Pair vs. High Card, Even Money BJ, Fast Play Slots by John Grochowski
 
Q. Explain to me why you should hold a pair instead of a high card in video poker. It seems to me I win more when I hold a queen instead 
of say, a pair of 7s.

A. You win more hands when you hold the high card, but you win more money when you hold the pair. I don’t know about you, but when I 
play, I’d rather have more money than the experience of winning more hands.

Let’s use 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker as an example, where full houses pay 9-for-1 and flushes 6-for-1. Let’s assume we’re betting 
five coins per hand and are dealt queen of hearts, a 7 of spades and diamonds, a 10 of clubs and a 5 of spades. If you hold just the 
queen, there are 178,365 possible four-card draws. The majority, 111,413 of them, bring no payoff. The next biggest share, 45,324, get 
us our money back with a pair of jacks or better. (The biggest share of those are queens, but we will also find pairs of jacks, kings and 
aces in our draws).

We’ll also get five-coin returns on 9,033 possible two-pair hands, 15-coin returns on 4,177 three of a kinds, 20 coins on 573 straights, 
25 coins on 492 flushes, 45 on 297 full houses, 250 on 49 four of a kinds consisting of 5s through kings, 400 on each of three four of a 
kinds consisting of 2s, 3s or 4s, and 800 on the one four-ace hand. Average all that out, and you’ll find that you’ve had winners on 
37.5% of hands and averaged a 2.18-coin return for every five coins wagered.

What if you hold the pair of 7s instead? That narrows the possibilities. There are only 16,125 possible three-card draws. 
Again, the majority, 11,559 hands, bring no return. There are no flush or straight possibilities, our paying hands will include 5 
coins on each of 2,592 two-pair hands, 15 on each of 1,854 three of a kinds, 45 on each of 165 full houses and 250 on each of 45 four-seven 
hands. We have winners on 28.3% of all possibilities, but our average return leaps to 3.62 coins per five coins wagered. Why? Because a 
much higher proportion of our winners get us more than our money back. Hold just the queen, and 54,257 of 66,952 possible winners, or 
81%, are either high pairs or two pairs that just get our money back. Hold the 7s, and the 2,592 two-pairs in our 4,566 winners mean we get 
five-coin returns on only 56.8% of our winners. We win less often when we hold the pair, but we also win more money. 

Q. At a charity casino night, the blackjack games paid only even money on two-card 21s. You’ve advised not to play if blackjacks pay 
only 6-5 instead of the usual 3-2, so I’m sure you wouldn’t like a game where they pay even money. My question, though, is what that 
does to the house edge, and what strategy you would use in such a game?

A. When blackjacks pay only even money, it adds about 2.3% to the house edge. That’s a huge disadvantage for players, given that the 
entire house edge against basic strategy players is usually only about half a percent, a few tenths more or less depending on house 
rules. There are no strategy adjustments to be made since you don’t draw to two-card 21s. Not even counting cards and adjusting your bets 
with the count can bring you back to even in such a game. That being said, you were playing in a charity game, where the purpose is to 
raise money for a worthy cause. I wouldn’t play that game in a casino, but for charity, I’d set a limit at what I would donate. 

Q. I have a question about how fast you play slot machines. Pretend you’re betting the same amount on pennies, nickels and quarters, say 
three quarters for 75¢, 15 nickels or 75 pennies. The quarter game has reels, and the nickel and penny are video. Obviously you’re 
playing a different number of paylines on each machine. Is there anything in the games themselves that makes one play faster than 
another? Are you betting the same amount per hour on one as on another?

A. Most likely, you’re betting the most money per hour on the quarter reel-spinner. That’s because most such games don’t have bonus 
rounds, and even if they do have bonus events in the top box, such as the Wheel of Fortune spin, they take less time than many video bonus 
rounds. When you’re playing a bonus round, you’re not making extra wagers. The playing time that does not cost you extra money is one of 
the great strengths of video slots. Whether you’re picking gift boxes, finding aliens or shooting down bonus amounts from your jet 
fighter, or watching the credits mount up on free spins, you’re getting a break from the wager-after-wager routine of most reel- 
spinning slots. As for the difference between nickels and pennies, that depends on the game and the frequency and duration of bonus 
events. If you’re getting as much bonus time on one as on the other, then speed is about equal. You might spend extra time looking over 
your winning combinations on a game with more paylines. Understand though, that there’s a tradeoff involved. The penny or nickel player 
wagering the same amount per spin as a quarter player risks less money per hour, but also gets lower payback percentages. 

— John Grochowski is the author of The Casino Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book, The Video Poker Answer Book and the Craps Answer 
Book, available through Bonus Books, Inc. at (800) 225-3775.