Jun 28, 2011 Pick 'em Poker is an exciting, highly rewarding video poker game, exclusively available at Slots of Vegas. Find out how to beat the house in this amazing video. Unlike similar online video poker. Several companies develop Pick a Pair Poker, including Bally Game Maker, IGT, and Playtech. Bally and IGT manufacture Pick a Pair for land based casinos, while Playtech supplies this game to online casinos. Bally and Playtech’s versions are called Pick ‘em Poker, which has become an interchangeable name for Pick a Pair.
Ask any video poker enthusiast about their favorite game, and you’ll probably hear a ton about Jacks or Better, the gold standard of the genre. Or perhaps they’ll talk enthusiastically about the mythical “positive edge” game of Deuces Wild, or those big-time progressive jackpots offered up on the Double Double Bonus machines.
But you probably won’t hear much about Pick’em Poker…
Also known as Pick a Pair Poker – depending on the manufacturer and software designer – Pick’em Poker is a clever little variant on the basic five-card draw experience. And in the eyes of a select few devotees, this game is really where it’s at for true video poker aficionados.
What Is Pick’Em Poker and How Is It Different Than Most Video Poker Variants?
The central conceit of Pick’em Poker is that players receive just two cards to start their hand. These two cards are locked in place and can’t be discarded or exchanged.
From there, the screen shows you two more cards face up along with a prompt directing you to choose one or the other. The player’s job is to size up those first two cards and decide which of the two third cards provides a better fit for their hand.
Here’s a basic example to show you how this phase of Pick’em Poker shakes out:
| Two Starting Hole Cards | Two Optional Cards |
|---|---|
| Ace of Diamonds + 9 of Spades | Ace of Clubs or 2 of Hearts |
Under this example, the choice should be immediately obvious – you’ll take the Ace of Clubs and add it to your Ace of Diamonds to start out with one pair of Aces.
Once you’ve made your “third card decision” the hand plays out by randomly dealing out two more cards from the remaining 48-card deck. This leaves you with five cards in total – your two starting hole cards, your chosen third card, and two more random cards – which form your final five-card poker hand.
Odds Of Poker Hands
So using the above example, we’d hold Ad-Ac-9s before taking two more cards at random. Because the Pick’em Poker pay table uses a “9s or Better” threshold for its minimum payout (more on this to come in the next section), you’re already guaranteed to double up. But those two extra cards can obviously improve your hand too, with a 9 giving you two pair with Aces and 9s, another Ace making three of a kind, or even two Aces forming a powerful four of a kind.
As you can probably tell by now, this hybrid form of video poker doesn’t play out like Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and other true five-card draw games. Rather than examining an initial five-card starting hand and adjusting it via discards and drawn cards, Pick’em Poker challenges players to size up their first two cards before deciding on the best possible third to join them.
At first glance, this task might not seem like too much trouble at all, but take a look at this second scenario and ask yourself what the best play might be:
| Two Starting Hole Cards | Two Optional Cards |
|---|---|
| King of Clubs + 3 of Diamonds | Jack of Hearts or 4 of Spades |
When you see a particularly tricky Pick’em Poker puzzle like this onscreen – one which doesn’t seem to offer any potential at all – that’s when the game’s complexity really comes into play.
You’ll learn more about the ins and outs of Pick’em Poker basic strategy two sections down the page, but for now, let’s try to apply common sense to solve this one.
You have K-3 to start out, so no straights are possible at the moment, and with no matching suits flushes are kaput too. And even if you add the Jack of Hearts or 4 of Spades, the lack of connectors or suits means straights and flushes are a nonstarter.
Thus, your best hope is wind up with one pair of 9s or better at the very least, so adding the Jack to your King to hold two high cards is the best play. You’ll still wind up losing this hand more often than not, but at least two high cards with K-J-3 gives you the fighting chance something like K-4-3 can’t.
Now that you know how to make hands in Pick’em Poker, lets dive into the pay table and probabilities to see a) what those hands are worth and b) the odds you’ll face against making them.
Breaking Down the Pay Table and Probabilities
Below you’ll find the standard Pick’em Poker pay table used on the ubiquitous Bally machines in brick and mortar casinos, and on Playtech’s online version of the game:
Pick’em Poker Pay Table
| HAND | PAYOUT |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 1200 |
| Straight flush | 239.8 |
| Four of a kind | 120 |
| Full house | 18 |
| Flush | 15 |
| Straight | 11 |
| Three of a Kind | 5 |
| Two Pair | 3 |
| One pair (9s and up) | 2 |
| Nothing | 0 |
As you can see, the traditional poker hand hierarchy of one pair through royal flush remains intact. With no wild cards through which to create “new” poker hands, you’ll be using the basic ladder of one pair (9s or better), two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, straight flush, and royal flush.
In terms of the payouts themselves, the first thing I notice is how a one pair hand actually pays back 2 credits on your base wager. This provides a true “double up” in poker parlance, as you can turn $1 into $2 for a $1 profit simply by making one pair. From there, the payout ladder continues to climb at a higher rate than you’d find on a Jacks or Better machine.
And for comparison’s, let’s take a look at the standard 9/6 “full pay” pay table found on Jacks or Better machines everywhere:
Jacks or Better 9/6 “Full Pay” Pay Table
| HAND | PAYOUT |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 |
| Straight flush | 50 |
| Four of a kind | 25 |
| Full house | 9 |
| Flush | 6 |
| Straight | 4 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 |
| Two Pair | 2 |
| One pair (9s and up) | 1 |
| Nothing | 0 |
Free Pick Em Poker Online
In this case, landing one pair – which must be ranked at Jacks or better, and not 9s or better as in Pick’em Poker – is good for just 1 credit. That means you’ll only get your bet back for making one pair, which is a far cry from a double up.
And in each case up the ladder, you’ll find the payouts for Pick’em Poker to be slightly higher than their equivalents on Jacks or Better.
Two pair on a Jacks or Better machine is worth 2 credits, while three of a kind brings back 3 credits. But hit the Pick’em Poker game and two pair returns 3 credits and three of a kind is good for a 5-credit reward.
Heading up to the top of the ladder, Pick’em Poker pays players a whopping 1,200-credit jackpot for landing the elusive Royal Flush. Make the same hand on a Jacks or Better machine and you’ll receive just 800 credits in return.
The discrepancy is even more defined if you happen to hit a straight flush. Turn the trick on Pick’em Poker and you’ll score 239.8 credits, while Jacks or Better makes a straight flush worth just 50 credits.
Right off the bat, sorting through the pay table numbers might make you think Pick’em Poker is the way to go. A lower minimum hand threshold, doubled winnings on those one pair hands, and much higher returns for landing premium hands up to – what’s not to love?
Well, the devil is in the details my friends…
It’s one thing to pay out more for a Royal Flush or Straight Flush, but those enhanced payouts don’t really matter all that much if the hands are harder to land.
Take a look below to see the probabilities against hitting any made hand, and those hands’ expected return, when playing Pick’em Poker:
Pick’em Poker Probabilities and Returns
| HAND | PAYOUT | PROBABILITY | RETURN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 1200 | 0.0003 percent | 0.3411 percent |
| Straight flush | 239.8 | 0.0026 percent | 0.6237 percent |
| Four of a kind | 120 | 0.0424 percent | 5.0830 percent |
| Full house | 18 | 0.2356 percent | 4.2414 percent |
| Flush | 15 | 0.3189 percent | 4.7833 percent |
| Straight | 11 | 0.5066 percent | 5.5721 percent |
| Three of a Kind | 5 | 3.0015 percent | 15.0073 percent |
| Two Pair | 3 | 6.2088 percent | 18.6263 percent |
| One pair (9s and up) | 2 | 22.8375 percent | 45.6750 percent |
| Nothing | 0 | 66.8459 percent | 0.0000 percent |
| Total | 1 | 0.999531 |
The key figures to look for here are the probability you’ll have of hitting those premium hands on any given deal. As it turns out, players have an infinitesimal chance to score a Royal Flush, which comes in on just three ten-thousandths of one percent. Yep, you read that correctly – a Royal Flush arrives onscreen in this game only a tiny fraction of one percent of the hands you’ll see.
No wonder the casino doesn’t mind boosting its payout on a hand most players won’t come close to landing…
In fact, every hand from a Royal Flush down through a straight will show up less than 1 percent of the time. You have to reach three of a kind (3.00 percent) to finally get above the basic 1-percent plateau.
Pay close attention to that bottom-right hand figure too, as this reflects a house edge of just 0.05 percent on Pick’em Poker (provided you apply optimal strategy). At 0.05 percent, the house edge might as well not even exist, making Pick’em Poker the closest thing to a “fair” casino game – that is, one in which the house doesn’t hold an inherent advantage over players – that you’ll ever come across.
Now it’s time to subject the Jacks or Better probability and return table to the same scrutiny:
Jacks or Better 9/6 “Full Pay” Probabilities and Returns
| HAND | PAYOUT | PROBABILITY | RETURN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.00250 percent | 1.98070 percent |
| Straight flush | 50 | 0.01090 percent | 0.54650 percent |
| Four of a kind | 25 | 0.23630 percent | 5.90640 percent |
| Full house | 9 | 1.15120 percent | 10.36100 percent |
| Flush | 6 | 1.10150 percent | 6.60870 percent |
| Straight | 4 | 1.12290 percent | 4.49170 percent |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 7.44490 percent | 22.33460 percent |
| Two Pair | 2 | 12.92790 percent | 25.85580 percent |
| One pair (9s and up) | 1 | 21.45850 percent | 21.45850 percent |
| Nothing | 0 | 54.54350 percent | 0.00000 percent |
| Total | 100.00000 percent | 99.54390 percent |
Lo and behold, the Royal Flush will show up on a Jacks or Better machine almost 100 times more often than it will when playing Pick’em Poker. It’s still a longshot, of course, but gaining an extra 100x likelihood in exchange for a measly 400 credits on the payout is a bargain to say the least.
This holds up across the pay table too, with Jacks or Better making every hand on the ladder much easier to land. You’ll have over a 1 percent chance to make a full house, as compared to just over two-tenths of 1 percent on Pick’em Poker. And that three of a kind threshold, which stands at 3.00 percent on Pick’em poker, more than doubles to 7.44 percent on Jacks or Better.
All things considered, casinos can try to pull the wool over your eyes by upgrading the payouts, but that’s all for naught when the probabilities of hitting take such a drastic hit.
You can see that much by checking out the bottom-right figure above, which shows a house edge rate of 0.46 percent for optimal strategy Jacks or Better players. That’s obviously higher than the 0.05 rate found on Pick’em Poker machines, but both house edges are well within the sub-1.00 percent range that defines a player-friendly gamble.
If you play to have fun and make hands, be warned that Pick’em Poker will provide a highly volatile gameplay experience defined by long droughts of winless deals. On the other side of the coin, Jacks or Better will provide a relatively steady stream of smaller winners while you chase the jackpot payouts up top.
Harnessing the Power of Optimal Strategy
When it comes to playing Pick’em Poker perfectly, optimal strategy is far more complex than what you’d find on the Jacks or Better machines.
You can sort through the optimal strategy chart for Pick’em Poker – calculated and compiled by the illustrious Michael Shackleford, better known as the “Wizard of Odds” – using the table below:
Pick’em Poker Optimal Strategy
| RANK | EXPECTED VALUE | HAND |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10.5869 | Three of a Kind |
| 2 | 3.1729 | Q / J / 10 suited |
| 3 | 2.8271 | 3 to a royal, king high |
| 4 | 2.6312 | High Pair, 9-9 through A-A |
| 5 | 2.4362 | 3 to a royal, ace high |
| 6 | 2.0027 | 3 to a straight flush, no gaps, 5 to J high |
| 7 | 1.5372 | 3 to a straight flush, 1 gap, 5 to Q high or 2 / 3 / 4 suited |
| 8 | 1.3936 | 3 to a straight flush, 2 gaps, 2 or 3 high cards |
| 9 | 1.359 | 3 to a flush with 3 high cards |
| 10 | 1.2287 | 3 to a straight, 0 gaps, 3 high cards |
| 11 | 1.1968 | 3 to a straight flush, 2 gaps, 1 high card |
| 12 | 1.1622 | 3 to a flush with 2 high cards |
| 13 | 1.1418 | Low Pair, 2-2 through 8-8 |
| 14 | 1.0949 | 3 to a straight flush, 2 gaps, 0 high cards |
| 15 | 1.039 | 3 to a straight, 1 gap, 3 high cards |
| 16 | 0.9929 | 3 to a straight, 0 gaps, 2 high cards |
| 17 | 0.9654 | 3 to a flush with 1 high card |
| 18 | 0.922 | 3 to a straight, 2 gaps, 3 high cards |
| 19 | 0.8759 | 3 to a straight, 1 gap, 2 high cards |
| 20 | 0.8404 | 3 to a straight, 0 gaps, 1 high card |
| 21 | 0.7686 | 3 to a flush with 0 high cards |
| 22 | 0.766 | 3 high cards |
| 23 | 0.7199 | 3 to a straight, 2 gaps, 2 high cards |
| 24 | 0.6791 | 3 to a straight, 1 gap, 1 high card |
| 25 | 0.5993 | 3 to a straight, 0 gaps, 5 to 8 high |
| 26 | 0.5691 | 2 high cards |
| 27 | 0.523 | 3 to a straight, 2 gaps, 1 high card |
| 28 | 0.4823 | 3 to a straight, 1 gap, 0 high cards |
| 29 | 0.3723 | 1 high card |
| 30 | 0.3262 | 3 to a straight, 2 gaps, 0 high cards |
| 31 | 0.1755 | Pure garbage (no high cards, connectors, or suit matches) |
That’s one bear of a strategy chart, so here’s a quick primer on how it works. When you first scan your initial two-card holding, along with the two potential third card choices, you’ll be left with two possible combinations. In other words, with cards A and B in the hole, plus C and D to choose from, you’re possible combos are A-B-C or A-B-D.
Knowing this, proficient Pick’em Poker players use the chart above to size up their two choices. Harkening back to the first example hand from earlier, given the choice between one pair of Aces or an A-9-2 combo, the decision is obvious and instinctual. Even so, we can scan the table above to find one pair of high cards (9s or higher) ranked all the way up at 4th on the list. Conversely, a hand like A-9-2 – with no suitedness or straight possibilities – offers only one high card, which is ranked 29th on the list.
As such, you’d choose the higher ranked hand and roll with that at all times.
Of course, example hands are made to be simple, so you’ll be faced with much more difficult choices, a la our second example hand. In that one, you had to choose between K-J-3 and K-4-3. Again, no suits or straights come into play, so two high cards (26th on the list) ranks slightly better than one high card (29th).
The real tough part of Pick’em Poker comes into play when you do have suits and straights to think about. In those situations, be mindful of the “gaps” between your straight cards, as a one-gap string like 3-4-6 is better than a two-gapper like 3-4-7, and a no-gapper like 3-4-5 beats them both.
Now let’s compare Pick’em Poker to the relatively streamlined optimal strategy found in Jacks or Better:
Jacks or Better Basic Strategy
| RANK | PRE-DRAW HAND(S) | CORRECT DRAW |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush | Hold pat hand |
| 2 | Four cards to a royal flush | Draw one card |
| 3 | Three of a kind, straight, flush, full house | Hold pat hand |
| 4 | Four cards to a straight flush | Draw one card |
| 5 | Two pair | Draw one card |
| 6 | One high pair (Jacks or better) | Draw three cards |
| 7 | Three cards to a royal flush | Draw two cards |
| 8 | Four cards to a flush | Draw one card |
| 9 | One low pair (Tens or lower) | Draw three cards |
| 10 | Four cards to open-ended straight | Draw one card |
| 11 | Two suited high cards (Jack or higher) | Draw three cards |
| 12 | Three cards to a straight flush | Draw two cards |
| 13 | Two unsuited high cards* | Draw three cards |
| *If you hold three unsuited high cards, keep the two lowest and discard other | ||
| 14 | Suited J-10, Q-10, or K-10 | Draw three cards |
| 15 | One high card | Draw four cards |
| 16 | Five unconnected low cards | Draw five cards |
As you can see, Jacks or Better players need memorize only 16 hand rankings, nearly half the 31 potential hands found in Pick’em Poker. Even better, most of these hands are intuitively better or worse than one another, so subtleties like gaps don’t really come into play.
For players who struggle with memorization and recall under the pressure cooker of a casino floor, Jacks or Better clearly becomes the better option. And even if you’re a savant who can instantly call up every component of those tables above, why bother sorting through 31 separate hand rankings when 16 will suffice?
Wizard Of Odds Free Poker
Conclusion
Pick’em Poker certainly has its place within the video poker Pantheon, but this game will never dethrone Jacks or Better as the true king. Between the higher likelihood of hitting strong hands, to the much more comprehensible optimal strategy guidelines, and even the similar house edge rates, Jacks or Better just has Pick’em Poker beat.