Pick'em Poker Guide

Video poker games are a common sighting in casinos, both online and in the tangible world. The level of interaction these games offer make them particularly common with the casino-visiting crowds. Pick'em Poker is one of the variations of video poker, and one that brings with it one of the simplest game plays, with a payout that is significantly higher. One would even argue that it is the simplest of all video poker games.

Pick'em Poker Gameplay

A Little History

The game was invented by Howard M Marks and Anthony M Singer back in 1997, which is the same year when a patent for the game was filed. It has remained unchanged since its inception, and continues to grow in popularity. This is evidenced by Pick'em Poker tournaments that have become common place despite the variations in their magnitude.

Understanding Pick'em Poker

If you haven’t heard of the game, it’s probably because it goes by different name sometimes. Depending on the setting where you play it. Its occasionally called Pick a Pair Poker, but the difference is only with the name, and not with the actual game. It’s a simple game to learn and play. Mostly because a player is not presented with very many choices, as with other video poker games.

Advantages

  • It lacks any complexities and can be played by anybody who understands poker hands ranking - you choose one of 2 piles of 3 cards based on the up-card
  • It has a high payout and learning the strategy is fairly painless. Even if you are not very familiar with video poker games, you will soon discover that Pick'em video poker is among the easiest there are.
  • With up to 99.95% payout when using perfect strategy, it’s a game that is worth trying out.
  • Pick'em Poker is also not available in many casinos. This rarity makes it fascinating to some people.
  • It exhibits low variance, implying that your bankroll swings will be way lower, when compared to other video poker games.

Play Pick'Em Poker

The Basics

  1. Pick'em Poker is played with a deck of 52 cards
  2. Following a bet, the player is given four cards face up
  3. The first two cards are final and cannot be changed - the final hand will include these cards
  4. Player must pick a card from the two cards on the right hand side
  5. There are 2 more cards below each of these two cards that will complete the hand - so player is actually choosing his next three cards with only one being face up
  6. The initial 2 cards with the picked card and remaining 2 cards from the picked pile complete a 5 card hand

Sounds simple right? That’s because it is. That’s why the game is called "Pick'em" because your only objective is to pick the card that is better suited to your hand from just 2 options.

Increase Your Chances of Winning at Pick'em Poker

Basic Pickem Poker StrategyThe secret to making money with this Pick'em video poker game is to learn how to make a good hand. While the basic strategy is to pick the exposed cards that give you the highest match for the hand you hold, you sometimes have to be very considerate of your choices. In order to take advantage of the 99.95% payout you have to play perfect strategy. Fortunately the game is easy to play and the strategy is also very simple. Especially comparing to other video poker games like Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild or Double Bonus Poker. So you won’t need a lot of practice runs before you are bold enough to make a real money bet. We provide all the details about how to play Pick'em as well as the strategy. Including tools that will let you figure out the advanced strategy and practice it.

PickemPoker.org offers a huge resource, which includes everything you would need to start playing this specialty video poker game. The basic strategy chart which you can also find on our website also makes it easy to get a feel of the best hands to play to increase your chances of winning. Pick'em Poker is not as common in land based casinos, but it’s widely available online in RTG online casinos which we review.