left. Or you can cash out to take your bankroll with you.

Now that you know how to play the game, let’s take a look at the pay tables for Faces n’ Deuces video poker. These are what separate the game from the rest of the video poker competition.

Faces n’ Deuces Pay Tables

The first thing you do at a video poker machine is locate the pay table. It will help with strategy, since you’ll know which hands you should be pursuing based on how much each pays. And it can also tell you if the machine you’re playing will pay out well compared to others.

In the case of Faces n’ Deuces video poker, you will see a great resemblance between its pay table and a Double Bonus video poker table. Here’s what a typical Double Bonus pay table looks like:

Double Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four of a kind (aces)	160	320	480	640	800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)	80	160	240	320	400
Four of a kind (any other)	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	5	10	15	20	25
Three of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

What distinguishes a Double Bonus pay table? Well, first of all, the pay for four of a kind is much higher, in most cases, than if you were playing basic Jacks or Better. Many gamblers who like the idea of a better chance of massive payouts in a single hand prefer this style of play.

The downside to that is that Double Bonus pays only even-money for a two pair hand. Two pair hands pay 2 to 1 on Jacks or Better machines.

Why is this important? Well, two pair hands come up fairly often during video poker play, usually in the neighborhood of one out of every 10 hands. When you’re getting 2 to 1 payback for that hand, you can usually keep your bankroll afloat while searching for higher-paying hands.

But when that payout is reduced to even money (meaning you simply receive back the amount of your bet), it becomes harder to keep your bankroll. That’s why Double Bonus is known as being more of a volatile game than Jacks or Better.

Volatility means you might have more chances at big payouts in a hurry. But you’re also more likely to be threatened by the prospect of losing your entire bankroll.

Now, let’s take a look at the pay table for the full-pay version of Faces n’ Deuces video poker so we can compare. Note that by full-pay, we mean the version of the game that returns the most money, on average, to players.

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four deuces plus face dealt	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Four deuces plus face	200	400	600	800	1,000
Four of a kind (aces)	160	320	480	640	800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)	80	160	240	320	400
Four of a kind (any other)	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	5	10	15	20	25
Three of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

You’ll see that this pay table is identical to the Double Bonus table except for two hands that aren’t included on the Double Bonus table. In Faces n’ Deuces video poker, you will receive special payback if you manage a hand with four deuces, or twos, and a face card as the fifth card, or kicker.

For those unaware, a face card in poker is any jack, queen, or king, since the pictures on the cards feature the faces of those characters. Therefore, here are the hands that qualify for the bonus:

• Four 2s and a Jack
• Four 2s and a Queen
• Four 2s and a King

If you draw to one of these combinations, you’re looking at a 200 to 1 payout. And if you manage to get dealt those five cards, you will get 800 to 1 payback. And, yes, you may have noticed, that is the same amount that you can get from a royal flush.

Notice that these two hands being added doesn’t change up any other part of the pay table from the Double Bonus pay table. In essence, it makes these hands a kind of perk for players. They get it without having to make an extra bet or having something taken away elsewhere on the pay table.

As we said, this is the highest-paying pay table that you will find for Faces n’ Deuces video poker. It’s possible that you will receive lesser payback on certain hands from a different table on a Faces n’ Deuces game.

How can you spot a lesser-paying machine? Look at the payouts for the full house, flush, and straight. These hands will often be the ones that are discounted to bring the payback percentage down a little bit.
Here’s a sample of less than full-pay pay tables that you conceivably could encounter on a Faces n’ Deuces video poker machine.

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four deuces plus face dealt	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Four deuces plus face	200	400	600	800	1,000
Four of a kind (aces)	160	320	480	640	800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)	80	160	240	320	400
Four of a kind (any other)	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	7	14	21	28	35
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four deuces plus face dealt	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Four deuces plus face	200	400	600	800	1,000
Four of a kind (aces)	160	320	480	640	800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)	80	160	240	320	400
Four of a kind (any other)	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	10	20	30	40	50
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four deuces plus face dealt	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Four deuces plus face	200	400	600	800	1,000
Four of a kind (aces)	160	320	480	640	800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)	80	160	240	320	400
Four of a kind (any other)	50	100	150	200	250
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of a kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

Payback Percentage for Faces n’ Deuces

Payback percentage can be determined by combining the probabilities for making winning hands with the payouts for those winning hands. Or you can take the numbers from the pay table and plug them into a video poker calculator to find out.

How much you should pay attention to payback percentage will depend on what you’re trying to get out of the game. If you’re playing Faces n’ Deuces video poker for leisure, you shouldn’t worry about it too much.

Those who only play video poker occasionally will compile what is known, in statistics, as a small sample size. In other words, you won’t play enough for the payback percentage to really take hold. Luck will be the main driver of your winning and losing.

In the case of the full-pay version of Faces n’ Deuces video poker, the payback percentage sits at 98.7%. In mathematical terms, it means that, on average, you’ll receive about $987 back for every $1,000 that you bet in the machine. You’d be losing, on average, $13 for those $1,000 sessions.

We usually recommend games that land above 99% for those who want to try to make a long-term profit playing video poker. If you’re losing 1% or less, you can make those losses up with your casino club card. You can also make it up online with loyalty rewards from top gambling websites.

Once you fall below 99%, as is the case with Faces n’ Deuces video poker, you might have a harder time compensating for the expected losses. But 98.7% is close enough that you can give it a go if you’re drawn in by the chance of higher jackpot hands from Faces n’ Deuces video poker beefing up your winnings.

As we mentioned above, the pay tables that aren’t full-pay will drop your percentage. Be prepared to struggle to make a long-term profit if you have to settle for one of those pay tables at the Faces n’ Deuces video poker that you play.

Video Poker Strategy

Learning proper strategy is a must if you’re going to max out your winnings playing Faces n’ Deuces video poker. The payback percentages quoted above can only be reached if you play perfectly. By that, we mean making the right decision for every single deal you receive.

What do we mean by “right?” Well, maybe the better term would be mathematically correct. For every single combination of cards that you might receive on the deal, there’s a single combination of holds and discards that will bring out highest expected value from that deal.

Like payback percentage, this concept is best observed in the long term. You can make incorrect choices on a deal one or even a few times and still get bailed out by a lucky draw. But, over the long haul, the better your decision-making, the higher your payback will be.

You have to make sure you learn the proper instruction for Faces n’ Deuces video poker specifically. The pay table dictates that you play certain hands for this version of video poker differently than, for example, if you were playing Jacks or Better. Take a look at this hand:

You have two pair here, which you might think you should hold. But when playing Faces n’ Deuces video poker, remember that a pair of Jacks or Better pays out just as much as two pair.

Also, remember the premium placed on getting four of a kind hands, which pay off so well on a Faces n’ Deuces video poker pay table. When you take that into consideration, you realize that the right play here is to hold the pair of queens and discard everything else. That’s something you would never do playing Jacks or Better.

You should also take into consideration the big payout for four deuces with a face card kicker. Take a look at this deal:

Playing Double Bonus video poker, you would definitely keep the three deuces and drop the other two. But, since the jack is a face card, you might have to consider keeping the three deuces and the jack if you were playing Faces n’ Deuces video poker. That would keep the possibility of four deuces and a face card in play on the draw.

All of these little intricacies can be tough to spot in the middle of a round of Faces n’ Deuces video poker. That’s why the easiest way to learn perfect play is to get some help. Here are the two ways that we recommend you to do it.

Video Poker Training Software

You should make sure that you find software that allows you to customize your instruction to a certain pay table. If that means paying a little more for it, you should do it. It will save you money in the long run if it helps you learn the right strategy for Faces n’ Deuces video poker.

Video poker training software works by letting you simulate play. When faced with the decision of what to hold and discard, the software will let you know whenever you make a mistake. Through trial and error over time, you’ll learn the right play for every situation.

Strategy Charts

If you’re looking for a quicker fix to learn perfect play in Faces n’ Deuces video poker, finding a strategy chart is the way to go. With a strategy chart, you need to memorize all the information. Then, you can carry that with you when you play the game.

Strategy charts rank every possible combination you can receive on the deal in terms of expected value. When you see the combination in your hand that’s highest on the list, you’ll know that’s what you should pursue. And you’ll also know, by default, which cards to discard.

Faces n’ Deuces Video Poker Pros and Cons

Faces n’ Deuces Video Poker Conclusion

Faces n’ Deuces video poker pretty much gives away what you should be seeking in the name of the game. Four deuces and a face card will stake you for quite some time. And, even if you don’t get that elusive hand, you can still benefit from an aggressive Double Bonus-style pay table.