The answer to this specific question is no. The base game and the double-up game are two separate "games." Thus, the RNG is spinning -- that is, the cards are being shuffled -- between them, as it does between any two base hands without a double-up feature activated.
But we get lots of questions about double-up, so we asked our video poker expert, Jean Scott, to provide more in-depth information on it.
Double-Up -- Is This a Good VP Option?
Many VP players like the double-up option. They think it adds another type of gamble that's fun.
I don't play the Double-Up option for one main reason. It's only a 50/50 proposition -- an even bet. In the long run you'll neither make nor lose money. Since I'm always playing VP with an over-100% theoretical return, I don't want to waste my time doing something on which I'm merely breaking even, when I could be making a profit.
However, for someone who plays negative games, the same reasoning would give that player an incentive for using the double-up option. Making an even bet is better than one where you have the short end of the stick -- and you can have some added fun too.
However, there are a couple of other considerations. First, you usually don't accrue slot club points on the money you risk in the double-up phase.
Second, you need to think of this feature as a separate game. Once you win credits on the base game, that money is yours. You have to choose to take those credits and play them, so to speak, on another game. Now, if you only double-up on bets where you push, i.e., high pairs that return your original bet, you aren't inviting bankroll problems. However, when you double-up on wins that are bigger than your original bet, you're definitely in danger of going on a bankroll roller-coaster ride, one that might prematurely crash. This is the reason why most players put a limit on how far they go with the doubling game.
Most machines, especially those manufactured by IGT, have the double-up option available, but most casinos don't turn it on -- although many activate it for anyone who makes this request.
Conversely, some casinos turn off the option for you if you want to play a machine that has this feature activated, but you don't want to be slowed down at the end of every hand when the machine asks you whether you want to double-up or not.
