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Deuces Wild
 Deuces
Wild is fundamentally different from most other
video poker games, and can't really be viewed as
just "one more variation" on the basic Jacks or Better
video poker game. While the winning hands
are similar, the four deuces (2s) in the deck are
"wild cards" -- that is, cards that can take on
any value to make the best possible winning hand.
In addition, there is the possibility of "five of
a kind" (e.g., four kings and a deuce) and a
special bonus payoff for four deuces.
In Deuces Wild, the frequency with which
higher-valued hands occurs is much greater --
after all, there are four cards in the deck that
can serve to fill in as any needed value in making
a straight, a flush, or four of a kind. As
you might expect, all of these hands are
devalued significantly (i.e., they have smaller
payouts) in Deuces Wild.
As usual, the paytable is critical as it
defines the return the game will pay. There
is a "full pay" version of Deuces Wild that
returns 100.76% with perfect play. But
"perfect play" can be illusive with Deuces Wild.
The strategy for playing Deuces Wild perfectly is
a little more complex than that of most other
video poker. Below, we list the hands for
the "full pay" Deuces Wild game:
|
Hand
|
Payout (in credits)
|
Frequency
|
Portion of Game's Total Return
|
| Royal Flush |
4000 |
45282 |
1.77% |
| 4 Deuces |
1000 |
4909 |
4.07% |
| Royal Flush w/Deuce |
125 |
557 |
4.49% |
| 5 of a Kind |
75 |
312 |
4.80% |
| Straight Flush |
45 |
243 |
3.71% |
| Four of a Kind |
25 |
15 |
32.47% |
| Full House |
15 |
47 |
6.37% |
| Flush |
10 |
60 |
3.32% |
| Straight |
10 |
18 |
11.31% |
| Three of a Kind |
5 |
4 |
28.45% |
| Nothing |
0 |
2 |
0.00% |
In general, Deuces Wild when properly played
has a statistical variance of about 26. This
is roughly in between that for JB and DB, and
bankroll requirements for the game should be
adjusted accordingly. The full-pay version
of the game, listed above, is becoming less common
but is still available in some locations.
|
Game |
Return |
| FPDW |
100.7600% |
| NSUD |
99.7283% |
The "NSUD" variation (so named as
an acronym for "Not So Ugly Ducks") is much more
widely available than the full-pay version. It
is important to understand that casinos have the
ability to change pay tables in any way they wish.
While other games are more consistent in their pay
tables, Deuces Wild comes in many varieties.
Below is the pay table for the more common "NSUD"
Deuces Wild:
|
Hand
|
Payout (in credits)
|
Frequency
|
Portion of Game's Total Return
|
| Royal Flush |
4000 |
43456 |
1.84% |
| 4 Deuces |
1000 |
5356 |
3.73% |
| Royal Flush w/Deuce |
125 |
524 |
4.77% |
| 5 of a Kind |
80 |
322 |
4.97% |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
195 |
5.14% |
| Four of a Kind |
20 |
16 |
24.42% |
| Full House |
20 |
38 |
10.45% |
| Flush |
15 |
48 |
6.23% |
| Straight |
10 |
17 |
11.47% |
| Three of a Kind |
5 |
4 |
26.72% |
| Nothing |
0 |
2 |
0.00% |
As you can see by comparing the
two, in FPDW, fours of a kind account for 32.47% of
the game's total return, while in NSUD it is only
24.42%. The full house has a much more
prominent role in NSUD.
While there are shortcuts for
identifying most other video poker pay tables (9/6
JB or 9/6/4 DDB, for example), Deuces Wild is much
less consistent. Accordingly, it is necessary
to look carefully at the game and not make any
assumptions about the return until you have examined
the entire pay table. In general, the 25
credit payout for fours of a kind is a good
indication you may be dealing with FPDW.
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