Aces Bonus Poker

Aces (or “Ace$”) Bonus Poker is an interesting variation of Bonus Poker, which is, in turn, a variation of Jacks or Better. The gimmick in this game has to do with the aces. Each of the aces is marked with one of the following letters:

If you’re dealt 4 aces, and if the aces spell ACE$, the hand pays out at 800 to 1 (just like a royal flush). This seems like a simple enough bonus gimmick, but it has serious implications for playing strategy. Here’s why:

In other video poker games, the order of the cards from left to right don’t matter. A royal flush is a royal flush regardless of where each card falls in position.

But in order to spell ACE$, the 4 aces must fall in positions 1234 or 2345. There are no other possibilities.

This creates interesting problems related to discerning the optimal playing strategy.

Video poker games are played largely in the same way from one machine to the other, but there are variations based on which particular game you’re playing. One thing all legitimate video poker games have in common is that the random number generator—the computer program that determines the outcomes—emulates the same odds you’d see in a deck of 52 playing cards. (In some variations, there’s a 53^rd card—the joker, but not in Ace$ Bonus Poker).

To start, you insert your money. The screen updates the number of credits you have available. You’re allowed to bet between 1 and 5 coins on each hand.

Pro Tip

Experienced video poker players know that you ALWAYS play for 5 coins per hand, because the top payout for the top hand is only available if you bet max coins. If you’ve played for 4 coins or less, you get a reduced payout on the top hand, which has serious implications for your payback percentage.

Once you’ve placed your bet, the computer deals you a 5 card hand. You then have the option of keeping or discarding each card in the hand. The computer replaces the cards you discard, and you get paid out based on the ranking of the hand—the game’s pay table is prominently displayed, so you’re able to see how much each hand is worth.

One of the major differences between video poker and slot machines is that the odds of getting a certain symbol on a certain line are known. On a slot machine game, a symbol might have a 1/10 probability of appearing or a 1/100 probability of appearing—or any number above or below that.

But in video poker games like Aces Bonus Poker, the odds are determined based on what you’d expect from a playing card. Since you know the payouts for each hand, and you can calculate the odds of hitting each hand, you can determine the expected payback percentage from the game. That math is hard to do with pencil and paper, but that’s what computers and calculators are for.

Below we’ve included information about the various pay tables available in this game and what the implications are for the player in terms of payback percentage. We follow that with some suggestions about how to use the optimal strategy to maximize your chances of winning.

In most video poker games, the 800 to 1 payout is reserved for the royal flush, but in Aces Bonus Poker, if you get the right combination of 4 aces, you can get an 800 to 1 payout for it, too. The odds of getting that hand are even smaller than the odds of getting a royal flush, though. That’s because the cards have to fall in order.

Here, in general, is what you can expect these hands to pay:

Royal Flush and 4 Aces spelling “ACE$

These are the top paying hands, and they pay out at 800 to 1. In order to get this payout, you have to bet 5 coins per line, which means that the hand actually pays out 4000 coins on a 5 coin bet.

A Straight Flush

Pays out 40 to 1.

4 Aces

Pays out 80 to 1, with the exception of the above bonus payout.

4 of a Kind (2s, 3s, or 4s)

Pays out 40 to 1, just like a Straight Flush.

4 of a Kind (Any other)

Pays out 25 to 1.

Full House

Pays out at 8 to 1.

Flush

Pays out at 5 to 1.

Straight

Pays out at 4 to 1.

3 of a Kind

Pays out at 3 to 1.

2 Pairs

Pays out at 2 to 1.

Pair of Jacks or Better

Pays out even money.

This is considered the full pay version of the game. You can spot it because of the payouts for the full house and the flush, which pay out 8 to 1 and 5 to 1, respectively. Experts would call this an “8/5” game. When casinos and video poker designers want to adjust the payback percentage up and down on a video poker game, they usually do so by adjusting the payouts for these 2 hands. This holds true of almost all games based on Jacks or Better.

You’ll also find 7/5 and 6/5 versions of this game. These have lower payback percentages.

You’ll also find a version which pays 10/6, but the payout for 2 pairs has been reduced to an even money payout. This reduces the payback percentage significantly. (Many people would assume that a 10/6 game would be better than an 8/5 game, but the adjusted payout on 2 pairs has a bigger effect than you’d imagine.)

Other variations exist, too, but the best version is the 8/5 game.

Here’s what the actual pay table looks like on the screen for the full pay version:

Remember—the lines to watch are the lines for the full house and the flush. If you see higher payouts for the full house and the flush, then look at the payouts for the lower hands, like 3 of a kind and 2 pairs. They’ll reduce the payout on those 2 hands to be able to afford the higher payout on the full house and the flush.

The payback percentage on a video poker game is calculated assuming that the player makes optimal decisions on every hand. But since Aces Bonus Poker is based on a deck of 52 cards, the odds of making each hand are known, so the overall payback percentage can be calculated.

Kevin

Roberts

Content Editor

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Kevin Roberts, previously published under the pseudonym Noah Davis, is one of the more diverse writers at GamblingSites.com. Like many of his colleagues, he's a huge fan of both football and basketball. But he also writes about box office records, TV show prop bets, DFS, and all kinds of other subjects. When it comes to the NFL, Kevin's favorite team is the Green Bay Packers. He enjoys cheering them on with his wife and daughter.

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