How to Play Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker

Louisiana Double Poker video poker offers a twist to common Jacks or Better video poker that is both simple and ingenious at the same time. In a 53-card deck, instead of the standard 52, there is a card listed as a “double.” If this card appears in a hand where you have a winning combination, you’ll receive double any winnings you can achieve on that particular hand.

One of the ways that video poker continues to expand is online. Video poker game makers are always coming up with different ways to spice up the action from common Jacks or Better or other popular games. As a result, it gives online players the chance to experience a little more variety.

Video poker games add different pay tables to the mix to change the complexion of the game. Others include special features that come into play when you increase the size of the wager. But Louisiana Double Poker video poker changes everything by adding an extra card to the standard deck of 52.

The Double Card

That extra card is the double card, and it will appear digitally on your screen with the word “double” across so you’ll know exactly what it is. It can appear either on the deal or the draw. And it works quite simply. It will double any winning combination you happen to make.

The pay table for Louisiana Double Poker video poker is similar to what you could expect from a basic Jacks or Better pay table but with a few exceptions. As a result, you can imagine what kind of boost the double can provide. It will take minor hands and make them much more helpful to your bankroll.

Limited Effect

The one main problem with the double card in Louisiana Double Poker video poker is that it will only affect certain hands. Obviously, once it is included in a hand, that will eliminate the possibility of any five-card winning hands, such as a royal flush or straight flush. As a result, with the exception of four of a kind, the double will mostly be helping lower-paying hands.

In addition, the one big difference in the pay table of Louisiana Double Poker video poker is lower payback for three of a kind than in most video poker games. Since that’s one of the most common hands, the discount will raise both the volatility and lower payback. When you’re not getting those doubles, Louisiana Double Poker video poker can leave your bankroll in a troubling position.

In the following article, we’ll explore all the ins and outs of the game known as Louisiana Double Poker video poker. We’ll talk about how to play the basic game and explain what happens when the double card arrives. On top of that, we’ll talk about the pay table, the expected payback, and the strategy you’ll need to use to play the game as well as possible.

What You Get Out of Playing Video Poker

Many people are coming to the world of video poker for the first time through online play. As a result, they end up finding out about these online games, such as Louisiana Double Poker video poker, without any real experience from playing it in a casino. If you’re one of those people, you might be wondering if video poker is the kind of real money gambling experience for you.

Video poker is unique because it includes many of the best parts of table games and slot machines. But it does so in a way where the overall game is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. As a matter of fact, many casino-goers will play no other game besides video poker when they settle in to play.

If you are a bit familiar with video poker, you can skip this section and go on to the sections about the specific characteristics of Louisiana Double Poker video poker. But if you are new to the game, you should learn about what’s in store. Take a look.

• Video poker offers the opportunity to play the game with no one else involved. Since you’re going to be playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker online, you obviously will be free of any interruptions from casino-goers. And since it’s a one-person game, you can keep your play private and won’t have to worry about your experience level.
• Video poker can be learned quickly, even if you’re completely new to it. And if you have some poker experience, you’ll be able to hit the ground running. In fact, video poker is one of the easiest casino games to understand.
• Video poker is more transparent than other games. Think about slot machines, which hide from you how many times you can expect winning spins to arrive. With video poker, the frequency of winning hands can be ascertained through a little probability math.
• Video poker offers a lot of variety through all the different versions of it. You never have to get bored with the same old video poker game. Unique pay tables, special twists, multiple hand play are just some of the ways that the game can be changed up while still keeping true to the spirit of video poker in general.
• Video poker gives you the chance to make an impact on play. Again, this is in comparison with slot machines, where the game is entirely dependent on luck. By contrast, you get to exert some strategy when you’re playing video poker.
• Video poker offers some of the best payback of all casino games. You can expect payback to be much higher than is the case with slot machines. And video poker ranks pretty competitively with table games in the payback department.
• Video poker is an excellent choice for online play. When you play an online-only game like Louisiana Double Poker video poker, you’ll find little difference in the experience at top gambling sites compared to what you would find in a casino. That’s not exactly the case for all casino games.

Hopefully, this little list will help you understand why you should be playing video poker if you aren’t already. Let’s take the time now to learn how to play with a little how-to guide.

How to Play Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker

Step 1: The Bankroll

Creating a bankroll gives you the chance to play Louisiana Double Poker video poker for real money. Since it’s an online-only game at the moment, that means that you have to fund an account at the gambling site you choose to use. This can be done by a credit card or, in some cases, you might be able to use an alternative method such as cryptocurrency.

In most cases, the money that you have endowed into your account will be transferred into units known as credits or coins. The value of these units will be related to the denomination of the game that you’ve chosen to play. For example, if you’re playing a 25-cent game, one credit will equal 25 cents, two credits will equal 50 cents, and so on.

Step 2: The Bet

Louisiana Double Poker video poker plays like most video poker games in that you get the chance to wager between one and five coins per each hand that you play. You can choose to bet a different amount every single hand if you like. Or you can stick with the same bet over and over again if you choose.

To maximize the payback for your Louisiana Double Poker video poker play, you should actually bet five coins, also known as the max bet, in every single hand. What this does is that it ensures that you’ll get maximum payback for the royal flush, which is the highest-paying hand in all of video poker. Check out the difference:

While this disparity isn’t as big as it would be in many other video poker games, it is still significant enough that you’ll want to make sure that you make the max bet. If you don’t, and you hit the royal flush, you’ll be sorry. In fact, your expected payback drops once you lower that bet.

If you feel like betting five coins per hand is more than what you want to spend, consider lowering the denomination. Ideally, you can then afford the max bet on every single hand. And that will give you the best rate of payback once again for the royal flush.

Step 3: The Hand

If you’ve ever played the card game known as Five-Card Draw, you’ll quickly recognize the rhythm of play for Louisiana Double Poker video poker. You’ll get five cards and choose which ones to keep and which to discard. The cards you discard will be replaced by others from the deck to create your final five-card poker hand.

But Five-Card Draw is a multiplayer game, which means that sometimes, you have to come up with a really great poker hand to win the pot. Barring that, you might have to bluff your other competitors into bowing out of the hand. Winning at video poker is much simpler than that.

All you have to do to earn some payback in Louisiana Double Poker video poker is to create one of the winning combinations that are listed on the pay table. Here the combinations that you’ll be striving to make:

• 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)

If you’re familiar at all with poker, you’ll recognize that the way that these hands are listed above is directly related to how poker hands are ranked. On the top are the hands that are lowest-ranked and, in video poker, they pay the least. As you move down the list, each combination pays a little bit more in Louisiana Double Poker video poker than the one above it.

The reason some hands pay more than others is because they will be tougher to achieve based on probabilities. That little twist sets up the decision-making process in video poker. You’ll often be choosing between going for hands that are easy to make but don’t pay much and hands that pay a lot but will be difficult to achieve.

The Deal

The first step in playing a hand of Louisiana Double Poker video poker is to see what you get on the deal. At the moment the hand begins, your bet will be removed from your bankroll, and five cards will appear on your screen. Each deal will be random, meaning that any patterns or trends that you might perceive will be pure coincidence.

In the case of Louisiana Double Poker video poker, these cards will come from a simulated deck of 53. This amounts to the standard 52 cards you normally get in a deck and one extra card, which says the word “double” on it. That is the card, which essentially gives Louisiana Double Poker video poker its name and separates it from other video poker formats.

The Decision

We told you above that you get the chance to show off your strategy when playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker. That chance mainly comes at the point you receive your deal and decide what cards to hold and what cards to discard. There are 32 different sequences of holds and discards that can come from a five-card deal.

The cards that you choose to keep will be ones that you want as part of your final five-card hand, the one which will determine if you win or lose. Any cards you discard will be replaced by others from the deck. After the five-card deal, the deck will still have 48 cards remaining and will provide you with a random draw in the same manner that your deal was random.

The idea behind making this decision comes down to maximizing the possible value of the deal. It should not be based on guesses or hunches about what cards might come. Instead, you should be focused on the following:

• What is the probability that you could draw a winning combination based on what you have and what remains in the deck?
• What is the potential payback for the winning combinations that you feel are within your reach?

It might seem like processing all this in the moment would be difficult. But you’ll see that once you play video poker for a while, you’ll be able to make these decisions in seconds. Take a look at this sample so you can see how it works.

Sample Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker Hand

Let’s say that you receive the following five-card deal in Louisiana Double Poker video poker:

Sadly, you don’t have any winning combinations right off the bat here. There will be times when you’re playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker that you will have a winning combination on the deal, possibly even one that doesn’t need any improvement on the draw (in which case you should simply hold all five cards). In this case, there are at least some card combinations that can be turned into winning ones with some help on the draw.

For example, you could do one of the following:

• You could hold the pair of threes and discard the other three cards. Even though a pair of threes doesn’t meet the requirement of a pair of jacks or better for payback, it can be improved with the cards you get on the draw. With a little luck, you could end up with two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or even four of a kind.
• You could hold one of the threes, discarding the other, and also hold the four, five, and six. This move would put you in line for a straight if you were able to draw a two or a seven with your one card. The drawback with this approach is that you are limited to only the straight as a possible winning combination.
• You could hold the three, four, and five of diamonds and discard the other two cards. Having three “suited connectors” like that opens you up for the widest variety of winning combinations on the draw of any of your possibilities. One of those potential combinations would be the high-paying straight flush.

You could also try something different with your holds and discards, but you would certainly be hurting your chances of winning something if you did. To make the right decision, you have to learn proper video poker strategy. At the bottom of this article, we tell you how to do just that so you can make the right choice on any deal.

The Draw

Once you have made your decision, you need to indicate which cards you want to hold (if any, you could always discard all five) by pressing the corresponding buttons or clicking on the corresponding icons. Remember that any card that you leave alone will be earmarked to be discarded. After you have the holds and discards the way you want them, you can press the “draw” button.

At that point, any discarded cards will be replaced with others from the deck and the hand will be complete. If you’ve achieved a winning combination, your bankroll will be credited with the proper amount as determined by the pay table. You can then play again if you like.

Continuing Play or Quitting

To continue playing hands of Louisiana Double Poker video poker, you just repeat the steps above (with the exception of the bankroll, which will already have been established). As long as you have money in your bankroll to bet, you can keep it up for as long as you want. Or if you run out, you can always replenish.

When you stop playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker, the money in your bankroll will return to your gambling account. From there, if you wish to withdraw, you need to make a request to the gambling site you’re using.

How the Double Card Works in Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker

From time to time, as you play Louisiana Double Poker video poker, you’ll receive a double card in your hand. It is one of the 53 cards in the deck, so your chances of ending up with it are the same as any other card in the deck. But this card could drastically alter your fortunes when it does arrive.

You’ll be limited to winning combinations that can be made with four cards or less. That’s because the presence of the double card, which itself can’t be a part of any winning combination, will prevent a winning hand using all five cards.

As a result, your options for winning combinations that might be doubled are:

• Pair of jacks or better
• Two pair
• Three of a kind
• Four of a kind

The following combinations cannot be doubled, since all five cards are involved in forming them:

• Straight
• Flush
• Full house
• Straight flush
• Royal Flush

Let’s take a look at how the double card might come into play in Louisiana Double Poker video poker. Imagine that you get the following deal:

You do have three cards to a straight here. But you also have a pair of fours and a double. Even though the pair of fours isn’t a winner yet, it makes sense to hold on to them and the double card so that you leave yourself open to doubling up something on the draw.

Imagine that the draw works out this way:

You’ve achieved three of a kind here. Normally, on a Louisiana Double Poker video poker, that would pay you two to one (two coins earned for every one you bet). But since the double card is there, that payback is doubled to four to one.

This example gives you an idea of what the double card can do for you in Louisiana Double Poker video poker. Obviously, it will only make an impact if you can form a winning combination, since zero winnings doubled is still zero winnings. But if you can make that connection, you can really boost your payback from what it normally would be.

Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker Pay Table

Any time that you play a new variation of video poker, such as Louisiana Double Poker video poker, whether it’s online or in a casino, the first thing you should do is take a good hard look at the pay table. It will help you with strategy because it shows you what winning combinations are emphasized and which ones are discounted. And it will also show you if it’s the type of game for you, in terms of volatility and overall payback potential.

In the case of Louisiana Double Poker video poker, the pay table, in many ways, looks a lot like Jacks or Better, which is the most common of all pay tables in the world of video poker. But there are some differences which definitely should be noted. Let’s first take a look at the pay table for Louisiana Double Poker video poker:

Louisiana Double Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	400	800	1,200	1,600	2,500
Straight flush	75	150	225	300	375
Four of a kind	35	70	105	140	175
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of a kind	2	4	6	8	10
Two pairs	2	4	6	8	10
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

If you’ve never seen a pay table before, you might be confused about how to read it. Simply connect the columns for coins wagered to the rows for winning hands.

For example, let’s say that you wagered five coins and made a full house while playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker. You can see when you follow the “Full house” row over to the “5 coins” column that the number “45” is there. That means that you’ve won 45 coins on your five-con wager, for a profit of 40 coins.

Without any context, it’s difficult to see how the pay table for Louisiana Double Poker video poker rates. Since it’s based on Jacks or Better, let’s take a look at the pay table for the highest-paying version of that game:

Jacks or Better 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	25	50	75	100	125
Full house	9	18	27	36	45
Flush	6	12	18	24	30
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	2	4	6	8	10
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

As you compare the two pay tables, you can see that the one for Louisiana Double Poker video poker comes out on top in some areas. Particularly, it does will for four of a kind and straight flushes, beating out the Jacks or Better game in those areas. It also does better than Jacks or Better with the royal flush at one through four coins bet.

Yet that is a bit deceptive because, as we said above, most savvy video poker players will be betting five coins per hand. As a result, you’re actually getting a very steep discount with Louisiana Double Poker video poker in that department, as the pay drops from 800 to 1 in Jacks or Better to 500 to 1 here.

But the big difference in the two games comes toward the bottom of the pay table and the payback for three of a kind. Take a look:

• Louisiana Double Poker video poker: 2 to 1 payback for three of a kind
• Jacks or Better video poker: 3 to 1 payback for three of a kind

If you haven’t played much video poker, you might not consider that to be a big deal. This is especially the case if you just compare the margins of difference in the three of a kind to the big advantages Louisiana Double Poker video poker has in four of a kind and the straight flush. But you have to remember that those hands are relatively rare.

You’ll notice how your bankroll might dwindle faster playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker than it would playing Jacks or Better, and the three of a kind discount is the major reason for that.

Of course, the double possibilities in Louisiana Double Poker video poker help to lessen that damage. All in all, Louisiana Double Poker is a bit more volatile. You’ll get more chances at high payback on a single hand, but you’ll also have a harder time keeping your bankroll afloat.

Payback Percentage for Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker

If you’re the type who only wants to play video poker on a casual level, you won’t really have to worry about the payback percentage of a particular game. For you, luck will be more of a driver than anything else. After all, you probably won’t be playing enough hands for payback percentage to really take hold.

But if you want to play a video poker game on a serious level on a regular basic, you should definitely factor the payback percentage into your decision. Payback percentage rates how much you can expect to still have in your bankroll after you’ve played a specific video poker game for a long period of time. In the case of Louisiana Double Poker video poker, that number sits at around 93.5%.

It’s a combination of the payback amounts on the pay table and the probabilities of making winning hands. Here is what that payback means in terms of real-life gambling money:

• $1,000 in starting bankroll = $935 remaining ($65 loss)
• $10,000 in starting bankroll = $9,350 remaining ($650 loss)
• $100,000 in starting bankroll = $93,500 remaining ($6500 loss)

As you can see, your prospects of making a profit playing Louisiana Double Poker video poker aren’t that great. Even factoring in the possibility of earning rewards from gambling websites hosting the game, you can’t expect to make up that deficit. The house edge of 6.5% is too large.

There are a couple of key factors in play here. First of all, the 2 to 1 payback for three of a kind, as we said above, is really damaging. In addition, making winning combinations out of 53 cards, instead of 52, slightly lowers your payback expectation.

This isn’t to say your own results will be directly in line with the payback percentage. You might be able to get lucky for a while. But after you’ve played Louisiana Double Poker video poker for a long stretch, you might find that your bankroll is falling a bit faster than you’d like.

Strategy for Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker

One way that you can be sure to maximize your earning potential in Louisiana Double Poker video poker is to play the game with perfect strategy. In every single deal, there is one sequence of holds and discards, which will be the optimum choice for that deal. You have to learn that sequence for every deal you might receive.

This math is now that easy to figure out on your own. There will be many deals in Louisiana Double Poker video poker where you can easily tell what the right play should be. But many hands, like our example from above, will make it much tougher since there are many possibilities of similar value in play.

Getting the Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker Strategy Help You Need

A game like Louisiana Double Poker video poker presents some issues with getting strategic help. For one, it’s not as popular as some of the other longer-running video poker formats, meaning strategy that is dedicated to it might be hard to find. On top of that, the double twist requires you to think a bit differently about strategy than if you were playing with a basic 52-card deck.

But if you work at it and use video poker calculators to help you out, you should be able to find the resources to help you. These resources will do all the math that you need done for a video poker variation like Louisiana Double Poker video poker. And they’ll spit out the results for you.

If you can’t find resources that are based on Louisiana Double Poker video poker, we suggest you learn Jacks or Better strategy and then make some adjustments to it. Obviously, you should be mostly be holding the double card except in rare occasions where it might be blocking a potentially massive hand (like if you had four cards to a royal flush with the double card on the deal). Once you’ve accounted for that, use the following methods of video poker instruction:

Video Poker Training Software

Video poker training software is an excellent way to learn strategy if you have the time to practice for a while. You can take your time playing practice hands and learning the right plays for every possible deal you might receive in Louisiana Double Poker video poker. After you’ve done that for enough time with the help of the software’s instruction, you should be able to play for real money with perfect strategy.

Strategy Charts

A strategy chart is useful if you’re looking to learn a specific pay table’s strategy and do so in a hurry. It’s just a matter of memorizing a ranked list of card combinations. They’re ranked in order of their value on the deal, so once you know that, you’ll know what to do in any deal you get, and you’ll be able to achieve perfect play in Louisiana Double Poker video poker.

Louisiana Double Poker Video Poker Pros and Cons

Conclusion

Louisiana Double Poker video poker presents video poker with a chance to double their winnings If that elusive card shows up from time to time during gameplay. You have to be prepared to endure some volatility and if you’re playing for the long haul, you might see your bankroll lag a bit. But for casual video pokers looking to try out something different, this game can be just the ticket.