The pay table is the game
Most table games teach you their rules first and their odds second. Double Bonus Poker reverses that order. Before you sit down, before you even think about which cards to hold, you need to read the pay table printed on the machine's glass or in the game's information panel. That table does not just tell you what a full house pays. It tells you which version of the game you are playing, how aggressively you should chase four of a kind, and whether the machine is worth your time at all.
Double Bonus Poker is a five-card draw video poker variant. You receive five cards, choose which to keep, and the machine replaces the rest. Your final five-card hand is paid according to the posted table. The defining feature is right in the name: four of a kind pays a bonus compared with standard Jacks or Better. On many versions, four aces pays dramatically more than four twos, threes or fours, which in turn pay more than four fives through kings. That steep payout ladder changes nearly every hold decision in the game.
How a round plays
A hand of Double Bonus Poker moves through the same sequence as any draw-poker machine. You choose your stake per hand, which sets the value of each credit on the pay table. The machine deals five cards from a single shuffled virtual deck. You then select which cards to hold and which to discard. The discarded cards are replaced with new ones from the same deck, and the resulting five-card hand is compared against the pay table. If it matches a listed hand, the machine credits your balance. If it does not, the hand is over and the next deal begins.
The decision point is the hold. There are no raises, no draws against a dealer, and no bluffing. The machine is not trying to beat you; it simply deals cards according to a random number generator and pays according to the table. Every strategic choice you make happens in the two or three seconds between seeing your first five cards and pressing the draw button.
Reading the Double Bonus pay table
Video poker pay tables are typically expressed as multiples of a one-credit bet, with a separate column for a five-credit maximum bet. The most important row on a Double Bonus table is the four-of-a-kind section, because that is where the variant earns its name and where the payout differences between versions are largest.
| Hand | What it means in Double Bonus | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Four aces | The top four-of-a-kind payout, typically the largest non-royal prize | Makes holding a single ace far more attractive than in Jacks or Better |
| Four 2s, 3s or 4s | A second, lower four-of-a-kind tier | Changes how you treat low pairs and single low cards |
| Four 5s through kings | A third, still lower tier | Often pays less than in some other bonus variants |
| Full house | Frequently reduced compared with Jacks or Better | The game pays for the four-of-a-kind bonus by shaving other hands |
| Flush | Also commonly reduced on tighter pay tables | Weakens the value of drawing to four-card flushes |
The exact numbers in each row vary from machine to machine. Two Double Bonus Poker games can look identical on the screen and play very differently because one pays 10 for a full house while another pays 9, or because one pays 7 for a flush while another pays 5. The only way to know which game you are facing is to read the table before you insert money.
The full-pay benchmark
Video poker players use the term "full pay" to describe the most generous commonly available pay table for a given variant. For Double Bonus Poker, the full-pay version is usually identified by its one-credit payouts for a full house and a flush. When both of those rows sit at their highest standard values, the game's theoretical return to player over a very large number of hands is among the better video poker offerings. When either row is reduced, the return drops, sometimes by more than a casual player would expect.
The reason is structural. A full house and a flush are relatively common outcomes in five-card draw. Shaving a single credit from each of those rows removes return from hands you will hit with some regularity. The four-of-a-kind bonus that defines Double Bonus Poker is exciting, but four of a kind is rare. A machine that boosts four aces while quietly cutting the full house and flush is not doing you a favour. It is advertising a headline number and paying for it with the quiet rows underneath.
Why the strategy differs from Jacks or Better
If you have played standard Jacks or Better video poker, you cannot simply carry your hold decisions over to Double Bonus Poker. The two games reward different hands differently, and correct play follows the money. In Double Bonus Poker, the inflated payout for four aces means that a single ace is often worth holding on its own, even when it is not part of a pair or a flush draw. In Jacks or Better, a lone ace is frequently discarded. The bonus structure flips that decision.
At the same time, the reduced full house and flush payouts make drawing to those hands less valuable. A four-card flush draw that is an automatic hold in Jacks or Better may be a closer decision, or a fold, depending on what else is in the hand and which Double Bonus pay table you are facing. These are not minor adjustments. They are systematic differences that arise directly from the numbers printed on the glass.
Strategy charts follow the rule set
Published strategy charts for video poker are not universal. A chart for Double Bonus Poker assumes a specific pay table, usually the full-pay version. If you are playing a machine with a reduced full house or flush payout, a chart built for the full-pay table will be slightly wrong for the game in front of you. The correct play on a given hand can change when a single row of the pay table changes.
This is not a reason to abandon strategy charts. It is a reason to check which pay table a chart assumes before you use it. The chart will usually state its reference table, either in a footnote or in the game name it lists. If the machine you are playing does not match that reference table, the chart is still a useful guide, but it is not exact for your game. The closer the machine's table is to the chart's assumed table, the smaller the gap.
What you control and what you do not
In Double Bonus Poker, as in all video poker, the machine's random number generator determines which cards appear. You do not control the deal, and you cannot influence which replacement cards arrive. What you control is the hold decision on every hand, the stake you choose, and the speed at which you play. Each of those choices has a real effect, but they operate in different ways.
The hold decision is the strategic core. Playing the correct holds does not guarantee a winning session, and playing the wrong holds does not guarantee a losing one. Over a large number of hands, correct holds reduce the rate at which the house edge grinds down your bankroll. Over a short session, variance dominates. You can play perfectly and lose, or play loosely and hit four aces. The pay table and the hold chart describe the long run, not the next hand.
Stake selection and play speed matter for a different reason. A higher stake means each hand's expected loss, measured in money rather than credits, is larger. A faster pace means more hands per hour, which multiplies the same effect. Neither changes the game's return percentage. They change how quickly the built-in edge translates into money leaving your balance.
Procedural mistakes new players make
The first mistake is sitting down without reading the pay table. Two Double Bonus Poker machines side by side can carry different full house and flush payouts, and the difference is worth real return over time. The table is printed on the machine or available in the game's information screen. Read it before you bet, not after.
The second mistake is importing Jacks or Better habits unchanged. Holding a lone ace, treating a low pair as a simple pair, or chasing a four-card flush without checking the flush payout are all decisions that change under the Double Bonus structure. If you learned video poker on Jacks or Better, expect to re-learn a set of hold decisions.
The third mistake is chasing four of a kind at the expense of the rest of the hand. The bonus is attractive, and the game does reward aggressive play toward aces and low four-of-a-kind hands. But four of a kind remains a rare outcome. Consistently breaking up made hands or strong draws to chase a long-shot quad will cost more than the bonus pays back. The correct play is the one the full pay table and the matching strategy chart indicate, not the one that feels most exciting.
FAQ
Is Double Bonus Poker the same as Double Double Bonus Poker?
No. Double Bonus Poker pays a premium for all four of a kind, with aces at the top. Double Double Bonus adds a further tier for four of a kind with a specific kicker card, such as four aces with a two, three or four. The kicker payouts change the hold strategy again, so a chart for one game does not transfer to the other.
How do I know if a Double Bonus Poker machine is full pay?
Look at the one-credit payouts for a full house and a flush on the posted table. The full-pay version carries the highest standard values for those two rows. If either is lower, the machine is a reduced-pay version. The game's information panel or the pay table printed on the machine glass shows these numbers before you play.
Does betting maximum credits change my odds in Double Bonus Poker?
Betting maximum credits does not change the probability of any hand. What it changes is the payout for a royal flush, which is typically boosted at the five-credit level. That boost improves the game's long-run return for players who bet five credits, but it also increases the amount wagered per hand. The decision is about stake size and the royal flush bonus, not about changing the deck.
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This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.