Poker Game

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For an episode from Married... with Children, see The Poker Game.

The "Poker Game" board, which has remained the same since the game's introduction in 1975

Poker Game is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on September 9, 1975's show, it is played for four prizes, each worth between $300 and $1,000.

[edit] Gameplay

Poker Game is based on the card game, only the contestant builds his hand using the numbers in the prices of the items.

The contestant selects two prizes; those digits are used to build the best possible poker hand; zeroes are low, nines are high. For instance, if a contestant drew a prize worth $599 and another worth $899, he would have four of a kind with 99998.

The contestant then decides whether he wants to keep his/her current hand, or pass to the House and gamble whether the prices of the two remaining prizes will produce a better hand.

After the two remaining prices are revealed, the poker hands are analyzed. The hands rated in this order:

Five of a kind.
Four of a kind.
Full house.
Three of a kind.
Two pair.
One pair.
High card.

The contestant wins everything if he has the better hand. The best possible hand is 99999; as straights do not count, the worst possible hand is 12345. (01234 is impossible, as the sixth digit would invariably create a better hand.)

[edit] Trivia

Fans sometimes criticize Poker Game since it never uses prizes worth more than $1,000. Although the game could theoretically be adapted to allow more expensive prizes (or a bonus prize could be added), the reasoning behind offering prizes worth $999 or less is unknown.

At least two Poker Game players have gotten five nines in their first hand, thus automatically winning the game. The first was early in the game's history, while another was in season 30.