An Expert Strategy for Double Bonus Poker

Winning Hands

The rules of Double Bonus Poker are simple. However, you do require an excellent knowledge of the different types of poker hands. There are a total of eleven different hands in Double Bonus Poker – all of which are listed below. We have listed these hands in order from weakest to strongest:

• Jacks or Better – This is a hand which has a pair of Jacks or higher.
• Two Pair – This is a hand which has two pairs, for instance, two 10s and two Js.
• Three of a Kind – Whenever you have a hand that has three matching cards, you have a Three of a Kind. An example of this is three 5s.
• Straight– This is when you have a hand that contains five consecutive cards – for instance, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Flush– If you have a hand with five cards that have the same suit, you will have a Flush. An example of this is 2, 6, 7, 9, J of Hearts.
• Full House – This is a hand that has a pair and three of a kind. An example of this is two 6s and three Js.
• Four of a Kind (5s – Ks) – This is a hand that has four matching symbols, including 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, Js, Qs, or Ks.
• Four of a Kind (2s – 4s) – This is a hand that contains four matching cards, including 2s, 3s, or 4s.
• Four of a Kind (A) – This hand refers to when you have four Aces.
• Straight Flush– You will have a straight flush when you have five consecutive numbers which share the same suit. An example of this is 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of Hearts.
• Royal Flush– This is a hand that is essentially a Straight Flush but with the highest valued cards. This includes 10, J, Q, K, A of spades/clubs/diamonds/hearts. 

Double Bonus Poker Strategy

In order to boost your chances of winning at Double Bonus Poker, you ought to follow basic strategy. It is not called basic strategy because it is easy. Rather, it is the mathematically optimal way of playing. Whilst this may be confusing at first, you will soon get the hang of it after a bit of practise.

The strategy is easy to follow, but it requires you being able to spot the potential of each hand. You start at the top of the list below and work your way down and as soon as you come across something that matches your hand, you keep the specified cards and discard the rest.

1. Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Royal Flush 
2. 4 to a Royal Flush 
3. Three Aces 
4. Straight, Flush, Full House 
5. Three of a Kind (except Aces) 
6. 4 to a Straight Flush
7. Two Pair
8. High Pair
9. 4 to a Flush
10. 3 to a Royal Flush
11. 4 to an Outside Straight
12. Low Pair
13. AKQJ Unsuited
14. 3 to a Straight Flush (with More High Cards than Gaps)
15. 4 to an Inside Straight with 3 High Cards
16. QJ Suited
17. 3 to a Flush with 2 High Cards
18. 2 Suited High Cards
19. 4 to an Inside Straight with 2 High Cards
20. 3 to a Straight Flush (1 Gap or 2 Gaps with High Card or 234 suited)
21. 4 to an Inside Straight with 1 High Card
22. KQJ Unsuited
23. JT Suited
24. QJ Unsuited
25. 3 to a Flush with 1 High Card
26. QT Suited
27. 3 to a Straight Flush (2 Gaps, No High Cards)
28. KQ, KJ Unsuited
29. Ace
30. KT Suited
31. Jack, Queen or King
32. 4 to an Inside Straight with no High Cards
33. 3 to a Flush with No High Cards
34. Discard Everything

What to do?

Now that you are familiar with the scenarios, we will be looking at some examples of how you can use basic Double Bonus Poker strategy. Based on the above, you will be able to draw your own conclusions of how to deal with each hand.

Example 1

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 6 Clubs, Queen Spades, Ace Spades, 2 Diamonds, 9 Hearts

For this scenario, you are dealt two suited high cards – the Queen of Spades and Ace of Spades. Thus, your best option is to follow rule number 18, where you have two suited high cards. You should keep these high cards and discard the rest.

Example 2

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 4 Diamonds, 8 Clubs, 10 Spades, 4 Hearts, 4 Spades

In this instance, you will instantly notice that you have 3 of a Kind already. The best thing to do here is to keep those three cards and discard the rest. 3 of a Kind is a strong hand, but with a bit of luck, you may even boost that to 4 of a Kind or land a Full House.

Example 3

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 3 Clubs, 3 Spades, 8 Diamonds, 10 Hearts, Jack Spades

For this scenario, you have two pairs, but they are low valued cards. Thus, your options are not that much. The best thing you can do is to discard three of your cards and keep the two 3s. This may boost your chances of landing a 3 of a Kind. This is number 12 on the list, low pair.

Example 4

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 8 Clubs, 7 Spades, 10 Jacks, 9 Hearts, 3 Diamonds

This scenario is important to note because you are one card short of a straight. In this case, it is an Outside Straight as the missing card can be placed at either end of the cards you hold. In this case, you should get rid of the 3 Diamonds and hope for either a Jack or 6. This will complete the straight and it is not important which suit it lands in.

Example 5

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 2 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, 6 Spades, 5 Clubs, 9 Hearts

Very similar to the example above, once again, your best bet is to try and go for a straight. However, in this case, you will look for an Inside Straight, as you will need a specific card to win. You should dispose of the 9 Hearts and hope that a 3 lands. If a 3 lands, it will complete the straight.

Example 6

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 6 Clubs, 8 Clubs, Queen Hearts, King Clubs, Ace Clubs

When you receive such a hand, you should put all your focus on the card suit. In this scenario, you have four cards which are suited, barring the Queen of Hearts. Dispose of that card and hope that the replacement will be a Clubs card, completing the Flush.

Example 7

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 2 Hearts, 3 Hearts, 8 Diamonds, 10 Clubs, 6 Hearts

In this scenario, you are close to a Straight Flush. Thus, by all means, what you should do is keep hold of the 2, 3 and 6 of Hearts. Dispose of the other two. Your best bet is to receive the 4 and 5 of Hearts, completing the Straight Flush. However, you may also receive unsuited 4 and 5 or two Heart suited cards. This will also complete either a Straight or a Flush.

Example 8

In this scenario, you are dealt the following cards:

• 6 Clubs, 7 Diamonds, 8 Hearts, 9 Spades, 9 Clubs

In this scenario, you have two options. One of them is to keep the four cards 6, 7, 8, 9 and hope that you receive either a 5 or 10. This would complete the Straight. The other option is to dispose of the 6, 7 and 8 and keep the two 9s, resulting in a pair. If you want to go for the strongest hand, you should throw away one of the 9s and hope to form a Straight.