In my early years of video poker (say 1994-2000) 10\/7 Double Bonus was one of my main games. As I increased the stakes for which I played, I drifted away from this game. It’s still available in Las Vegas for low stakes, but casinos that offer it punish players who play it — by reducing or eliminating the slot club and other benefits.<\/p>\n
Still, it’s a slightly positive game from the get go and it still has its adherents. Popular or not, the correct play on hands hasn’t changed since I played it regularly.<\/p>\n
When people are practicing 10\/7 Double Bonus on their computer, they get a hand such as A\u2663 Q\u2665 9\u2660 7\u2663 6\u2666 or A\u2663 Qhearts 9\u2660 6\u2665 3\u2666 and the computer says to hold the A by itself. But when they get a hand such as A\u2663 Q\u2665 7\u2663 5\u2666 3\u2660, the computer says to hold AQ. This puzzles people and I get maybe ten emails a year asking me to explain. To save myself work, now I’ll just send them to this article for the answer.<\/p>\n
The first thing to look at in these hands is if there is anything else in the hand that is eligible to be held. For example, any 3-card straight flush, 4-card inside straight, or even 3-card flush with a high card is superior to either A or AK, AQ or AJ. Also, with a suited JT or QT along with the A, hold JT or QT. With a suited KT along with the A, hold the A by itself. Examples of some of these hands are as follows:<\/p>\n
A\u2665 K\u2660 4\u2665 3\u2660 2\u2665 hold A42<\/p>\n
A\u2666 Q\u2660 4\u2666 3\u2660 2\u2665 hold A432<\/p>\n
A\u2663 J\u2665 T\u2665 6\u2663 3\u2663 hold JT<\/p>\n
A\u2663 K\u2665 T\u2665 6\u2663 3\u2666 hold A<\/p>\n
A\u2660 Q\u2665 9\u2660 5\u2666 3\u2660 hold A93<\/p>\n
A\u2665 J\u2660 9\u2665 8\u2663 7\u2665 hold J987<\/p>\n
A\u2666 Q\u2660 7\u2660 3\u2660 2\u2665 hold Q73<\/p>\n
So once we have eliminated these hands and we are just down to choosing between A and AK (or AQ or AJ), we usually just hold the A. To hold BOTH high cards, three separate things must happen:<\/p>\n
a) There must be a flush penalty to the A, (i.e. there is exactly one card in the hand suited with the A — from 2 to T);<\/p>\n
b) There must be a low straight penalty to the A, (i.e. there are either one or two separate cards lower than a 6 — 2, 3, 4 and\/or 5). It is okay if the same card meets both conditions ‘a’ and ‘b’.<\/p>\n
c) Any T in the hand must be unsuited with both of the high cards. This one is tricky because you have to look for a specific card NOT to be there.<\/p>\n
If ALL THREE of these conditions are met, hold BOTH high cards. If fewer than all three are met, hold just the A. Let’s try some examples:<\/p>\n
A\u2665 K\u2660 9\u2665 7\u2660 6\u2663 — hold A because there is no low straight penalty;<\/p>\n
A\u2666 Q\u2663 9\u2665 7\u2660 5\u2663 — hold A because there is no flush penalty;<\/p>\n
A\u2666 J\u2660 T\u2663 7\u2666 3\u2665 — hold A because there is an unsuited T penalty;<\/p>\n
A\u2663 J\u2665 T\u2663 8\u2660 4\u2660 — hold AJ because the T is suited with one of the high cards (It doesn’t matter whether the T is suited with the A or the other high card).<\/p>\n
How do you keep this all straight? Use a computer to practice. And how you practice depends on which computer program you have. I still sometimes practice with WinPoker, using the Hard Hand mode. I would set the computer to start with A\u2665 J\u2663 7\u2663 and let the other two cards be chosen randomly. I would also set the computer to “auto hold”, and then just hit the button. Within a few dozen examples, you’ll begin to see when it is correct to hold the A, the AJ, JT, three cards to the flush or straight flush, and a 4-card inside straight. Once you’ve seen enough examples, you’ll find that it isn’t that difficult.<\/p>\n