What makes DDB different
Double Double Bonus Poker is a variant of Jacks or Better that dramatically increases payouts on four-of-a-kind hands. The trade-off: Two Pair is reduced to a 1-credit payout (versus 2 in standard JoB), making short sessions more volatile. The premium quads (especially Four Aces with a 2, 3, or 4 kicker) pay 400× your bet, which is where the game's variance and excitement come from.
Understanding these bonus payout thresholds is the key to playing DDB correctly. Several strategy decisions that would be wrong in Jacks or Better become correct here specifically because of the asymmetric quad values.
Always play maximum coins. The Royal Flush pays 250× for 1–4 coins but jumps to 800× for the 5-coin max bet. On a $0.25 machine, max bet is $1.25 per hand. The Royal Flush premium alone justifies the difference in expected value.
The DDB 9/6 paytable
| Hand | Payout (per credit, max bet) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 800× |
| Straight Flush | 50× |
| Four Aces + 2/3/4 kicker | 400× |
| Four 2s/3s/4s + A/2/3/4 kicker | 160× |
| Four Aces | 160× |
| Four 2s, 3s, or 4s | 80× |
| Four 5s through Kings | 50× |
| Full House | 9× |
| Flush | 6× |
| Straight | 4× |
| Three of a Kind | 3× |
| Two Pair | 1× |
| Jacks or Better (pair) | 1× |
| All other | 0× |
Optimal hold priority order
When you receive a hand, find the highest-ranking pattern below that fits your cards and hold exactly those cards. Everything else gets discarded.
| # | Hold |
|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush — hold all five |
| 2 | Straight Flush — hold all five |
| 3 | Four Aces with 2, 3, or 4 kicker — hold all five |
| 4 | Four 2s/3s/4s with A, 2, 3, or 4 kicker — hold all five |
| 5 | Four Aces — hold all five |
| 6 | Full House — hold all five |
| 7 | Flush — hold all five |
| 8 | Straight — hold all five |
| 9 | Four 2s, 3s, or 4s — hold all five |
| 10 | Four 5s through Kings — hold all five |
| 11 | Three of a Kind — hold the three, discard two |
| 12 | Four to a Royal Flush |
| 13 | Two Pair — hold both pairs, discard kicker |
| 14 | High Pair (Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces) |
| 15 | Three to a Royal Flush |
| 16 | Four to a Straight Flush |
| 17 | Low Pair (2s through 10s) |
| 18 | Four to a Flush |
| 19 | Four to an Outside Straight |
| 20 | Three to a Straight Flush |
| 21 | Two suited high cards (J–A same suit) |
| 22 | Four to an Inside Straight (3+ high cards) |
| 23 | Two unsuited high cards |
| 24 | One high card (J, Q, K, or A) |
| 25 | Discard all five |
Key strategy rules to memorize
The kicker rule for premium quads
Unlike most video poker games, in DDB you sometimes hold a kicker alongside three of a kind when it unlocks a bonus payout. Specifically:
- Hold three Aces + a 2, 3, or 4 (discard the 5th card). If you hit the fourth Ace, the 2/3/4 kicker pays 400× instead of 160×.
- Hold three 2s/3s/4s + an Ace, 2, 3, or 4. The kicker unlocks the 160× payout versus 80×.
- For all other three of a kind (5s–Ks), discard both non-matching cards. No bonus kicker applies.
The kicker rule is the most common mistake DDB players make. When you have three Aces, your instinct is to discard both kickers and draw two. Resist it: holding the right kicker doubles your four-Aces payout from 160× to 400×.
Breaking a made hand for a Royal draw
Four to a Royal Flush (rank 12) sits above Two Pair and High Pair in the priority order, but below Three of a Kind and all made hands from Straight upward. This means:
- Break a High Pair or Two Pair for a 4-to-a-Royal draw. ✓
- Do not break Three of a Kind, a Straight, Flush, or better for a Royal draw. ✗
Low Pair vs. four to a Flush
In standard Jacks or Better, Four to a Flush outranks a Low Pair. In DDB 9/6, the reduced Two Pair payout (1× instead of 2×) lowers the value of a Low Pair enough that Four to a Flush now outranks a Low Pair (ranks 17 vs. 18 in the table above). This is one of the most impactful DDB-specific adjustments.
High cards and their value
A single Ace is the most valuable lone high card because it participates in premium quad kicker scenarios. When you have no other holding, prefer keeping the Ace over a Jack, Queen, or King.
Expected value benchmarks
Use these EV reference points to sanity-check the analyzer's output:
- Royal Flush: 800.00 (EV = payout, drawing 0)
- Four Aces + 2/3/4: 400.00
- Full House: 9.00
- High Pair (held alone): ≈ 1.54
- Three to a Royal: ≈ 1.29
- Low Pair (held alone): ≈ 0.82
- Discard all five: ≈ 0.36
Any EV above 1.00 means the hold is expected to return more than your original bet on average. The overall game return of 98.98% means the average EV across all dealt hands is approximately 0.9898.
Practice with the analyzer
The best way to internalize this strategy is repetition with immediate feedback. Use the Video Poker Analyzer to deal random hands and verify your hold decisions against the calculated optimal play. Pay special attention to:
- Three Aces with various kickers (practice the kicker rule)
- Hands with both a High Pair and a 4-to-Royal draw
- Low Pair versus 4-to-a-Flush decisions
- Two Pair hands where one card is part of a 3-to-Royal