Super Double Bonus is a version of Double Bonus where four jacks, queens, and kings earn 600 coins instead of 250 and the straight flush returns 400 instead of 250. The best-paying version, which returns 45 for the full house and 25 for the flush, returns 99.695% when played well. When combined with a decent slot club and/or set of promotions, this can be a profitable game to play when you find it.
One of the trickiest parts of the strategy is when you are dealt an ace of one suit and a “JT” of another. Depending on the other two cards, sometimes you hold the “JT”, sometimes you hold the ace by itself, and sometimes you hold AJ.
For me to learn this, I created a flow chart which I believe is 100% accurate in this area of the strategy chart — although it presumes you know that a 4-card open-ended straight and a 3-card straight flush with one high card and two insides are both more valuable than the options presented in the flow chart. It follows relatively simple logic — but even relatively simple logic requires more concentration and study than some of my readers wish to endure.
What I thought I’d do is to present my flow chart, give you some sample hands to play, and let you see how you do. Afterwards, I’ll go through the flow chart more slowly and maybe it will be easier to understand.
And if you’re not in the mood for the logic of 9-5 SDB, it’s okay with me if you always play “JT” when you come to these hands. You won’t be giving up a whole lot. For some folks, making these kinds of distinctions cause their heads to hurt. If that’s you, take this column off and come back next week.
A versus “JT”:
Is there a flush penalty to the “JT”?
If no, play “JT” — end
If yes, continue
Is the flush penalty to the “JT” a 2-6 and the fifth card suited with the A?
If yes, is it an 8 or 9?
If yes, play AJ — end
If no, play “JT” — end
If no, continue
Is the flush penalty to the ”JT” a 2-5 and the fifth card an 8 or 9?
If yes, play A — end
If no, play “JT” — end
Is the flush penalty to the ”JT” a 6 and the fifth card a 7, 8 or 9?
If yes, play A — end
If no, play “JT” — end
Using the above logic, play these hands:
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 2♠ 5♠
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 9♠ 7♦
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 9♠ 8♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 3♣ 7♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 9♣ 5♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 7♣ 6♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 7♣ 5♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 8♣ 2♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 8♠ 2♥
- A♠ J♥ T♥ 7♠ 6♥
Here are the answers. If you easily got them all correct, you don’t need to read any further:
- A♠ 2♠ 5♠
- J♥ T♥
- J♥ T♥ 9♠ 8♥
- J♥ T♥ 7♥
- A♠
- A♠
- J♥ T♥
- A♠
- A♠ J♥
- J♥ T♥
If you missed one or more of the above problems, the following explanations may help:
Is there a flush penalty to the “JT”?
If no, play “JT” — end
If yes, continue
This rule is the easiest. Just look for a card suited with the “JT”. If you don’t find one, then “JT” is the play — unless, of course, some higher-ranking combination is in the hand.
Is the flush penalty to the “JT” a 2-6 and the fifth card suited with the A?
If yes, is it an 8 or 9?
If yes, play AJ — end
If no, play “JT” — end
If no, continue
We only get to this rule if there is a flush penalty to the “JT” and also a flush penalty to the A. Also, this is the only time we can hold AJ. Notice that the flush penalty to the J cannot be a 7 or higher as that would make it a higher-ranking 3-card straight flush or 3-card royal flush. Also note that this says that if there is a flush penalty to the A, but it is not an 8 or 9, we hold the “JT”.
Is the flush penalty to the ”JT” a 2-5 and the fifth card an 8 or 9?
If yes, play A — end
If no, play “JT” — end
By the time we get here, there is no flush penalty to the ace.
Is the flush penalty to the ”JT” a 6 and the fifth card a 7, 8 or 9?
If yes, play A — end
If no, play “JT” — end
By the time we get here, there is no flush penalty to the ace. The only difference in the last two rules is when the fifth card is a 7. If the flush penalty to the J is a 6 (meaning it is not a straight penalty to the A), we hold the A by itself. If the flush penalty to the J is a 2-5 (which are all straight penalties to the A), we hold the J.
Do the notes in green help you any? If so, welcome to them.
Thanks for this article, as there isn’t much written on SDB. I’d be very interested in learning the rules on the AH vs A rules in SDB!
Something is not clear. For the question “Is the flush penalty to the “JT” a 2-6 and the fifth card suited with the A?” there are 2 different actions for “If no”. What gives.
Is the flush penalty to the “JT” a 2-6 and the fifth card suited with the A?
If yes, is it an 8 or 9?
If yes, play AJ — end
If no, play “JT” — end
If no, continue
One of the problems is that the indention I used in my original Word document didn’t translate clearly when it was posted here.
What I intended is that the first “if no” relates to the fifth card being suited with the A while not being an 8 or 9 — such as A♠ J♥ T♥ 7♠ 6♥
The second “if no, continue” was intended to be the case where the fifth card was not suited with the A — such as A♠ J♥ T♥ 7♣ 5♥ or maybe A♠ J♥ T♥ 8♣ 5♥. Those cases have their own rules, which are covered below the rule you mention.
The flow chart works well for me. Sometimes “someone else’s” flow chart doesn’t work that well for me — and I know from experience that my way of looking at things isn’t always clear to others.
What I suggest is you make your own chart in a way that works for you. There are a lot of software products out there you can use. Simply start with A♠ J♥ T♥ and vary the other two cards. There really aren’t that many combinations. If you can find a way that makes more sense to you, use it!
Can you quantify the benefit from consistently employing the flow chart? How often does the situation come up? What would be the loss from simply holding the JT all the time–or the A all the time? What is the gain per hour by playing this particular hand perfectly?
I think all of us who don’t have a massive cerebral memory bank might want to know how often these arcane situations come up before we devote any effort to memorizing them. Also, presuming we are playing with an advantage–and without naming the place or situation, I know of at least one play involving this specific game that returns 101.1%–would conforming to this or any other specific rule slow us down enough that we’d get in fewer hands, thus diluting the small incremental gain from playing perfectly?
A similar discussion would be considering penalty cards at FPDW. Not doing so knocks you down from 100.76% (perfect play) to about 100.71%. Yet, you might get in 50 more hands an hour by playing “almost perfect” strategy. It’s a bit condescending to say that reluctance to learn the arcane ramifications of a particular hand in a particular game requires more concentration and study than some persons “wish to endure.” They may simply not see the benefit in expending the effort as well as the time, so little of which is allotted to us on this mortal orb, to do so. Most of us regard the various esoteric permutations of VP strategy as at most, a means to an end, not an intrinsically enjoyable or time-worthy subject of study.
Nice read Bob!
Thanks for posting this detailed flowchart! For beginners, To play, you start by choosing how many coins you want to bet.
Nice to see an article on 9/5 SDB, which is the best game available where I play. I don’t crush my brain to avoid a minor mistake, but I got 8 of the questions right, pretty quickly. Good for my confidence.