Video Poker Double-Up: How the 100% RTP Works and Tie Rules

The double-up feature is an option you can take after landing a winning hand. If you win, your payout is doubled, but if you lose, you forfeit the entire payout from that hand.

Some players avoid it because it looks risky, but the double-up feature has one notable property: in many games, it carries no house edge. Make sure you understand how it works before deciding whether to use it.

What You Will Learn

• In many video poker games, the double-up feature has no house edge, so its return to player (RTP) is 100%.

This article takes about 2 minutes to read.

Why the Double-Up Feature Has No House Edge in Many Games

Many video poker games include a double-up feature. It lets you wager the payout you have just won, so the amount can grow to twice and then four times the original payout.

A double-up can double your payout in a single step, but a loss costs you the whole payout, so some players never use it. The feature does, however, have something that very few casino wagers offer.

Casino games normally have a house edge, but in many video poker games the double-up feature has none, so its RTP is 100%.

The reason is that nothing in the mechanism tilts the odds of winning or losing. A typical format deals one dealer card face up and lets you pick one of several face-down cards. If your card is higher, you win; if it is lower, you lose. In games that treat a tie as a push, winning and losing are equally likely, so the house has no advantage over the player. Games that count a tie as a loss do have a house edge, so check the game rules before you play.

If your goal is to double your money, the double-up feature, which has no house edge, costs you less in expected value than continuing to play the regular game, which does have one. There is still no guarantee of winning, and if you lose, the payout from that hand is gone.

A similar mechanism with no house edge can be found in the gamble feature of some slots, although the conditions vary from game to game.

The maximum amount you can wager on a double-up varies by game, and some games keep it fairly low. If you plan to use the feature, check the limit and the number of double-ups allowed beforehand.

Demo Games for Trying the Double-Up Feature

You can try the double-up feature in the following demo games.

Jacks or Better

Deuces Wild MH

Summary: The Double-Up Feature Has No House Edge, but It Does Not Guarantee a Win

In many video poker games, the double-up feature has no house edge, so it is a wager with an RTP of 100%. It costs you less in expected value than continuing to play the regular game, but that does not make the expected value positive.

In games that treat a tie as a push, you are equally likely to win or lose, and a loss costs you everything you won on that hand. How ties are handled varies from game to game, so we recommend checking the game rules before you play and deciding in advance how many times you will double up.