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This non-traditional video poker games has some pretty positive characteristics
By Henry Tamburin
A reader sent me this question:
On a recent visit to my local casino I noticed they had the video poker game Pick’em. I glanced at someone playing it and it sure looked different than the regular Jacks or Better game that I usually play. Can you explain how to play the game?
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I most certainly can, and as you will shortly see, Pick’em is a non-traditional video poker game that has some positive characteristics. In fact, depending on the pay table, it can actually be a better game than Jacks or Better.
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(Note: When this game was first introduced by Bally, it was called Pick’em but nowadays IGT has the same game but with a different name: Pick a Pair Poker. I will refer to both games as Pick ‘em in this article.)
Some of the positive characteristics of Pick ‘em is the playing strategy is very intuitive and easy to master (even easier than learning the playing strategy for Jacks or Better); the Expected Return (ER) for the “full pay” version of Pick ‘em is quite high (99.95%); and Pick ‘em has a relatively low volatility compared to other video poker games (meaning your bankroll will last longer). Additionally, payoffs start at 2-for-1 for a pair of 9s or Better (instead of the usual Jacks or Better) and a royal flush pays 6,000 coins (instead of the usual 4,000 coins).
Pick’em is played with a standard deck of 52-cards. After a player makes a bet, the computer will deal out eight cards, two exposed cards on the left side of the video display screen plus two stacks of three cards on the right side of the screen, with only the top card of each stack exposed. (You won’t “see” the two cards under the exposed cards but they are there.) You must keep the two exposed cards on the left side, and based on the exposed cards on the right side, you must decide which stack you want to keep. After you make your selection, the computer will expose the two cards under the stack you picked giving you a five-card poker hand (consisting of the initial two exposed cards on the left plus the exposed top card in the stack you kept plus the two cards “under” the stack). Depending on the rank of your final five-card poker hand, you will get paid an amount corresponding to the game’s pay table. So, in a nutshell, your only option in Pick’em is to choose stack A or stack B on the right side of the screen. Is this not simple?
When you play Pick’em, you are always comparing one set of three cards to another in order to decide which stack to keep. Let’s try an example so you see how easy this is.
Suppose you hit the deal button and the following cards appear on your screen.
5♠ 9♥ 9♦ 3♣
Your two exposed cards, which you must keep, are the 5 of spades and 9 of hearts. You have a choice of selecting either the stack of three cards containing the exposed 9 of diamonds (i.e., keeping the 5♠-9♥-9♦) or the other stack containing the exposed 3 of clubs (i.e. keeping the 5♠-9♥-3♣). The choice is a no-brainer. You would select the stack with the exposed 9 which gives you, at the minimum, a winning pair of 9’s (depending upon what the other two cards are under the 9, you could also wind up with four 9’s, three 9’s, a full house, or two pair).
Let’s try another example.
A♦ 9♦ 6♦ J♦
The two exposed cards that you must keep are the Ace and 9 of diamonds. Whether you select the 6 or Jack of diamonds, in either case, you would have a three card flush; however, the best play is to hold the Jack since that maximizes the number of high cards in your hand. (Hopefully, the two cards that are “under” the Jack when exposed will give you a flush, or at least, a pair of Aces or Jacks.)
Most of the choices that you will face in Pick’em are intuitively obvious like the above example. But there are some tricky hands, especially when you dealt three-card straight flushes with or without gaps and high cards so you should take along a strategy chart (or card) that contains the ranking of all possible three-card hands (that way you’ll always be making the right play). You’ll find a strategy chart for Pick ‘em on www.wizardofodds.com. Additionally, there is a commercially available strategy card for Pick’em (by Dancer/Daily) that you can purchase (see my web store at smartgaming.com for details).
Below is the “full pay” pay table for Pick ‘em with the maximum of five coins played. (You should always bet five coins to get the maximum return). The Expected Return, assuming max coins wagered and every hand played perfectly, is 99.95%. Since you can’t replace the two cards on the left side of the screen, it’s harder to achieve a higher ranked poker hand after you select the stack of cards on the right side. That’s the reason you are paid 2-for-1 for the relatively low ranking Pair of Nines and why the chance of hitting a royal flush is one in every 351,818 hands in this game. (Compare that with the roughly 1 in every 40,000 hands for Jacks or Better.) On the positive side, if you were to hit a royal, your payback is 6,000 coins (vs. the 4,000 coin payoff for most other video poker games).
Table 1: Full Pay Pick ‘em Pay Table (Max Coins Wagered)
Royal Flush 6,000
Straight flush 1,199
Four-of-Kind 600
Full house 90
Flush 75
Straight 55
Three-of-a-kind 25
Two pair 15
Pair of 9’s or Better 10
Caution: You will often find lower paying (i.e., “short”) pay tables for Pick ‘em that has a correspondingly lower ER. I suggest that you check the different pay tables for Pick ‘em and their corresponding ERs on www.wizardofodds.com. Additionally, to find out if your local casino offers Pick ‘em, (especially the Full Pay version), go to www.vpfree2.com, click on the tab “Find the Best Video Poker Game,” and then use the “Search” function to find the casinos in your area that offer Full Pay (and Short Pay) Pick ‘em.
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You can practice playing Pick ‘em for fun on your home computer, by going to http://www.vpgenius.com/video-poker/free/single-hand-pick-em-poker.aspx. Playing the game at home will give you a feel for how it plays, and allows you to also practice the playing strategy.
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Henry Tamburin is a blackjack and video poker expert. He is the host of the smartgaming.com website and the editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter (for a free three-month subscription, visit www.bjinsider.com/freetrial). For a free copy of his Casino Gambling Catalog, which contains books, strategy cards, and software for casino players, call toll free 1-888-353-3234, or visit the web store at smartgaming.com.
The Game
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This game can be found on Bally GameMakers. As the game itself was not copyrighted, unlike its name, the IGT began to offer it on its machines, but using another moniker – Pick-a-Pair. However, special promotions at casinos in Canada and the United States often feature Pick ‘Em Poker.
The game uses a regular 52-card deck, while the lowest rank of winning hand is a pair of Nines. Pick ‘Em Poker begins, once two exposed cards are dealt on the left side of the screen and two stacks each comprised by three cards appear on the right side. The top card in each of the two stacks will appear exposed. A player has to keep the two exposed cards on the left, but he/she needs to select one of the stacks on the right he/she is willing to hold. After a choice is made, the two hidden cards in the selected stack will be exposed and the player will have a complete hand.
What is important to note is that as no card replacements on the left screen side are allowed, the chance of achieving a high-ranking hand after the draw is reduced. This explains why in this game the player gets paid for a hand of a relatively low rank (a pair of Nines). Since such a hand occurs frequently, Pick ‘Em Poker is an appropriate game for novice players and players having a thin budget.
As for the game version providing the greatest earning opportunity, experts recommend Full-Pay Pick ‘Em Poker, which offers an expected return of 99.95%. A Royal Flush in the game is worth 6 000 coins. As the payout percentage is below 100%, Pick ‘Em Poker is an easy video poker game to come across, because it is offered in a large number of casinos.
There were various short pay variations of the game, known as ”Slim Pick 'Ems”, where a combination such as a Royal Flush was worth 10 000 coins. However, one or more of the other winning combinations paid less compared to the ordinary game version.
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The Strategy
Pick 'Em Poker provides a lesser number of possible combinations in comparison with the other video poker games we already paid attention to. However, this feature contributes to the faster gameplay.
We are going to present the play strategy for Pick 'Em Poker in a table form, which should be examined from top to bottom. The first column will show the card combination one will have, after he/she has chosen one of the two stacks. If we take Three of a Kind in the first column, this means that the two unchangeable cards and the card at the top of one stack completes a Three of a Kind hand. The second column will show cases, when a player should not pick the stack, or facilitates a choice between the two stacks, when either of them will provide the card combination listed. The third column will list actions one should always avoid in the particular situation.
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Pick A Pair Poker Strategy
| Dealt Hand with the Top Card of the Chosen Stack | Exceptions and Alternate Decisions | Actions one should avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Three of a Kind | None | None |
| Three to a Royal Flush | 1. In case one of the three cards to a Royal Flush is an Ace, if possible, one should choose the stack that completes a high Pair. | 1. One should never choose a stack that makes three to a Royal Flush, if one of the three cards is an Ace, over a high Pair. He/she should always select the high Pair. |
| High Pair (One that pays) | None | 1. One should never choose a stack that makes three to a Straight Flush over a high Pair. He/she should always select the high Pair. |
| Three to a Straight Flush with zero or one gap | 1. In case both stacks complete three to a Straight Flush, one should choose the stack with zero gaps. 2. In case the stacks have the same number of gaps, one should choose the high-card stack. | 1. One should never choose the stack with one gap over the stack with zero gaps, when both stacks complete three to a Straight Flush. One should keep the stack with zero gaps. 2. One should never choose the stack with an Eight or lower over the stack with a Nine or higher, in case both stacks have the same number of gaps. One should keep the high-card stack. |
| Low Pair (Non-paying) | 1. In case one of the stacks is a high card and completes three to a two-gap Straight Flush, one should choose it and not the stack, which completes a Low Pair. | 1. One should never choose a low pair stack over a three to a Flush stack, when two out of the three cards are high ones. The player should choose three cards to a Flush. 2. One should never choose a low pair stack over three to a two-gap Straight Flush, when any of the three cards is high. He/she should keep the Straight Flush stack. 3. One should never choose a two-gap Straight Flush stack with three low cards. He/she should choose the low pair stack. |
| Three to a Straight Flush with two gaps | 1. In case both stacks complete three to a Straight Flush with two gaps, one should choose the high-card stack. | None |
| Three to a Flush | 1. In case both stacks complete three to a Flush, one should choose the high-card stack. | None |
| Three to a Straight with zero or one gap | 1. In case both stacks complete three to a Straight with zero or one gap, the player should choose the high-card stack. 2. In case both stacks have either high or low cards, one should choose the stack with the lowest number of gaps. | 1. One should never choose a low-card stack with zero gaps over a high-card stack with one gap. He/she should keep the high-card stack. 2. One should never choose a stack with one gap over a stack with zero gaps, in case the stacks are either both high, or both low. He/she should keep the stack with zero gaps. |
| High Card (Nine or higher) | 1. In case both stacks have high cards, one should choose the stack, which completes three to any Straight. | 1. One should never choose a stack without a Straight opportunity over a stack with a Straight opportunity, in case both stacks include high cards. |
| Three to a Low Straight with two gaps | None | 1. One should never choose a stack without a Straight opportunity, if none of the above mentioned situations applies. He/she should keep the Straight stack with two gaps. |
| Low Card | 1. In case both stacks are low and none of the situations above applies, one should choose either card. | None |