Double Double Bonus strategy. Know when the kicker counts.
With four aces, a 2 can turn 800 credits into 2,000. With three aces, keeping that same 2 costs you a useful draw. One extra ace changes the decision.
The key: keep a qualifying kicker with completed quads. With three aces, draw two cards. Aces-full and aces with a second pair are worth breaking here too—check the examples and your exact pay table below.
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The extra card has a very specific job
A kicker bonus needs four matching cards.
A kicker is the fifth card beside a four of a kind. In Double Double Bonus it can increase the award for four aces or four 2s, 3s or 4s. Suits do not matter. Four 5s through kings have no kicker bonus.
All five quad awards in standard Double Double Bonus, per credit and at five credits bet
Your final hand
Per credit
Five credits bet
Four aces + a 2, 3 or 4
400
2,000
Four aces + 5 through king
160
800
Four 2s, 3s or 4s + an ace, 2, 3 or 4
160
800
Four 2s, 3s or 4s + 5 through king
80
400
Four 5s through kings + any fifth card
50
250
The kicker must have a different rank from the quads. With four 2s, for example, the qualifying fifth card is an ace, 3 or 4. All figures are total payouts, including the original wager.
Already have four aces?
Keep a bonus card. Replace an ordinary one.
A♠A♥A♦A♣2♠ pays 400 per credit if you keep all five. With K♠ instead, keep the aces and draw one. Twelve of the 47 unseen cards are a 2, 3 or 4; the other 35 still leave four aces paying 160.
Only have three aces?
Let the low card go. Draw two.
A♠A♥A♦2♣9♠ is different. Holding the three aces gives you two replacement cards, with a chance to find both the last ace and a kicker. Keeping the 2 uses up one of those draws before the quad exists.
New to the game? You get five cards from a standard 52-card deck, hold zero to five, then replace the rest once. Discards cannot come back in the draw. A pair of jacks is the smallest paying hand. Two pair also pays only 1 for 1: both return the wager.
Any five cards · all 32 holds
Put your five cards on the table.
Tap cards to choose your hold, or use Change card to enter a deal. The analyzer compares every possible hold, including the fifth card beside quads. Choose your actual pay table first; the default is standard 10/6.
Analyzing10/6 Double Double Bonus
Royal 800 per credit · kicker awards included
A♠♠Hold
A♥♥Hold
A♦♦Hold
A♣♣Hold
K♠♠Discard
Try a decision:
Examples keep your selected pay table. Changing a card or table selects a best hold again; tap the cards to compare your own choice.
Highest expected return
Hold A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣
221.2766returned per 1 bet, on average
Draw 1 card · 47 possible draws.
Your selected hold
A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣
221.2766returned per 1 bet, on average
This is the best hold for the selected pay table.
Keep the four aces. Replace the king.
The king earns no kicker bonus. Keeping all five pays 160.0000 per 1 bet; drawing one card with the four aces returns 221.2766 on average. Twelve of the 47 unseen cards are a 2, 3 or 4, lifting the payout to 400. Every other card still leaves four aces worth 160.
What can the best hold turn into?
47 of the 47 possible draws make a paying hand (100.0000%). The table describes the best hold shown, not your own choice. How much each hand pays matters as much as how often it comes.
Every final hand the best hold shown can make, with its chance and its payout
Final hand
Possible draws
Chance
Payout per 1 bet
Four aces + 2, 3 or 4
12
25.5319%
400
Four aces, other kicker
35
74.4681%
160
Compare all 32 possible holds
Scroll sideways for the full comparison →
Every hold, highest average payout first. Cards you discard cannot be redrawn.
Hold
Draw
Possible draws
Return per 1 bet
A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣BestYour hold
1
47
221.2766
A♠ A♥ A♦ A♣ K♠
0
1
160.0000
A♠ A♥ A♦ K♠
1
47
3.4468
A♠ A♥ A♣ K♠
1
47
3.4468
A♠ A♦ A♣ K♠
1
47
3.4468
A♥ A♦ A♣ K♠
1
47
3.4468
A♠ A♥ A♦
2
1,081
3.4468
A♠ A♥ A♣
2
1,081
3.4468
A♠ A♦ A♣
2
1,081
3.4468
A♥ A♦ A♣
2
1,081
3.4468
A♠ A♥ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♠ A♦ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♥ A♦ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♠ A♣ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♥ A♣ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♦ A♣ K♠
2
1,081
1.0250
A♠ A♥
3
16,215
1.0250
A♠ A♦
3
16,215
1.0250
A♥ A♦
3
16,215
1.0250
A♠ A♣
3
16,215
1.0250
A♥ A♣
3
16,215
1.0250
A♦ A♣
3
16,215
1.0250
K♠
4
178,365
0.4071
A♠ K♠
3
16,215
0.3658
Discard all five
5
1,533,939
0.2974
A♥ K♠
3
16,215
0.2561
A♦ K♠
3
16,215
0.2561
A♣ K♠
3
16,215
0.2561
A♥
4
178,365
0.1524
A♦
4
178,365
0.1524
A♣
4
178,365
0.1524
A♠
4
178,365
0.1424
What does “expected return” mean here?
For every hold, the tool counts all possible final hands from the 47 unseen cards and weights their payouts. It uses exact combinations, not random trials, for one standard deck and the complete selected pay table. Tied best holds are shown; returns are rounded to four decimal places.
These are gross returns. A value of 0.4658 means an average payout of 0.4658 per 1 originally bet, not a 46.58% chance of winning. The wager is already committed when you choose a hold. A best decision can have a return below 1, and its next draw can still lose. The whole game’s return is a different figure.
Check the full payout schedule against your game. This tool does not cover progressive royals, wild cards, altered quad awards or lower-credit royal payouts.
Where familiar poker instincts can mislead you
Some good hands are worth taking apart.
The ace bonuses and the one-for-one two-pair award change the value of a draw. These examples use 10/6; the analyzer lets you compare the same cards on all four supported tables.
A♠♠HoldA♥♥HoldA♦♦Hold9♣♣Discard9♦♦Discard
10/6 · Aces-full
Keep three aces. Give back the pair.
A♠A♥A♦9♣9♦ pays a certain 10 as a full house. Drawing to the three aces returns 12.7789 on average. The quad bonuses make that draw worth more, even though many individual draws pay less than the full house. The aces remain the better hold on all four tables supported here.
A♣♣HoldA♦♦Hold5♠♠Discard5♥♥DiscardJ♦♦Discard
10/6 · Aces with a second pair
The aces are worth more on their own.
With A♣A♦5♠5♥J♦, the aces alone return 1.9411, compared with 1.7660 for both pairs. Two pair only pays 1 for 1 in this game. Giving the aces three new cards creates enough extra value to justify discarding the fives.
A♥♥HoldK♣♣Discard8♦♦Discard6♠♠Discard3♣♣Discard
10/6 · An ace and an unsuited king
Sometimes one high card beats two.
A♥K♣8♦6♠3♣ favors the ace alone: 0.4658, versus 0.4454 for A♥K♣. The extra replacement card creates more routes to valuable ace hands. Suited cards, pairs and stronger draws can change the answer; this is not a rule to keep an ace regardless of the rest of the deal.
K♥♥HoldK♠♠DiscardQ♥♥HoldJ♥♥Hold7♣♣Discard
10/6 · Switch to 9/5 · Watch the hold change
The flush award tips a close decision.
With K♥K♠Q♥J♥7♣, keep K♥Q♥J♥ on 10/6: 1.4690, ahead of the kings at 1.4562. Switch the analyzer to 9/5 and the kings win, 1.4461 against 1.4292. A three-card royal is not automatically better than a paying pair.
Keep the exceptions attached to the hand. Break an aces-full house, but keep an ordinary full house such as three nines and two fours. Break aces with another pair, but keep both pairs when neither is aces.
10/6 Double Double Bonus · hold priority
The 10/6 reference. Read the hand from the top.
Read from the top and stop at the first matching line, including its note. The highlighted cards in each example are the hold. “Kicker” means a qualifying bonus card beside completed quads. This is the site’s detailed learning chart; use the analyzer when two close draws compete.
The analyzer is on a different pay table. This chart and its four notes remain for standard 10/6 only.
All 39 lines. Searching keeps the original rank numbers but can hide a higher-priority hold. Clear the search before playing by the list.
No matching lines. Try “pair” or “royal”, or clear the search.
The chart’s vocabulary
High and low pairs
A high pair is J–J, Q–Q, K–K or A–A. A low pair is 2–2 through 10–10. A ten can help a straight or royal draw, but it is not a high card here.
Suited and unsuited
Suited cards share one suit. “Unsuited” means they are not all the same suit; it does not require every card to have a different suit.
Outside and inside straights
An outside draw has four consecutive ranks and can finish at either end. 10–J–Q–K has its own higher line. A–2–3–4 and J–Q–K–A have only one completing rank, so they count as inside draws. K–A–2 never wraps around.
Three-card straight flush types
Type 1 has at least as many high cards as gaps, excluding ace-low draws and 2–3–4. Type 2 has one gap and no high card, two gaps and one high card, an ace low, or is 2–3–4. Type 3 has two gaps and no high card. A gap is a missing rank within the span.
When a discarded card changes the choice
A “penalty card” is a card in your original deal that you would discard, making it unavailable to complete the draw. These four notes cover close choices. Each belongs to a specific line above.
Line 14, pair of jacks, queens or kings: When one of the pair is in 10-J-Q or J-Q-K of one suit, hold those three instead if your fifth card is of another suit and a 2 to 8 (2 to 7 with 10-J-Q). K♥K♠Q♥J♥7♣: hold K♥Q♥J♥ (1.4690), not K♥K♠ (1.4562).
Line 15, 3 to a royal flush: With an ace and a 10 in it, hold 4 to a flush instead if that draw is also present. A♠J♠10♠4♠2♦: hold A♠J♠10♠4♠ (1.2766), not A♠J♠10♠ (1.2618).
Line 25, suited A-K, A-Q or A-J: With a 10 and another high card for 4 to an inside straight (A-K-J-10, A-K-Q-10 or A-Q-J-10), hold those four instead when you would throw away a card of the suited pair’s suit. Q♠A♠10♥J♥2♠: hold Q♠A♠10♥J♥ (0.5319), not Q♠A♠ (0.5249).
Line 32, suited J-10: With an unsuited king as well, hold K-J instead when you would throw away a card of the J-10’s suit. J♥10♥4♥K♠7♣: hold J♥K♠ (0.4465), not J♥10♥ (0.4405).
The chart is a learning aid for 10/6. Played exactly as written, it returns 100.0664%, against 100.0670% for perfect play: it parts from perfect play on 4,788 of the 2,598,960 deals, close calls worth 0.0006% in all. On 9/6 it gives up 0.0008%; where a flush pays 5, leave out notes 1 and 2. Other modified pay tables can change the order: the analyzer checks your exact cards on your table.
10/6, 9/6, 9/5 or 8/5?
Two numbers name it. The whole table defines it.
“10/6” means a full house pays 10 and a flush pays 6 per credit. The analyzer starts there to match the chart. If your game says 9/6, 9/5 or 8/5, change the selector before checking a hold.
Theoretical return · optimal play100.0670%
This 10/6 table has a theoretical return just above 100% with optimal play and the five-credit royal bonus. That is a long-run mathematical edge, not a promise of profit in any session. Verify every award in the game’s pay table.
This selector also updates the analyzer. Returns assume one standard deck, one draw, the stated kicker awards and an 800-per-credit royal. Progressive jackpots and modified payouts require their own analysis.
Each return assumes its own optimal strategy and the complete standard schedule, worked out exactly over all 2,598,960 deals. Reading a pay table shows how to tell the versions apart.
A “10/6” label does not guarantee a return above 100%. For example, reducing the straight-flush award from 50 to 40 drops the optimal return to about 99.96%, even though the full house and flush still pay 10 and 6. Check every award, including the straight and all five quad categories.
Double Bonus and Triple Double Bonus need their own strategies.
Double Bonus has no kicker premium. Triple Double Bonus increases the top kicker awards again but reduces three of a kind to 2 for 1, changing some holds. Neither game is interchangeable with Double Double Bonus. Match the complete pay table, rather than relying on “Bonus” in the title.
A small edge. Large possible swings.
100.0670% is an average. It cannot predict tonight.
Standard 10/6’s theoretical advantage is only about 0.067% with optimal play: roughly $0.67 in expected net gain per $1,000 wagered. Strategy errors can erase that margin, and an individual session can lose far more.
On 9/6, the same $1,000 of total wagers has an expected net loss of about $10.19. On 9/5 it is $21.27; on 8/5, $32.14. Total wagering includes money won and bet again. It is not simply the cash you brought.
Much of the return waits in uncommon hands.
Two pair only returns the wager, while large quad and royal awards contribute heavily to the long-run average. That makes Double Double Bonus more volatile than standard Jacks or Better. A good hold does not guarantee a payout, and a long wait does not make a bonus hand due.
Five credits need not mean five dollars.
On the conventional credit schedule, the royal jumps from 250 per credit at one through four credits to 800 per credit at five. The tools assume that larger royal rate. Five credits cost $0.25 at a five-cent denomination or $1.25 at a quarter denomination. Choose a denomination within your spending limit; increasing the stake does not remove the risk.
The questions behind the hold button
Before you draw, clear up the close calls.
Should I hold a low kicker with three aces?
No, on the standard Double Double Bonus tables supported here. Keep the three aces and draw two, even if one of the other cards is a 2, 3 or 4. The bonus requires completed quads. Keeping a low card with three aces is a rule associated with some other games, including Triple Double Bonus; do not transfer it here.
What about three 2s, 3s or 4s with an ace?
With three matching low cards and two unrelated cards, keep the trips and draw two on these standard tables. For example, 2♠2♥2♦A♠9♣ favors the three 2s over keeping the ace too. If you already have a full house, that is a different starting hand.
When do I keep all five cards with quads?
Keep all five with four aces plus a 2, 3 or 4, or with four 2s–4s plus a qualifying ace or low card. If that fifth card does not qualify, keep the quads and replace it. With four 5s through kings, the fifth card cannot change the award: keeping or replacing it ties.
Do I really break a full house or two pair?
When the three-of-a-kind part of the full house is aces, keep those aces and draw two. With two aces and another pair, keep just the aces. Keep ordinary full houses and two pair without aces. These rules apply to the standard schedules supported here; different awards can change them.
Is three to a royal better than a high pair?
Sometimes. K♥K♠Q♥J♥7♣ favors K♥Q♥J♥ on 10/6 and 9/6, but the kings on 9/5 and 8/5. Other three-card royal combinations can favor the pair even on 10/6. Use the chart’s high-pair note or enter the exact five cards in the analyzer.
Can I use the 10/6 chart on 9/6, 9/5 or 8/5?
The printable chart is explicitly for 10/6. Many holds carry over, but lower full-house or flush awards can change close choices. Select your actual table in the analyzer; its recommendations are calculated for that complete schedule. Loading a chart example deliberately returns the tool to 10/6.
Is Double Double Bonus better than Jacks or Better?
Compare the actual schedules and your tolerance for swings. Standard 10/6 DDB has a higher optimal return than 9/6 Jacks or Better, but 9/6 DDB has a lower return. DDB also depends more on large, less frequent awards. A larger top prize is not enough to decide which game suits you.
Does online or multi-hand play change the best hold?
The same fair 52-card rules and identical payouts give the same best starting hold. Extra features, progressive jackpots or altered royal awards can change that. On a conventional multi-hand game, each additional hand increases the total stake even though the starting decision is shared.
Is the optional double-up feature included?
No. A gamble offered after a win is a separate wager under its own rules. The analyzer, chart and quoted base-game returns do not require using it.
The short version
Three things Double Double Bonus rewards.
What to carry to the table, biggest first.
01
Keep a kicker that pays
Four aces with a 2, 3 or 4 pay 400, and four 2s, 3s or 4s with an ace, 2, 3 or 4 pay 160. Keep all five then; with any other fifth card, hold the four and draw one.
02
Take apart the aces
Hold three aces alone, even beside a 2, 3 or 4, and break aces full and aces up for the aces. Keep ordinary full houses and two pair without aces.
03
Find 10/6
Played perfectly, 10/6 returns 100.07%, 9/6 98.98% and 8/5 96.79%: 3.28 points between the same cards. Check every award before you play, not just the full house and flush.
