All leading software providers incorporate a gamble or double feature in their video poker games. If the player wins in the video poker game he can stake that payout in the gamble feature with the hope of multiplying it. It is being made very clear that this feature is purely optional and the player can ignore it and collect his payout. Different software providers have different formats of this gamble feature. This article discusses some of them and also the strategy that can be adopted towards the gamble game feature.

The most common form of the gamble feature is adopted by software providers like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming and Rival Gaming. Five cards are dealt when the gamble feature is activated. The first card is face up and the remaining are face down. The player has to select one of the face down cards. If the selected card is higher than the face up card the payout is doubled, otherwise the payout is lost. The software provider Playtech offers an additional option in the gamble feature. Players can collect half the payout and wager the remaining half in the gamble feature. This is a very sensible option because it prevents the player from losing the total payout and yet gives him the chance to make some additional money.

The software provider Cryptologic has a different sort of gamble feature. Here too the player has two options. In the first option the player has to select a color from red and black. A playing card is then dealt from a standard deck. If the color of the card matches with the color chosen by the player then the payout is doubled. Otherwise it is lost. In the second option the player has to select one of the four suits in a deck of cards. If he chooses correctly then he quadruples the payout, otherwise he loses it all.

The gamble game has no house edge. There is no advantage to the casino and the player can expect an average return of 100%. This is the reason why the gamble game is very popular with online casino players. But players should not activate the gamble game just because they have the option to do so. In single hand video poker games it is not advisable to activate the gamble feature. This is not the objective of the video poker game. The gamble feature allows players to wager the winnings from the gamble game again and again and this can be dangerous. If at all players do engage in the gamble feature then they must resolve to make only one or two attempts and then stick to the resolve and collect their winnings.

Multi hand video poker games provide a rationale for employing the gamble game. In multi hand video poker identical bets are placed for each hand. Some hands win while other hands lose. Hence the total payout is often less than the total amount wagered. The gamble game can be used to try and make good the wagered amount. There is no guarantee that the wagered amount will be recovered. The player can lose whatever little he has won. But this system provides a clear target and control for those players willing to take the risk.