Last updated: April 2026
Pickem Poker uses standard five-card poker hand rankings to evaluate your completed hand. What makes Pickem Poker different isn't the ranking system — it's what you're working toward when you make your one decision per hand. Knowing this order tells you why a Royal Flush draw is worth so much, why three of a kind is strong, and why low pairs need improvement to become valuable.
Complete Pickem Poker hand rankings with payouts
| Rank | Hand | What it requires | Strong paytable payout | Max-coin (5 coins) | Approximate frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | 10-J-Q-K-A same suit | 250-for-1 | 6,000 coins | ~1 in 15,000–20,000 |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 5 consecutive cards, same suit | 50-for-1 | 250 coins | ~1 in 800–1,200 |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | 4 cards of same rank | 25-for-1 | 125 coins | ~1 in 420–500 |
| 4 | Full House | 3 of a kind + a pair | 9-for-1 | 45 coins | ~1 in 85–100 |
| 5 | Flush | 5 cards of same suit | 6-for-1 | 30 coins | ~1 in 65–80 |
| 6 | Straight | 5 consecutive mixed-suit cards | 4-for-1 | 20 coins | ~1 in 55–70 |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 3 cards of same rank | 3-for-1 | 15 coins | ~1 in 13–16 |
| 8 | Two Pair | Two different pairs | 2-for-1 | 10 coins | ~1 in 7–9 |
| 9 | Jacks or Better | Pair of J, Q, K, or A | 1-for-1 | 5 coins | ~1 in 4–5 |
| 10 | 9s or 10s ★ | Pair of 9s or 10s | 1-for-1 | 5 coins | ~1 in 6–8 |
| — | Non-paying | Everything below a pair of 9s | 0 | 0 | ~45–50% of hands |
★ The 9s/10s payout is unique to Pickem Poker. Most video poker games require at least a pair of Jacks to pay on a pair. Pickem Poker pays 1-for-1 on pairs of 9s and 10s as well. This increases hit frequency and changes how you evaluate certain pair decisions — a pair of 9s is already in the money, unlike in Jacks or Better where it pays nothing.
Why the frequency column matters as much as the rank
Royal Flush ranks #1 but hits once every 15,000–20,000 hands. Full House ranks #4 but hits roughly once every 90 hands. In a 400-hand session, you're far more likely to see Full Houses and Flushes than any premium hand. This is why the mid-tier payout lines (Full House at 9-for-1, Flush at 6-for-1) drive more RTP variation than the Royal Flush line does — they hit often enough that every one-unit reduction in their payout compounds meaningfully across session volume.
The non-paying rate (~45–50%) is also important to internalize. In a typical 300-hand session, roughly 135–150 hands return nothing. Session bankroll needs to survive these cold stretches without forcing bad decisions. That's why the bankroll guide belongs right next to this page.
How rankings connect to strategy
The one decision in RTG Pick Em Poker is which three-card stack to combine with the two starting cards. The selected stack completes the five-card hand, and the result is then evaluated using the ranking order below.
The strategy hierarchy doesn't just list what beats what — it ranks those paths by expected value, accounting for both frequency and payout. A Royal draw's path is less likely to complete but worth so much more when it does that it mathematically dominates even strong made hands. See the full strategy guide for the EV math behind each comparison.
Do Pickem Poker hand rankings change between paytable versions?
The hand order itself doesn't change — Royal Flush always beats Straight Flush, Straight Flush always beats Four of a Kind. What changes is the payout assigned to each rank. A weaker paytable reduces the value of mid-tier hands (Full House, Flush) without changing their ranking position. See the paytable guide for the specific numbers.
Why does it matter that non-paying hands are ~50% of outcomes?
Because it sets bankroll expectations correctly. If you expect to win something on most hands, a normal session will feel catastrophic. If you understand that half of all hands pay nothing, you plan accordingly — with enough session bankroll to absorb those stretches without tilting your decisions.
Is a pair of 10s better than a pair of 9s in Pickem Poker?
Both pay 1-for-1 and have identical improvement paths in standard Pickem Poker. A pair of 10s is not better than a pair of 9s for strategy purposes — they occupy the same role. Both are different from a pair of Jacks or better only in that Jacks+ are Priority 3 in the strategy hierarchy while 9s/10s are part of the lower pair structures.