Provider	Microgaming

Double Bonus Poker

Double Bonus Poker is a video poker variant built on the foundation of Jacks or Better, but with one significant difference: four-of-a-kind hands pay considerably more. Developed by Microgaming, the game rewards players who land four aces, four twos, threes or fours, or four fives through kings with enhanced payouts compared to the standard video poker format. That shift in the pay table changes how you should approach every decision at the draw.

How Double Bonus Poker Works

The game follows the same five-card draw structure you find in most video poker titles. You are dealt five cards from a standard 52-card deck, with no wild cards in play. After the initial deal, you select which cards to hold and which to discard. The discarded cards are replaced from the remaining deck, and your final hand is evaluated against the pay table. Winning hands start at a pair of jacks.

The controls are simple: use the coin size selector to set your bet, then choose between Bet One and Bet Max before pressing Deal. The pay table at the top of the screen updates to reflect your current stake, so you always know what each hand is worth before you start.

After a winning hand, you can opt into the gamble feature. Rather than the usual red or black card guess, this version presents five cards face down with one dealer card showing face up. You pick one of your four cards, and if it ranks higher than the dealer's card you double your winnings. You can run the gamble feature multiple times in succession, though the risk compounds quickly.

The Pay Table: Where Double Bonus Differs from Jacks or Better

The key distinction is in how four-of-a-kind hands are paid. In standard Jacks or Better, all four-of-a-kind hands pay 25 coins per coin wagered. Double Bonus Poker breaks that category into three tiers:

Four aces: 160 coins per coin wagered (at 5 coins in, pays 800)
Four twos, threes or fours: 80 coins per coin wagered
Four fives through kings: 50 coins per coin wagered

Those enhanced payouts have to be funded somewhere. The offset comes from reduced payments on lower-ranked hands. Full houses typically pay 10:1 in the full-pay version (compared to 9:1 in standard Jacks or Better), and flushes pay 7:1 rather than 6:1 - this is the 10/7 version, which is the most favourable for players. Some casinos offer a 9/7 version instead, and the difference matters for the return to player figure.

RTP and House Edge

The return to player for Double Bonus Poker varies depending on which pay table version you are playing:

Full-pay 10/7 version: approximately 100.17% with optimal strategy, giving a house edge of around 0.18%
9/7 version: approximately 99.11% with optimal strategy

The 100.17% figure means that over an extended period of play with perfect strategy, the 10/7 version theoretically returns slightly more than you put in. In practice, variance is high due to the concentration of value in four-of-a-kind hands, so short-session results can swing considerably in either direction.

If you cannot identify which version the game uses, count the coins paid for a full house and a flush with a five-coin bet. A 10/7 game pays 50 coins for a full house and 35 for a flush; a 9/7 game pays 45 and 35 respectively.

Strategy Adjustments from Jacks or Better

Because four-of-a-kind hands carry inflated value - particularly aces - the optimal strategy for Double Bonus Poker diverges from Jacks or Better in several ways.

Hold low pairs less aggressively. In Jacks or Better, holding a low pair (twos through tens) is nearly always the right play. In Double Bonus Poker, the increased value of four-of-a-kind hands means you should sometimes break a low pair if doing so gives you a stronger shot at a four-card combination with high upside - particularly if you hold three aces or three twos, threes, or fours.

Prioritise suited ace-king-queen-jack over a high pair. The four-card royal flush draw is worth more here because of how the four-ace payout affects expected value calculations. A pair of jacks or better is still a guaranteed return, but the four-card royal draw edges ahead in expected value under optimal strategy.

Never break a pair of aces. Four aces pay 160 coins per coin wagered, making any hand containing two aces worth preserving. Even if you hold a low pair alongside two aces, keep the aces and discard the pair.

Three aces beat two pair. If you hold three aces alongside a pair of any rank, keep only the aces and discard the pair. The expected value of drawing to three aces is higher than locking in the two-pair return.

The strategy chart is more complex than Jacks or Better because of these special cases around aces and low four-of-a-kind targets. Using a printed strategy card while you play is a common and accepted approach.

Practical Tips

Play at maximum coins if you can afford to. The royal flush pays 4,000 coins at max bet (800 coins per coin wagered), but only 250 coins per coin wagered at lower bet levels. The RTP calculations assume max bet play; playing fewer coins reduces your return on royal flushes significantly.

Accept that variance is higher than in standard video poker. The pay table is skewed toward rare, high-value hands. Sessions where you go a long time without hitting a four-of-a-kind will feel very different from sessions where you hit two or three. That is the nature of the game, not a sign anything is wrong.

Use the gamble feature sparingly. The feature offers roughly 50/50 odds, which is not a bad proposition, but it transfers variance to your winnings rather than the dealt cards. Using it repeatedly on a single win is how small gains become zero.

Learn the key departure points from Jacks or Better before you play. The single biggest mistake Double Bonus players make is carrying Jacks or Better habits into a game that rewards different decisions. Knowing when to break a low pair is worth more than any other adjustment.

What is Double Bonus Poker?

Double Bonus Poker is a video poker variant based on Jacks or Better, distinguished by enhanced payouts for four-of-a-kind hands. Four aces pay 160 coins per coin wagered, four twos through fours pay 80, and four fives through kings pay 50, compared to 25 for all four-of-a-kinds in standard Jacks or Better.

What is the RTP of Double Bonus Poker?

The full-pay 10/7 version of Double Bonus Poker has an RTP of approximately 100.17% with optimal strategy, giving a house edge of around 0.18%. The 9/7 version returns approximately 99.11% with optimal strategy.

How does Double Bonus Poker differ from Jacks or Better?

The main difference is the pay table for four-of-a-kind hands, which pay significantly more in Double Bonus Poker. To fund these enhanced payouts, other hands such as full houses and flushes may pay slightly less depending on the version. This also changes the optimal strategy, particularly around how you handle low pairs and three-of-a-kind aces.

Should I always hold a low pair in Double Bonus Poker?

Not always. Unlike Jacks or Better where holding a low pair is nearly always correct, Double Bonus Poker sometimes rewards breaking a low pair in favour of drawing to a stronger four-of-a-kind possibility. The most important exception involves aces: three aces are worth more than two pair, so always keep the aces and discard the pair.

Does Double Bonus Poker have wild cards?

No. Double Bonus Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck and no wild cards. Every hand is based on the five cards dealt and replaced from a conventional shuffled deck.

What is the difference between the 10/7 and 9/7 versions of Double Bonus Poker?

The numbers refer to the payouts for a full house and flush respectively. The 10/7 version pays 10 coins per coin wagered for a full house and 7 for a flush, giving an RTP of around 100.17% with optimal play. The 9/7 version pays 9 for a full house and 7 for a flush, reducing the RTP to around 99.11%.