Video Poker Forum

My husband and I love the double up option.  Is it legitimate or is there a lesser payout if you use that feature?  Thoughts please!!!!

It's always a 50-50 affair and the reason it's so good for the casino is the same reason they have high limit vp on the floors: many people who win just cannot resist the idea that they can win more & bigger. Double-up is a sucker bet for that reason only, and besides, most play because they get slot club points and that feature ignores your risk.

My husband and I love the double up option.  Is it legitimate or is there a lesser payout if you use that feature?  Thoughts please!!!!
 
Most of the top players avoid the double up option because it does not generate any slot points (cashback and comps), reduces the total number of hands played (opportunities for good hands) and increases the variance (streakiness of play).
 
However, it IS legit and over time returns 100% of the money gambled. This makes it a better play then most machines that pay much less than 100%. Most of all, if you enjoy it then there is absolutely no reason to avoid using it.

[QUOTE=prczog]My husband and I love the double up option.  Is it legitimate or is there a lesser payout if you use that feature?  Thoughts please!!!!
 
Most of the top players avoid the double up option because it does not generate any slot points (cashback and comps), reduces the total number of hands played (opportunities for good hands) and increases the variance (streakiness of play).
 
However, it IS legit and over time returns 100% of the money gambled. This makes it a better play then most machines that pay much less than 100%. Most of all, if you enjoy it then there is absolutely no reason to avoid using it.[/QUOTE]
 
When the double up option became available we recommended putting it into as many machines as possible at the Pioneer, because it may be a legitimate bet but it was a great big moneymaker for the casino and still is.  The problem is in the suggestion that it is a 100% return game when it really is not when you examine how people take action on this option. 
 
If every bet was a double up of the same amount in a winning hand and it was only attempted once each time, that's where the 100% comes into play.  But that's not how players approach it.  Many go for the double up 2 or more times and they get discouraged if they lose the last attempt so they won't do it again for a while.  That is why casinos make a good profit on it.
 
The chief gripe about double up is when it's turned on and the player doesn't like it there, which is the case in many instances, it has to be turned off anyway when requested.  All machines back then came with the option and maybe they still do, but you see it on less than 25% of the machines you play because either people don't want it on or they don't know it's available.

The chief gripe about double up is when it's turned on and the player doesn't like it there, which is the case in many instances
 
 
I hate the DU option and am glad to see that it is essentially a dead issue in the casino now. I think most casino's realized that they were just slowing down the play of quicker players, and subsequently decreasing the per hr. avg. for these players. The most confusing moment that i ever had at a machine was due to the DU being enabled-- I had just begun play and on the 5th hand, held a lone Ace and drew four to complete the royal! I sat at that machine wondering why the credit meter was adding-up the 4700 dollars instead of locking-up. It really was a disconcerting few moments until that DU graphic finally appeared and i slowly selected No.

Some of the older machines make you select "yes" or "no" when you win a hand.  Fortunately, the "no" button is the Deal/Draw button.  It does slow my rhythm though so I try to avoid machines with the option.

There was a guy that used to go to the Grand in Tunica and play VP all the time and he loved to double up. I saw the guy many times run a quad up to $1K on a $1.00 VP machine and I also saw him lose it back. I was there when he attempted to double up on a royal flush, when he lost he just cashed out and left and I've not seen him since.

  I was there when he attempted to double up on a royal flush, when he lost he just cashed out and left and I've not seen him since.
 
My wife sat next to a guy who doubled up a .25 RF twice ... and won. I've seen people double up 6-7 times successfully, often into a hand pay. I've also seen them double up successfully several times only to lose at some large number of credits.

I guess it works out for some people not much different than playing roulette though.

I avoid the DU except maybe on one or two pairs just for fun. What's that saying? "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". I'll keep my winnings thank you.