ROYAL ACES BONUS POKER

Just got back from week in Vegas. Two days before leaving, a dealer at The Quad (Roy Orbison) told me about Royal Aces Bonus Poker. I tried it and hit 4 Aces 3 times for $1000 ... on 3 different machines, all at The Rio, where we were staying. Figuring out the strategy myself, I realize the amazing amount of luck I experienced. Once home, I looked up The Wizard's strategy and will try to learn it. Meanwhile, is there any place to practice it ... online or otherwise ... free? In advance, thanks!

Wow, what luck that he suggests that you play the best VP variant to play when you hit 4 Aces, and you hit 3 of them in 2 days?? That's definitely above average unless you seriously hit those machines for 12,000 hands over 2 days! (That would be 20 hours at 600 hands/hr). Be warned though, this is one of the swingiest video poker games out there. Hitting the Aces (a 1 in ~4000 event) is worth about 20% of the game's payback!

You can play it on the Wizard of Odds site actually.

https://wizardofodds.com/play/video-poker/

It's at the top left of the 2nd game selection page. BUT before playing, you need to adjust the paytable from 45 full house and 30 flush to 35 (40?) full house and 25 flush because this is the crappy paytable I expect Rio and other Vegas CET properties to have. FYI, you likely played a 96% machine, and there are better games out there. If they have 6/5 (30 full house/25 flush max bet) Super Aces Bonus out there, I would recommend that one before this one. Pays better and is less swingy because 4 Aces only pay half of a Royal and pushes a pair of Kings, Queens, or Jacks like most video poker games. Also it looks like you should make 2 to a straight flush holds at Royal Aces when you have nothing else (difficult to notice). But when you plan to hit 4 Aces, you did play the best game! :) You can change the paytable by double-clicking on the paytable and changing the full house/flush blanks in the "Bet 5" column.

and i thought TDW was sick variance with 4deuces making up about ~13.5% of the return.

Thanks Tringlomane,

I'm so new at this that I'm not sure what some of your comments mean, but that's okay ... better I should learn to walk before I try to run.

One thing though: "Pays better and is less swingy because 4 Aces only pay half of a Royal ". In the Royal Aces Bonus games I played, 4 Aces pays the same as a Royal. Also, what does "swingy" mean?

Thanks for steering me to The Wizard's online practice games ... and thanks for all your help!

PS - I played roughly 110 20-dollar bills while in Vegas ... at max on 25-cent machines to hit my 3 sets of 4 Aces.

Beginner's luck!

"less swingy" means you are more likely to suffer smaller losses and wins. In Royal Aces Bonus, you lose with one pair of Kings, Queens, or Jacks. But in Super Aces Bonus, winning your money back on a pair of Kings, Queens, and Jacks help keep you afloat and make up for the fact that that 4 Aces only pay 2000 coins vs. 4000 in Royal Aces, so that would make Super Aces Bonus "less swingy", but it still gives you a relatively big reward for 4 Aces. To be honest, most video poker games where 2 pair only gives you your money back pays pretty well for 4 Aces.

And had you played much video poker before this game in Vegas? It's rare for a beginner to pick a game such as this. Many players start with Jacks or Better because the strategy is more straightforward, and its payouts for various hands are smoothly increasing. But after your experience in Vegas, I have a feeling that Jacks or Better may bore the heck out of you now. :)

I also had some incredible "beginners luck" at Royal Aces Bonus. I played it a few times at Harrah's Rincon. The first time at $1 level, and with $100 in the machine hit the aces for $4,000. A couple of weeks later... again with $100 in the machine, did it again. Third time I played it was at the $2 level and on the first hand dealt quad tens for $250, and a few hands later drew a straight flush for $1000, and a few hands after that $8,000 for the aces. I played it one other time at the $2 level and got a straight flush again for $1,000 but lost it all as I kept playing.

I did not follow correct strategy. If I was dealt an ace in any hand I only held the ace even if I had two pair (break even) or trips of something else or a flush draw. All of the SFs came because I had three cards to a SF with no ace to hold.

Since the paytable starts with either a pair of aces or two-pair just as a break even play, I thought it paid only to go for the gusto.

Royal Aces should only be played on lucky days, with pocketfulls of lucky charms, and after receiving a message from your guardian angels to play the machine. Otherwise run, do not walk, away from it.