ULTIMATE ACES TRIPLE DOUBLE BONUS VIDEO POKER

The next of the ‘Ultimate Aces/Bonus Poker’ mashup games is ‘Ultimate Aces Triple Double Bonus Video Poker’. The basic ‘Triple Double Bonus‘ is an interesting machine as it is one of the few of the ‘Bonus Poker‘ series that is very popular among ‘sharp‘ players. Making this even stranger is the payback—it’s not that great. Even the best pay table returns just 99.58% and the most common pay table returns 98.15%.

As we’ve learned, the ‘Ultimate Aces rules’ (which we outline in detail below) typically results in a lower payback percentage and always results in more volatility. The volatility (math geeks call it ‘variance‘) makes it an even more unlikely choice for ‘sharp’ players. If you’re not hitting your quads you’ll feel like you’re throwing your money away.

ULTIMATE ACES RULES

The ‘Ultimate Aces’ rules are the same regardless of which variation of the game you’re playing. The basic premise is that for an additional bet per hand the player gets a bonus on any hand with a dealt Ace. Since the game is typically found in ‘triple play’ form this means that max bet is 15 coins for three hands (5 X 3) plus 15 ‘bonus bet‘ for three hands (5 X 3) equaling 30 coins per play.

Any time an Ace shows up on the first deal the player automatically gets a bonus on all winning hands. Note that you do not have to hold the Ace to get the bonus. The bonuses are random but the more Aces in a hand the higher the bonus amount. The bonus amount ranges from 2X to 10X. According to game manufacturer IGT the average bonus multipliers are as follows:

• 1 Ace: 3.4X
• 2 Aces: 4.5X
• 3 Aces: 6.0X
• 4 Aces: 7.6X

The Triple Double Bonus Poker format offers a return of 98.13% with max coins bet. There are other pay tables available with a lower return but the 98.13% paytable is the most common.

ULTIMATE ACES TRIPLE DOUBLE BONUS VIDEO POKER STRATEGY

As you can likely surmise from looking at the pay table this game can be downright brutal. If you’re not hitting your quads you’ll feel like a truck hit you—or your bankroll at least. It’s surprising that Triple Double Bonus Poker is a game that many ‘sharp‘ video poker players seek out and enjoy. Maybe it’s the challenge. If the four of a kinds are falling your way you can rack up a nice profit very quickly.

The strategy for Ultimate Aces Triple Double Bonus Poker is essentially the same as ‘Triple Double Bonus Poker‘. There are a few slightly counterintuitive plays that we address in greater detail at the end of this article:

• Royal Flush
• Straight Flush
• Any Four of a Kind with or without ‘winning’ kicker
• 4 to a Royal Flush
• Three Aces
• Three of a Kind w/ Kicker (2223, 2224, 3332, 3334, 333A, 4442, 4443, 444A, AAA2, AAA3, AAA4)
• Three of a Kind (222, 333, 444, AAA)
• Full House
• Flush
• Straight
• Three of a Kind (5-K)
• 4 to a Straight Flush
• Pair of Aces
• Two Pair
• 3 to a Royal Flush (KQJ)
• High Pair (JQK)
• 3 to a Royal Flush (AKQ, AKJ, AQJ, KQT, KJT, QJT)
• 4 to a Flush
• 3 to a Royal Flush (AKT, AQT, AJT)
• Pair of 2,3 or 4
• 4 to an outside straight
• 3 to a straight flush
• 1 pair of 5,6,7, 8, 9 or 10s
• 4 to an inside straight w/ three high cards
• 2 Suited High Cards
• Unsuited JQK
• Unsuited JQ
• Ace
• J10 Suited
• KQ, KJ Unsuited
• KT, QT Suited
• Jack, King or Queen
• 4 To an Inside Straight
• Discard Everything

FINAL NOTE ABOUT STRATEGY

As you can see in this strategy chart holding the kicker with a relevant three of a kind is essential. So if you get:

2H 2D 2S 4C X

In many video poker games you would hold:

2H 2D 2S X X

That’s the INCORRECT play in Ultimate Aces Triple Double Bonus Poker. The difference between four deuces (400) and four deuces with an A, 2, 3, 4 kicker (2000) is too great. Instead, this would be the correct play:

2H 2D 2S 4C X

Keep in mind that the quads—and particularly the quads with kicker bonus hands—are everything in this game. If all you’re doing is mucking about with low hands you’ll be ‘ground out‘ in rapid fashion.