Video Poker Ultimate X Strategy Question

Okay, so to the best of my knowledge you are generally supposed to play Ultimate X by the basic strategy for the game in question (JOB, Bonus, Bonus Deluxe, etc.). There are some where I tend to digress.

I’d like to get your opinions on holding 3 to the Royal vs. 4 to the Flush. Although the expected value is higher for holding 3 to the Royal, I personally always hold the 4 to the Flush. My thought process being the much higher potential return because of the 11x Ultimate Multiplier for the subsequent hand.

Any other thoughts or comments??
Lee

 

I want a Royal every hand that I have a chance my motto is "Go big or go home".

you could get 4000 that hand
or
11 X next hand that ends with nothing
or
if you look at the brighter side if you get - 11 X 4000 that would be good

 

I always hold the three to the Royal.

 

I do both. I hit one holding the three but I was playing 10 lines. The other two came random.

 

Unfortunately optimal strategy is difficult in this game. The math says to hold four to a flush using "basic strategy", which is the assumption the average multiplier is at 2X for all hands.

But if the current average multiplier is high enough though, three to royal can be optimally correct sometimes. Here is what it looks like for an average 8X multiplier for 9/6 DDB and 9/5 DDB for KQJ suited.

9/6 suggests 4 to a flush is barely better at 8X.



9/5 DDB suggests KQJ suited is better at 8X.

 

I'll attempt a coherent response here.

Let's assume 5 hand UX Bonus Poker paying @98% . It depends on what you're dealt and what the sum of the multipliers from the previous hand are.

If you're dealt
10 J Q your better off to hold all the flush cards until the sum of your multiplier hits 16.

If you're dealt
Q K A then you hold the flush cards until your multiplier sum hits 30. Then go for the Royal at 31 or higher.

This is what makes UX strategy so difficult to play and the reason it was invented.

BTW- I bought the UX app at $15 to figure this out, I ain't that smart. However, the app is handy if you get stuck at the casino and want to know the best play. You can punch in your hand.

 

I bought the app too. It's invaluable if you play hardly any UX at all.

In a nutshell, if you have little to no multipliers, skew strategy to maximize the multipliers. If you have a lot of multipliers, play closer to regular strategy, reported as "naive expected value" in the app. Somewhere near the median of the distribution of the sum of multipliers is the breakpoint. In my humble opinion, it would be nearly impossible to learn perfect strategy for 3 handed or more UX. Even learning perfect strategy for the more rare single hand versions (they have them at The D and Golden Gate) would be pretty tough. The anticipation of earning the multipliers for the next hand literally add a whole new dimension and an exponentially more complicated strategy to the game. Other games like STP, Hot Roll, etc. don't require adjustments in single hand strategy because the multipliers are random and one hand doesn't have an impact on another.

 

What's the strategy on getting 4 low cards to the straight(open ended) and a high card, or even no high card? I was playing 10 handed this week and thought, If I go for the straight, I'll be lucky to get 1, big deal, 1 multiplier the next hand? better to hold the high card and prob hit 2-3-4 multipliers next hand?

 

I punched this up with a couple of assumptions, 10 line, DDB, 96%, and a sum total of 30 multipliers from the previous hand. There's no multipliers that justify dumping the open ended straight, not even close. I'm assuming the 8X if you hit a straight is way too strong.
.

 

An open ended straight you pick over a high card even in standard VP, so it definitely applies to Ultimate X. A more subtle change now is that an open-ended straight with no high cards also beats low pair according to "basic strategy" (i.e. assuming 2X multiplier every hand). This is because when you make the straight you get a nice 8X on the next hand.

 

Hey guys, what app are you referring to for UX?

 

https://playperfectllc.com/index.html

Pick the app that covers UX and UX Bonus Streak obviously. They offer a separate app for regular VP.