Double Diamond vs Triple Diamond: lines, multipliers and RTP compared

Triple Diamond is the nine-line sibling of Double Diamond: the same three-reel classic, but its wild multiplies wins by 3x and 9x instead of 2x and 4x, and diamonds that land with blanks still pay a little where Double Diamond pays nothing. Double Diamond publishes a slightly higher RTP, 95.40% to 95.44%, against 95.06% for Triple Diamond. Neither game has a bonus round or free spins.

Double Diamond and Triple Diamond side by side

Both games are offered online under their own names. Borgata Online carries IGT’s rules files for each, and Bally Casino and Caesars Palace Online list Triple Diamond.

Lines and what a spin costs

Double Diamond has one line, so the line bet is the whole bet. Triple Diamond has nine lines, and you choose how many to play; your total bet is the line bet multiplied by the lines in play. On Triple Diamond, wins count only on lines you are playing, each line win is multiplied by that line’s bet, only the highest win on each line is paid, and wins on different lines are added together.

A hypothetical $0.25 line bet shows the difference:

• Double Diamond: $0.25 a spin.
• Triple Diamond on all nine lines: $2.25 a spin.
• Triple Diamond on three lines: $0.75 a spin, with six lines that cannot pay.

At the same line bet, a full Triple Diamond spin costs nine times as much as a Double Diamond spin, in return for nine lines that can each pay.

The bigger multipliers and the small pays

On Triple Diamond, a three-symbol line win with one Triple Diamond in it pays 3x, and one with two pays 9x. Three Triple Diamonds pay the top award. Double Diamond’s equivalents are 2x and 4x.

Triple Diamond also pays two results that lose on Double Diamond:

• Two Triple Diamonds and a blank on a line pay 10x the line bet.
• One Triple Diamond on a line that does not form a three-symbol win pays 2x the line bet.

These pays soften losing spins more than they make profits. At the hypothetical $0.25 line bet on all nine lines, a lone Triple Diamond returns $0.50 of a $2.25 spin, and two Triple Diamonds with a blank return $2.50, just over the cost of the spin.

How far apart are the RTPs?

Double Diamond’s published 95.40% or 95.44% sits 0.34 to 0.38 percentage points above Triple Diamond’s 95.06%. Across a hypothetical $1,000 wagered, that is $3.40 to $3.80 more kept on average by Triple Diamond. Over a single session the normal swing of results is far larger than that gap.

Figures differ by source and may differ by casino, so check the rules screen of the game you open. Double Diamond’s RTP and volatility covers why two Double Diamond figures exist.

Which one suits which player?

• Double Diamond suits a player who wants one line per bet, the lowest cost per spin at a given line bet and the slightly higher published RTP, and who accepts that diamonds with blanks pay nothing.
• Triple Diamond suits a player who wants more lines working on each spin, larger multipliers and small pays that return part of a losing spin, and who accepts a higher cost per spin at the same line bet and a slightly lower RTP.

Neither game is looser in a way you can use: every spin is independent, and both keep a house edge of roughly 4.6% to 4.9% on their published figures. Pick the one you enjoy and set the same budget either way.

Keep reading

The wild and Cherry rules on the original are covered in how Double Diamond plays online. For payback, legal states and free play, go back to the Double Diamond overview.