Double Double Bonus Poker takes the bonus poker idea and pushes it to the extreme. It pays huge for four aces — and pays even more when those aces arrive with the right "kicker" card — funding those jackpots by gutting the two pair payout. The result is a game with big, exciting swings and a payback around 98.98% on the common 9/6 pay table. Because the double double bonus pay structure is so top-heavy, its strategy differs from Jacks or Better more than plain Bonus Poker does. This guide covers the pay table, the kicker that defines the game, and the key rules for correct Double Double Bonus strategy.
Double Double Bonus pay table (9/6)
Here is the standard 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker pay table, per coin bet. Note two things: the aces-with-kicker lines, and that two pair pays just 1.
| Hand | Pays (per coin) |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 (800 max) |
| Straight Flush | 50 |
| Four Aces + 2, 3 or 4 | 400 |
| Four 2s, 3s, 4s + A, 2, 3, 4 | 160 |
| Four Aces | 160 |
| Four 2s, 3s, 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 | 1 |
9/6 Double Double Bonus returns ≈98.98% with perfect play. The four-aces-with-kicker line pays 400 per coin — a 2,000-coin jackpot at a five-coin max bet.
The kicker: what makes Double Double Bonus different
The heart of Double Double Bonus is the kicker. Four aces on their own pay 160, but four aces accompanied by a 2, 3 or 4 pay a massive 400 — that fifth card, the kicker, more than doubles the hand. The same idea applies to quad 2s, 3s and 4s with an ace-through-four kicker. This single rule reshapes the whole game: aces become extraordinarily valuable, and holding the right low card alongside three aces can be correct where it never would be in Jacks or Better. It also drives the game's ferocious variance — most of your return is locked up in those rare aces-with-kicker hands, so expect long dry spells punctuated by the occasional huge hit.
Key Double Double Bonus strategy rules
Exact optimal play in Double Double Bonus is more demanding than Jacks or Better, but these high-value rules cover the decisions that matter most:
- Always keep a single ace. A lone ace outranks a lone king, queen or jack, and even beats many low pairs — the four-aces jackpots make it the most valuable single card in the game.
- Two pair is worth far less here. Because two pair pays only 1 (not 2), it is close to a high pair in value. Do not overvalue it — hold the high pair from two pair when the two pair contains a high pair.
- Hold three aces every time. Three aces is a jackpot draw: you are two cards from four aces plus a kicker. Never break it.
- Don't chase the kicker recklessly. The kicker rewards aces specifically; don't hold junk low cards hoping for it outside of ace situations.
- Keep high pairs over four-card straights. As in Bonus Poker, a paying high pair beats most drawing hands.
These rules are shared with the broader bonus poker family but tuned for the double double bonus pay table. The precise, hand-by-hand optimal strategy for Double Double Bonus Poker is exhaustive — an exact double double bonus video poker analyzer that computes the optimum hold for every hand is on our roadmap. Until then, use these rules plus the shared fundamentals below.
Double Double Bonus vs Double Bonus and Bonus Poker
It helps to place the game in the bonus family. Plain Bonus Poker pays a flat bonus for four aces and keeps two pair at 2 — its strategy is nearly identical to Jacks or Better. Double Bonus Poker raises the quad payouts further and drops two pair to 1. Double Double Bonus goes further still by adding the kicker: four aces with a 2, 3 or 4 becomes a jackpot. Each step up the double bonus ladder raises both the top-end payout and the variance, and moves strategy a little further from the simple Jacks or Better chart. Double double bonus poker sits at the wild end — the biggest jackpots and the biggest swings of the bonus poker games.
Bankroll and variance
Double Double Bonus is not a game to play with a short bankroll. Because so much of its return lives in rare four-aces-with-kicker hands, your session results will swing hard in both directions — far more than the gentle ride of Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker. If you love the chance at a genuine jackpot on a low bet, that variance is the appeal; if you want your money to last, a flatter game is the better pick. Either way, always bet five coins so the royal flush and the top jackpots pay their full rate.
Practise Double Double Bonus play
The core video poker skills carry straight into Double Double Bonus. Learn perfect Jacks or Better first, layer on the ace and two pair adjustments above, and drill your hold decisions in the free trainer. Check any hand against exact math in the analyzer, and see how every game's payback compares on our house edge page. Find a full-pay 9/6 machine, respect the variance, and let the aces do the heavy lifting.
9/6 Double Double Bonus payback is the standard published figure; our engine currently verifies Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild exactly. Educational content about probability and game theory, not gambling advice.