A Different Version of NSU Deuces Wild - Part I of III

The "normal" version of NSU Deuces Wild has a 16-10-4-4-3 pay schedule and returns 99.73%. A different version of the game has a 15-11-4-4-3 pay schedule and returns 99.96%. I don't knowBob Dancer is one of the world's foremost video poker experts.  He is a regular columnist for Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and the Las Vegas Review-Journa land has written an autobiography and a novel about gambling.   He provides advice for tens of thousands of casino enthusiasts looking to play video poker.  Bob's website is www.bobdancer.com  if this game has a popular name, but for this article I'm going to call it SNSU for "Super Not So Ugly." It doesn't strike me as a name that will stick, but I need to call it something and that will do for now.

If you use regular NSU strategy on SNSU, the game returns 99.94%. Pretty close to 99.96%, and if you're only going to play the game for a few hours lifetime and you already know NSU strategy, the NSU strategy is certainly close enough. If you're going to be playing the game a lot, though, certain enhancements should be considered.

The enhancements do not occur at random. After all, the only pay schedule elements that changed were the 5-of-a-kind (which has only an infinitesimal effect on strategy) and the straight flush (which has a much larger effect.) So if we're trying to find the plays that changed, we really only need to consider the ones where the straight flush was barely unacceptable in NSU.

1. 'A35' "KJ" and 'A35' "QJ" --- In NSU, a 3-card A-low straight flush is lower in value than "QJ" or "QT" but higher in value than "KQ", "KJ" and "KT". Let's see how these values change. All values are in dollars, assuming you're playing for dollars and betting five coins.

The strategy between NSU and SNSU doesn't change here, but still there are things to point out. First of all, the value of 'A35' doesn't vary whether the other two cards are a "QJ" or a "KJ". This should not surprise you. The value of 'A35' is only affected by the cards in the same suit, or any cards that could make a straight, straight flush, or 3-of-a-kind --- specifically aces, deuces, treys, fours or fives.

Another point to notice is that the change in value of "QJ" is twice the size of "KJ" --- allowing for rounding. This is because there are twice as many straight flushes containing QJ (which may be KQJT9 or QJT98 --- with or without deuces) as there are containing KJ (which must be KQJT9 --- with or without deuces). A related point is the absolute value of "QJ" is about 15¢ greater than "KJ" in both games. If we ran the same hand with "JT" instead of "QJ", we'd find that the value increased by another 15¢.

A third point is that 3-card combinations change MUCH more with a pay schedule change than 2-card combinations. This is because it is a lot easier to draw two perfect cards than it is to draw three.

None of these points is earthshaking if you're knowledgeable about video poker. For newbies, though, some of them might be new information.

2. "KQ" J94 --- In normal NSU, we prefer the inside straight on these types of hands to the "KQ". Has this changed?

Notice the value of the unsuited KQJ9 didn't change. That shouldn't surprise you because it's impossible to get a straight flush or 5-of-a-kind from that starting position, and everything else stayed the same. Also notice that the value of "KQ" changed by the same 0.0046 here as "KJ" did in our first example. That should not surprise us. ALL "KQ", KJ", and "KT" combinations change by this amount when we go between games.

There are some cases in NSU, such as "KJ"987 where the 2-card K-high royal flush combination is preferred to the inside straight. None of these change in this game.

3. "87" 9QK --- In NSU you sometimes hold 2-card straight flushes in the range of '67' through '9T'. In the absence of straight and flush penalties, you ALWAYS hold the 2-card straight flush, and sometimes you also hold them with straight interference 'at the limit.' (See the Dancer / Daily Winner's Guide on NSU Deuces Wild for a complete list of these exceptions). Let's see how the combination changes in SNSU.

There is also a small increase in the value of drawing five new cards. You CAN end up with 5-of-a-kind or a straight flush when you draw five new cards. It doesn't happen very frequently, but it is worth almost a third of a cent.

I looked at a lot of these hands. The rule for SNSU seems to be a lot simpler than it is for NSU. In SNSU, one straight penalty is always okay, and two straight penalties at the limit (that is, specifically a king and a six) if you start from "T9". The reason that "T9" is different from "98" is that you've killed one of the natural royal flush opportunities, and hurt the chances for the wild royal.

I'm going to continue my discussion of this game over the next few weeks. My purpose is not to give you the definitive strategy. My purpose is to help you learn how to address the question of how pay schedule changes affect the strategy.