When dealt two pairs Aces-up in 10/7 Double Bonus Poker, many players
have a strong inclination to hold just the pair of aces, even knowing
that holding the two pairs has a higher EV. At one time, someone on this
forum asked what it cost to hold just the aces. An analyst who is no
longer with us replied 0.01%, but I'm sure that was just an easy way to
say the cost was very small.
I now have software to accurately evaluate a strategy chart, and I
decided to find out. Surprise! There was no change in game's "payback"
(expected return) to five decimal places!!
Conclusion? On a 5-coin $1 machine, the "cost" of this error is about
1.24 cents each time it occurs, but the long-term cost is in the very
low noise level.
My suggestions. If you're a pro, hold the two pair. If you're in Las
Vegas for only an occasional weekend, hold just the pair of aces. For
anyone else, it's basically a toss-up.
Dan Paymar
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
