 
Deuce on the loose?
Double-check payoffs
January 20, 2002
BY JOHN GROCHOWSKI
GAMING COLUMNIST
Sniffing out the
best pay tables on Jacks or Better-based
video poker games isn't difficult.
As we discussed last week, it's
mostly a matter of checking out
the payoffs on full houses, flushes
and, sometimes, straights.
Occasionally, a
casino operator will sneak in a
change elsewhere on the pay table,
and you have to be alert, but chances
are that a Double Bonus Poker game
that pays 10-for-1 on full houses,
7-for-1 on flushes and 5-for-1 on
straights is full-pay. Any decrease
in those payoffs, and you have something
less than the real McCoy.
It's not quite so
simple with Deuces Wild. There are
dozens of variations, and the changes
come all over the pay table. Further,
the machine glass just says "Deuces
Wild.'' The only way to tell if
it's "loose"--high-paying--or
"tight" is to check the
pay table.
Players, particularly
the late video poker guru Lenny
Frome, have given nicknames to some
of these games, which I'll use here.
But the only way to tell whether
you have high-paying Not So Ugly
Deuces or low-paying Colorado Deuces
is to check the pay tables.
FULL-PAY DEUCES
Pay table: Natural
royal flush 250-for-1 (increases
to 4,000 coins for a five-coin wager);
four deuces 200-for-1; royal flush
with wild cards 25-for-1; five of
a kind 15-for-1; straight flush
9-for-1; four of a kind 5-for-1;
full house 3-for-1; flush 2-for-1;
straight 2-for-1; three of a kind
1-for-1.
How to recognize:
Zero in on the payoff on four of
a kind. Full-pay Deuces pays 5-for-1
on quads. Virtually every other
Deuces Wild game reduces that to
4-for-1.
Characteristics:
Returns 100.8 percent with expert
play. Consequently it's rare outside
Nevada and has never been approved
in Illinois or Indiana. Even in
Nevada, this is almost strictly
a quarter game. Every time a casino
installs dollar machines, video
poker pros play them to extinction.
COLORADO DEUCES
Pay table: Natural
royal flush 250-for-1 (increases
to 4,000 coins for a five-coin wager);
four deuces 200-for-1; royal flush
with wild cards 25-for-1; five of
a kind 16-for-1; straight flush
13-for-1; four of a kind 4-for-1;
full house 3-for-1; flush 2-for-1;
straight 2-for-1; three of a kind
1-for-1.
How to recognize:
The 13-for-1 payback on straight
flushes is a dead giveaway. Five
of a kind return of 16-for-1 also
is higher than on most Deuces games.
Characteristics:
Returns 96.8 percent with expert
play. Enhanced payoffs on five of
a kind and straight flushes don't
begin to make up for the shortfall
on four of a kind. It's better for
the player if payback enhancements
come lower on the pay table, as
in Not So Ugly and Illinois Deuces.
Colorado strategy puts extra emphasis
on drawing for straight flushes.
NOT SO UGLY DEUCES
Pay table: Natural
royal flush 250-for-1 (increases
to 4,000 coins for a five-coin wager);
four deuces 200-for-1; royal flush
with wild cards 25-for-1; five of
a kind 16-for-1; straight flush
10-for-1; four of a kind 4-for-1;
full house 4-for-1; flush 3-for-1;
straight 2-for-1; three of a kind
1-for-1.
How to Recognize:
Like most Deuces games, pays only
4-for-1 on four of a kind, but has
higher returns than the full-pay
game on four hands: five of a kind
(16-for-1), straight flush (10-for-1),
full house (4-for-1) and flush (3-for-1).
Characteristics:
Returns 99.7 percent with expert
play. Probably should be considered
the Midwest's full-pay game. Deuces
don't get any better around here.
Strategy changes from full-pay game
include holding both pairs in two-pair
hands and holding four-card flushes
instead of low pair.
ILLINOIS DEUCES
Pay table: Natural
royal flush 250-for-1 (increases
to 4,000 coins for a five-coin wager);
four deuces 200-for-1; royal flush
with wild cards 25-for-1; five of
a kind 15-for-1; straight flush
9-for-1; four of a kind 4-for-1;
full house 4-for-1; flush 3-for-1;
straight 2-for-1; three of a kind
1-for-1.
How to recognize:
Like Not So Ugly Deuces, raises
full house to 4-for-1 and flush
to 3-for-1, but leaves five of a
kind and straight flush at same
payoffs as full-pay Deuces.
Characteristics:
Returns 98.9 percent with expert
play. Strategy is similar to Not
So Ugly Deuces. In fact, Not So
Ugly can be seen as a variation
of Illinois Deuces, which is a much
older game.
MIDWESTERN DEUCES
Pay table: Natural
royal flush 250-for-1 (increases
to 4,000 coins for a five-coin wager);
four deuces 200-for-1; royal flush
with wild cards 20-for-1; five of
a kind 10-for-1; straight flush
8-for-1; four of a kind 4-for-1;
full house 4-for-1; flush 3-for-1;
straight 2-for-1; three of a kind
1-for-1.
How to recognize:
A good example of why you should
check the entire pay table when
choosing Deuces Wild machines. At
a glance, Midwestern Deuces has
the same enhanced payoffs of 4-for-1
on full houses and 3-for-1 on flushes
as Illinois and Not So Ugly, but
reduces wild royals to 20-for-1,
five of a kind to 10-for-1 and straight
flushes to 8-for-1.
Characteristics:
Returns 96 percent with expert play.
There used to be more of these in
the Chicago area. A few remain--avoid
them.
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