Aces and eights in Double Bonus — both pairs, or just the aces?
Keep both pairs — barely. On 10/7 Double Bonus two pair is worth 1.7660 per coin and the lone pair of aces 1.7635: a margin of 0.0025.
The exact numbers — A♥ A♦ 8♠ 8♣ 3♦
EVs are exact — every possible draw enumerated, not simulated — at max bet on 10/7 Double Bonus. Check it yourself: the analyzer runs the same solver in your browser.
See all 32 holds of this hand ranked →Why
The 160-coin quad makes a bare pair of aces enormous — in the jacks-and-eights version of this hand the bare high pair is worth only 1.4582 — but two pair still edges it. Four of the 47 unseen cards fill a 10-coin full house on a one-card draw, and the 1-coin floor is guaranteed. The margin is 0.0025 per coin, about the closest ordinary decision on the Double Bonus chart. It is not close everywhere: 9/6 Jacks or Better keeps two pair by more than a full coin (2.5957 vs 1.5405), and 9/6 Double Double Bonus flips the answer outright (pair of aces 1.9159, two pair 1.6809) because of its 400-coin kicker.
Double Bonus chart line #7 of 36 (two pair) sits above line #9 (high pair). Double Bonus has no separate 'pair of aces' line at all — that line only exists on the Double Double Bonus chart. See the full solver-optimized strategy chart, or drill hands with exact-EV feedback until plays like this are automatic.