Pickem Poker Strategy

Pickem Poker is a bit different from other video poker games. Instead of receiving five cards and choosing which to hold and which to draw, you actually receive two face up cards, and two stacks of three cards. Then, you have to choose which stack of three cards you'd like to keep. The trick is that you can only see the top card on each stack, so you're making your decisions based on the two original cards, and the two up cards on each stack. Learn more about how to play Pick'em Poker.

Remember that this strategy is based on a full pay Pickem Poker game. The pay table for a full pay game is as listed below:

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
Pair (Nines or Better)	2

Please note that if you're playing a game with a different Pickem Poker pay table, this strategy will be very good but not perfect.

Expert Pickem Poker Strategy

This page will provide you with the best mathematical strategy for Pickem Poker. We used a program to run the numbers and determine the best possible move in every situation. Here is how you should use the chart below:

Find the highest match for your hand on the chart.
Follow the advice listed.

Example: Imagine your two up cards are Qc-Jc, and your two stack cards are Kc-Js. You match a couple spots on the chart here, namely K-Q-J suited and a high pair of Jacks. However, notice that K-Q-J suited is higher on the chart than a high pair, so you should hold the Kc stack and go for the draw.

Pickem Poker Full Strategy Chart

Below are the ranks for every possible hand you can hold in Pickem Poker. Remember to find the highest match for your hand, and to hold the cards specified. By using this strategy at a full pay Pickem Poker game you can achieve a payout percentage of 99.95%. The middle column shows the expected return for the specific hand. In the example column, h = Hearts, s = Spades, c = Clubs, d = Diamonds, T = Ten, s = Suited.

Hand	Expected Return	Example
Three of a Kind	10.5869	Kc-Kh-Ks-3d
Q-J-T suited	3.1725	Qc-Jc-Tc-6s
K-Q-Js, K-Q-Ts, K-J-Ts	2.8270	Kc-Qc-Jc-6s
High Pair, Nines-Aces	2.6312	Ac-As-7d-3h
A-K-Qs, A-K-Ts, A-Q-Ts, A-J-Ts	2.4362	Ac-Kc-Qc-6h
9-T-J suited	2.3957	9c-Tc-Jc-4s
8-9-T suited	2.1989	8c-9c-Tc-3h
7-8-9 suited	2.0021	7c-8c-9c-2h
Q-J-9 suited, Q-T-9 suited	1.9358	Qc-Jc-9c-2h
3 to a St. Flush, Open, no High Cards, 345s-678s	1.8053	4c-5c-6c-8s
J-T-8s, J-9-8s, T-9-7s	1.7337	Jc-Tc-8c-3s
K-Q-9s, K-J-9s, K-T-9s	1.5902	Kc-Qc-9c-2s
T-8-7s, 9-8-6s, 9-7-6s	1.5369	Tc-8c-7c-3s
3 to a St. Flush, 2 Gaps, 2 High Cards	1.3934	Jc-9c-7c-2h
Three High Cards to a Flush	1.3590	Ac-Tc-9c-4s
3 to a St. Flush, 1 Gap, 0 High Cards	1.3401	6c-5c-3c-2h
9-T-J or T-J-Q unsuited	1.2287	9c-Ts-Jd-4h
3 to a St. Flush, 2 Gaps, 1 High Card	1.1966	9c-7c-5c-3h
Three to a Flush, Two High Cards	1.1622	Tc-9c-2c-5s
Low Pair (22-88)	1.1418	2c-2s-6h-8d
3 to a St. Flush, 2 Gaps, 0 High Cards	1.0947	8c-6c-4c-2h
Three to a Straight, 1 Gap, 3 High Cards	1.0390	Qc-Js-9d-4h
8-9-T unsuited	0.9929	8c-9d-Ts-4h
Three to a Flush, 1 Hi Card	0.9654	9c-5c-3c-2h
Three to a Straight, 2 Gaps, 3 High Cards	0.9220	Ac-Qd-Ts-4h
Three to a Straight, 1 Gap, 2 High Cards	0.8759	Jc-9s-8d-4h
7-8-9 unsuited	0.8404	9c-8d-7s-2h
Three to a Flush, 0 High Cards	0.7686	8c-6c-2c-3s
Three High Cards	0.7660	Ad-Jc-9s-2h
Three to a Straight, 2 Gaps, 2 High Cards	0.7199	Qc-Ts-8h-4s
T-8-7, 9-8-6, 9-7-6 unsuited	0.6791	Tc-8s-7h-2c
Open 3 to a Straight, 0 High Cards, 345-678	0.5993	5c-6s-7d-2h
Two High Cards	0.5691	Qc-9s-5c-2h
3 to a Straight, 2 Gaps, 1 High Card	0.5230	9c-7s-5h-2h
3 to a Straight, 1 Gap, 0 High Cards	0.4823	8c-6s-5d-2h
One High Card	0.3723	Jc-8s-6d-2h
Three to a Straight, 2 Gaps, 0 High Cards	0.3262	8c-6d-4s-2h
No High Cards	0.1755	8c-6s-3d-2c

The best way to learn our Pickem Poker strategy is to use it as you play. We recommend practicing Pickem Poker at Bovada Casino. Bovada offers Pickem Poker games for nickel, quarter, fifty-cent, dollar, and five dollar play (for both practice and real money). Also, Bovada Casino is open to all United States players - Practice Pickem Poker at Bovada now!