PICKEM POKER STRATEGY CHART
Pickem Poker Strategy Chart
This chart ranks the two three-card partial holdings visible at the decision point. It is for the historical full-pay reference table, not every online paytable.
Last reviewed:
- Combine both fixed cards with Choice A.
- Find the highest applicable category.
- Repeat with Choice B.
- Select the category appearing higher in the chart.
For an exact four-card deal, the free trainer enumerates all 1,128 legal completions for each side.
Full-Pay Reference Strategy Hierarchy
Use the first and highest row that describes the holding. Q-J-10 suited uses row 2, not a lower Flush or Straight row. A-K-Q suited uses the Ace-high Royal row, not the generic three-high-card Flush row. A-Q-9 suited is not a Royal holding. 9-10-J suited uses the no-gap Straight Flush row.
Swipe horizontally to view the complete chart.
| Rank | Three-card partial holding | Published reference EV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three of a Kind | 10.5869 |
| 2 | Q-J-10 suited | 3.1729 |
| 3 | Three to a Royal Flush, King high: K-Q-J suited, K-Q-10 suited, or K-J-10 suited | 2.8271 |
| 4 | High Pair: 9s through Aces | 2.6312 |
| 5 | Three to a Royal Flush, Ace high | 2.4362 |
| 6 | Three to a Straight Flush, no gaps, 5 through Jack high | 2.0027 |
| 7 | Three to a Straight Flush, one gap, 5 through Queen high, plus 2-3-4 suited | 1.5372 |
| 8 | Three to a Straight Flush, two gaps, with two or three high cards | 1.3936 |
| 9 | Three to a Flush with three high cards | 1.3590 |
| 10 | Three to an open straight with three high cards | 1.2287 |
| 11 | Three to a Straight Flush, two gaps, with one high card | 1.1968 |
| 12 | Three to a Flush with two high cards | 1.1622 |
| 13 | Low Pair: 2s through 8s | 1.1418 |
| 14 | Three to a Straight Flush, two gaps, with no high cards | 1.0949 |
| 15 | Three to a one-gap straight with three high cards | 1.0390 |
| 16 | Three to an open straight with two high cards | 0.9929 |
| 17 | Three to a Flush with one high card | 0.9654 |
| 18 | Three to a two-gap straight with three high cards | 0.9220 |
| 19 | Three to a one-gap straight with two high cards | 0.8759 |
| 20 | Three to an open straight with one high card | 0.8404 |
| 21 | Three to a Flush with no high cards | 0.7686 |
| 22 | Three high cards | 0.7660 |
| 23 | Three to a two-gap straight with two high cards | 0.7199 |
| 24 | Three to a one-gap straight with one high card | 0.6791 |
| 25 | Three to an open straight with no high cards | 0.5993 |
| 26 | Two high cards | 0.5691 |
| 27 | Three to a two-gap straight with one high card | 0.5230 |
| 28 | Three to a one-gap straight with no high cards | 0.4823 |
| 29 | One high card | 0.3723 |
| 30 | Three to a two-gap straight with no high cards | 0.3262 |
| 31 | Anything else | 0.1755 |
Royal Definitions
Q-J-10 suited: its own special row. King-high Royal: K-Q-J, K-Q-10, K-J-10. Ace-high Royal: A-K-Q, A-K-J, A-K-10, A-Q-J, A-Q-10, A-J-10. All three cards must share one suit.
High-Card and Gap Key
High cards: 9, 10, J, Q, K, A. High pair: 9s through Aces. Low pair: 2s through 8s.
No-gap/open examples: 3-4-5 through 9-10-J. One-gap example: 6-8-9. Two-gap example: 4-6-8.
Special chart treatment: 2-3-4 suited appears in the next Straight Flush tier rather than the top no-gap tier. 3-4-5 is an open three-card Straight structure. At the bottom edge of the rank sequence, 2-3-4 has fewer ways to form a five-card Straight and must not be treated as the same open structure.
Worked Chart Examples
Trips over everything else
Fixed cards Q♠ Q♥ with Choice A Q♦ create three of a kind. That category sits at the top of the chart, even if Choice B creates a promising suited shape.
High pair over Ace-high three to a Royal
Fixed cards A♣ K♣ with Choice A A♦ create A♣ K♣ A♦, a high pair. Choice B Q♣ creates A♣ K♣ Q♣, a true Ace-high three to a Royal Flush. High Pair ranks higher.
Low pair over a weak two-gap Straight Flush holding
Fixed cards 4♣ 6♣ with Choice A 8♣ create a two-gap Straight Flush holding with no high cards. Choice B 4♦ creates a low pair. The low pair ranks higher at the chart level. See the strategy guide for the full 1,128-completion calculation.
Ties
Two choices in the same chart category are not automatically an exact tie. Either selection is acceptable only when exact calculation shows equal expected value. Use the trainer for same-category and close decisions. An exact EV tie does not require the two revealed final hands to pay the same amount.
Same-category example: with fixed cards 8♣ and 9♣, Choice A 6♣ and Choice B J♣ both fall under three to a Straight Flush, one gap, five through queen high.
Choice A, 6♣ 8♣ 9♣: 2 Straight Flushes, 34 Flushes, 30 Straights, 9 Three of a Kind, 27 Two Pair, 144 Pairs of Nines or Better, 882 nonpaying hands. Total payout credits: 8,668. Exact EV: 8,668 / 1,128 = 7.6844 credits.
Choice B, 8♣ 9♣ J♣: 2 Straight Flushes, 34 Flushes, 30 Straights, 9 Three of a Kind, 27 Two Pair, 258 Pairs of Nines or Better, 768 nonpaying hands. Total payout credits: 9,808. Exact EV: 9,808 / 1,128 = 8.6950 credits.
Choice B is better by approximately 1.0106 credits because it creates 258 paying-pair completions instead of 144. Broad rows are learning tools, not exact-deal equivalence classes.
Print or Save the Chart
Use the Print Chart button or your browser's print command to save this chart as a PDF. The live paytable still takes priority, because a changed table can alter close decisions.
Sources and Method Notes
Published reference: the rows and published reference EV values are retained from the Wizard of Odds Pick ’em Poker strategy and return tables as a full-pay historical hierarchy.
PickemPoker.com calculation: exact-deal examples and completion counts were independently enumerated over the 1,128 legal two-card completions for each side; see the PickemPoker.com strategy guide for the full methodology.
Live status: the numbers are category benchmarks, not current casino availability claims and not exact-deal trainer values for every possible four-card deal.
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