Pick 'em Poker

Introduction

Pick 'em Poker, also known as Pick a Pair Poker, is a simplified version of video poker, in which the player has only two choices, as opposed to 2⁵=32 as in regular video poker. The game is usually found on Bally Game Maker machines under the name Pick 'em Poker, but Action Gaming/IGT also has stand alone games under the name Pick a Pair Poker. It can also be found at Internet casinos using Playtech software.

Rules

Following are the complete rules for Pick 'em Poker.

1. The game is played with a single 52-card deck
2. The player makes a bet
3. The player is given two cards, we'll call them A and B.
4. Two additional card are dealt, we'll call them C and D.
5. The player must choose which card, C or D, to add to cards A and B.
6. Two more cards are dealt from the remaining 48 in the deck to complete a 5 card stud hand, and the player is paid according to the poker value of this hand.

The actual game will show two cards face down under cards C and D, which the player is predestined to get. However mathematically it doesn't matter compared to dealing two random cards off the top of the remaining deck.

Strategy

The following strategy is based on the "Full Pay" pay table, which returns 99.95% under optimal strategy. To use the strategy look up both possible hands and play the higher hand on the list. For example suppose the player's fixed cards were 4♣ 6♣, and he has the choice of 8♣ or 4. The two hands the player must choose from are 3 to a straight flush, with two gaps, and zero high cards; or a low pair. We see the former has an expected value of 1.0949, and the latter of 1.1418. Thus choosing the 4, for the low pair, is the better play.

Here is the same strategy using standard video poker abreviations for more experienced players.

Return Tables

The following tables show how the return is composed for various Pay Tables. All pay tables are per coin based on max coins played. The reason a straight flush often pays 239.8, is that with five coins bet at the $1 coinage this would pay $1199. At $1200 a W2G form would be necessitated.

The following pay table can be found at Internet casinos using Playtech software.

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5		Exclusive 🧙	40				Play
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Written by: Michael Shackleford