Every day a match is played between two players, one usually a returning champion.
The object of the game is to make a better poker hand for yourself than your opponent does for himself.
Three rounds are played to determine the day's winner.
The gameboard during each of the first three rounds contains sixteen cards.
The first 2 rounds are strategy rounds. Round 1 player #1 (usually the champion) goes first. Round 2 player #2 (usually the challenger) goes first.
At the start of each strategy round, three of the 16 cards will be turned face up. Then the first player will select 2 more cards. At that point they will be asked to select 2 cards to form their hand.
Turn alternates between players.
After each player has four cards in their hand, each player will then be asked to turn up 1 more card and select one more to add to their hand.
During the first three rounds of Pay Cards, there are no straights or flushes.
Payouts are as follows:
For any pair, $50, Three of a Kind pays $125, a Full House (which is 3 of a kind plus a pair) pays $250. For Four of a Kind, the best possible hand, $500. Finally the player who has the high hand receives a $100 bonus toward their score.
Both players keep all money but the player with the most money at the end of round 3 plays the bonus game and returns for the next episode.
On the board of 16 cards during the strategy rounds, there will be two sets of four of a kind possible, one set of three matching cards, two sets of pairs, and one single card which matches nothing.
Round 3 is the Wild Card round. It's also the "Give or Keep" round.
Player #1 (usually the champion) begins this round. Again the board will have a 16 card deck. This time, three of the 16 cards will be wild cards, which can be used for anything. For this reason, 5 of a kind is very possible.
The payouts in this round are as follows:
Each pair is $100, Three of a Kind is $250, a Full House is $500, Four of a Kind is $1,000, High Hand bonus is $200, and because of the wild cards, Five of a Kind is possible and pays $1,500.
On the board during the Wild Card round there will be:
3 - Wild Cards
One set of four of a kind (natural)
Two sets of three of a kind (natural)
One set of two cards that match
One single card that doesn't match anything (except wild cards)
In this round, the champion, or player #1 will start. No cards will be turned over to start the round. The player will be asked to select a card. After it is exposed, they will have the option of keeping it or passing it. If player 1 keeps it, then player 2 takes his turn. If player 1 passes it, player 1 will then have to select another card and must keep it.
The high scorer will then play the "Royal Flush" round.
This time the board will have 20 numbered cards. All the cards on the board will be 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. One of the Aces will be removed and replaced with a "STOP" card. If at any time the player picks that card, the game is over.
To win the bonus game, a player must uncover a Royal Flush in any one of the four suits. The quicker they do it, the bigger the payoff.
If a Royal Flush is uncovered in 5, 6 or 7 picks, the payoff is $25,000.
If a Royal Flush is uncovered in 8, 9 or 10 picks, the payoff drops to $15,000.
11 or 12 picks pays $12,500, and 13 or 14 picks pays $10,000.
14 picks is the maximum a player will receive. If the player hits the STOP card, or runs out of picks before completing a Royal Flush, they will still receive $250 for every pair, $750 for every 3 of a kind, $1,500 for every Full House, and $2,500 for every 4 of a kind exposed.
Finally before the bonus game, the contestant will be asked to select a "Trump" suit. If the first Royal Flush they complete happens to be in the trump suit, the payoffs are doubled.
