There is a bet on video poker machines that has no house edge - the gamble or double up. There are two main types of double up found on video poker games and both offer natural odds. This means that the odds of winning are based purely on the cards dealt - the casino has no advantage.
Deal Style Double Up
In the USA the most common gamble option for video poker is the deal style. When you press gamble you are dealt five cards on the screen. Once card is face up and the rest are face down. Your aim is to pick a card that has a higher value than the card already showing. If you are successful your win is doubled and if you are incorrect you lose the entire win.
Red / Black or Suites Double Up
The other style of gamble feature is also based on cards but works in a different way. Commonly found in Australia and Asia this style of double up is based purely on one card. You get one card face down and get to choose red or black to double your win or one of the four suits to quadruple your win.
The Half Gamble Options
Some machines also give you the option to double all or only half of your win. We quite like this option as if you get a nice win you can rick half of it on a double knowing that you will not lose the other half. You can also keep going with half or full doubles or a mix of two until you collect or lose.
Real Life Example
The double up option gives you the chance at getting a big win starting with a small one. Lets say for example you are playing Jacks or Better. The to win on the game is 4,000 coins for a royal flush. Getting any four of a kind pays 125 coins. The odds of hitting a royal are 1 in 649740 and the odds of getting any four of a kind are 1 in 4165. Clearly you are going to get a lot more 125 coin pays than you will royal flushes.
If however you choose to try and gamble your 125 coin win for a four of a kind you can reach the 4,000 coin pay in five successful doubles. This might seem like a bit of an unlikely thing to do but the actual odds of getting five doubles in a row are still better than the odds of being dealt a royal flush.
Obviously it is a personal choice as the whether you want to try gambling your wins. Some players prefer to play perfect strategy in an effort to get the lowest house edge. Others like to go for the big win with the double up. |
