This column, along with next weeks, was originally run as a one-part article in March 1999 Casino Player.
"Double Up" is an optional, built-in feature to most video poker machines. Your friendly slot director can decide whether or not to turn it on, or leave it off. Most casinos have it off on most machines because most players are not interested. Some casinos have it on all the time on a few machines. And most casinos will turn it on for you if you ask.
If it is turned on, the player still has an option about whether or not to engage in the doubling behavior. After every win (from 1 coin to 4000), the machine will ask you "Do You Wish To Double Up?" If you press "NO", then the payoff proceeds as normal. If you press "YES", you then get a 50-50 chance at "double or nothing" for the amount of your last win.
This bet does not change the expected value of the game. Let's assume you are playing winning video poker. You are playing dollar 10-7 double bonus perfectly with an expected profit of $5 per 600 plays. This will take you about an hour. To be sure, $5 an hour isn't very impressive, but that's the potential of this game without slot club benefits, and you have to play very well to get that much.
If you use the "double up" feature, your expected win for those 600 hands is still $5. But now you'll take an hour and a half to play those 600 hands.
Another way to say this is that if you are one of the relatively few people who can play winning video poker, avoid the double up feature. It will slow down your rate of winning for no expected benefit. Note that "winning video poker" has nothing at all to do with whether you are up or down TODAY. Today's score is just a small blip on your overall score. Winning video poker consists of identifying a machine where, including slot club and promotions, you have an expected return of greater than 100%, and then playing that machine close enough to perfect.
But, let's face it, most video poker players and all slot players are playing a game where the casino has the advantage. Does the double up feature make sense for them?
Assume you are playing dollar 8-5 jacks or better. Although it is possible to play this game with a 97.3% return, nobody does. If you know how to play that well, you know enough to look for a game where the odds are better. So let's assume you play at about the 96% level --- which is approximately average.
Now playing at 600 hands per hour, your expected loss is $120. Using the double up feature has no effect on your loss, but it does stretch out that hour to an hour and a half. So on an hourly basis, you are losing less. Losing less per hour, means that on average you get to play longer for the same amount of money. If "time on machine" is your measure of value, definitely use the double up feature. You won't win or lose any more, but it will take longer.
Remember that playing longer hours on average doesn't mean that you will do this every time. For players with a short bankroll, you will "tap out" much more often by using the double up feature than if you weren't using it. Why? Because the swings are bigger. Bigger swings mean that you need a bigger cushion to withstand them. Short bankroll players do not have this cushion.
Bob Dancer is America's best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of "how to play better video poker" products, including the software "Video Poker for Winners," Winner's Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer's products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com or by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.
