Double Bonus Video Poker Strategy: What to Keep on 10/7

Double Bonus is a video poker variant that pays four of a kind by rank: four aces pay 160, four 2s–4s pay 80 and other quads pay 50 per coin. The full-pay 10/7 table returns 100.17% with optimal play. On it, keep made four of a kind, straight flushes and royal flushes; when choosing between four cards to a royal flush and a flush, keep the four cards to a royal flush. A hold that wins on one paytable can lose on another: on a 9-7-5 paytable, a pair of aces beats two pair in the example below.

Which paytable should you use?

These decisions require the 10/7 full-pay schedule: a full house pays 10, a flush pays 7 and a straight pays 5 coins per coin wagered. The name Double Bonus alone is not enough—check the machine’s payouts first.

Source: Wizard of Odds’ Double Bonus paytables. The tables page lists returns of 1.001725 for 10/7, 0.991065 for 9-7-5 and 0.988135 for 10-7-4, i.e. 100.17%, ≈ 99.11% and ≈ 98.81%. The 100.17% optimal-strategy figure for 10/7 comes from the Wizard of Odds 10/7 strategy page.

According to the same strategy page, 10/7 Double Bonus is hard to find, especially at high denominations, but is available at some Las Vegas casinos.

239-10-7-5 is not the same full-pay schedule. It is a short-pay variant that pays 47.8 per coin instead of 50 (239 and 250 are five-coin totals). The source explains: “It pays 239, instead of 250, for a straight flush or four 5-K, with five coins bet.”

What does the 10/7 paytable pay?

The 10/7 full-pay schedule pays the following, in coins per coin wagered. We use these values in all the calculations below.

The Wizard of Odds paytable does not split four aces by kicker: it lists a single payout of 160. Do not apply Double Double Bonus kicker rules here: in that game, four aces with a kicker pay more.

What should you keep in these five hands?

For these five hands, keep the cards that produce the highest expected payout on the 10/7 paytable. Expected value (EV) is expressed in coins per coin wagered at a full 5-coin bet (a smaller bet changes the royal payout), calculated by exact enumeration of draws from the 47 unseen cards.

The Wizard of Odds decision list for 10/7 (strategy page) matches our calculation in all five hands: S1 a pair, S2 4 to a straight, S3 two pair, S4 4 to a royal, S5 low pair. The calculations below apply to the specific suits shown, not to every hand with the same ranks.

Diagram: five Double Bonus 10/7 hands, what to hold and the expected return of the best and next-best optionExact enumeration for the 10/7 table: the best hold on the right, the next-best option in the row.

In S3, the gap is just 0.002 coins—almost a tie. Reducing the full house payout from 10 to 9 changes the winner: keeping the pair of aces becomes better than keeping two pair.

Payouts and gaps are rounded independently to three decimal places. A displayed gap may therefore differ slightly from the difference between the rounded payouts shown.

How does a different paytable change the decision?

Reducing the straight payout changes the decision in S2, while reducing the full house payout changes S3. You cannot assume that the best hold on 10/7 remains best on a similar paytable.

The S3 decision is conditional: on 10/7, keep two pair; on 9-7-5, keep the pair of aces.

On 9-7-5, S2 is unchanged: the outside straight draw returns 0.851 versus 0.733 for the low pair (a full house now pays 9). The decisions in S1, S4 and S5 also stay the same. On 10-7-4, the S3 decision remains unchanged, with a gap of 0.002.

Other variants have their own paytables and decisions; for example, Deuces Wild strategy is covered separately.

How to use the tables step by step

Check the payouts first, then compare the possible holds for your hand.

1. Check the machine’s paytable. The 10/7 schedule covered here requires full house 10, flush 7 and straight 5. Check the remaining rows against the full-pay schedule above too.
2. Identify your hand and the competing holds. In S3, for example, you are choosing between two pair and a pair of aces.
3. Find the matching entry in the decision list for that exact paytable. Account for suits: they determine whether a flush or royal flush is possible.
4. Keep the cards with the highest expected payout. Discard the others and draw replacements.

Can the calculator check Double Bonus hands?

Our calculator does not handle Double Bonus hands. It supports only Jacks or Better with the 9/6, 8/5, 7/5 and 6/5 paytables, so none of its figures appear here as Double Bonus results.

The video poker calculator (Jacks or Better only) is a tool for a different variant, not a way to verify these Double Bonus hands.

Keep variants separate when reading other guides too: Triple Double Bonus strategy covers a game in which four of a kind and kickers work differently.

What are the calculation limits?

The EV calculations apply to one specific hand and one paytable. We did not recalculate the overall RTP across all deals: the 100.17% figure comes from Wizard of Odds for optimal 10/7 strategy.

That return does not guarantee a session result. The video poker bankroll guide explains how to handle swings and how much money to set aside for play.

How to apply this strategy

Use these decisions only with this paytable and these exact hands. In 10/7 Double Bonus, keep made four of a kind, straight flushes and royal flushes; when choosing between a flush and four cards to a royal flush, keep the four cards to a royal flush. If the payouts differ, check the decision again.