| Host | |
| Art James | |
| Announcers (1968–1969 Version) | |
| Glenn Rhyle Fred Collins | |
| Hostess/Announcer (1981–1982 version) | |
| Mary Lou Basaraba | |
| Broadcast (Daily Syndication) | |
  | |
| Packagers | |
| Nicholson-Muir Productions Taft Broadcasting Company (1968–1969) Champlain Productions (1981–1982) | |
| Distributor | |
| Metromedia Producers Corporation | |
1968-69 SPIEL:
"You're aces with everybody when you join us to play television's first card game: Pay Cards! And here's our trump card, the host who pays: Art James!"
1981-82 SPIEL:
"It's the television card game that everyone can play, (it's) Super Pay Cards! And here's your host, Art James!"
On (Super) Pay Cards!, contestants played poker using cards on a game board to make big poker hands and win cash.
Pay Cards! (1968–1969)[]
Three players, one of whom was a celebrity playing for a studio audience member, faced a board of 20 hidden cards and attempted to build a high poker hand.
Five Card Draw[]
In Rounds 1 and 3, the first player would call out three cards to reveal. If a pair or three-of-a-kind came up, the player had to keep those cards. If not, the player could either keep the cards or turn them back. If the cards were kept, that player called out a fourth card. If the card(s) were refused, control passed to the next player in turn, who would then turn over three cards. If a player kept a card, that player could then turn over another card and either keep it or refuse it.
After two players had each completed a five-card hand, the remaining player had to complete their hand by drawing and keeping whichever cards they revealed.
At the end of each round, the players were paid as follows:
| Payout | Hand |
|---|---|
| $10 | Each Pair |
| $30 | Three of a Kind |
| $50 | Full House |
| $100 | Four of a Kind |
| $150 | Five of a Kind† |
†This hand was only possible in the Wild Card Round.
The player with the best hand at the end of each round received a $50 bonus. After the first round, Art asked one player to locate a specific card among the remaining five for $20.
Wild Card Round[]
This second round was played similarly to Round 1, but with a few Wild Cards" hidden on the board (each with a photo of the celebrity guest). These cards allowed for a player to make five-of-a-kind.
If time ran short, each player had to complete their hand immediately.
The player with the most money at the end of the game played the Jackpot Game.
Jackpot Game[]
The player would attempt to memorize 12 cards and their positions for 12 seconds. The celebrity guest would then spin a wheel, which determined which card the player had to locate on the board. If the player could recall where that particular card was located on the board, he or she would win a bonus prize.
Super Pay Cards! (1981–1982)[]
Two contestants (male vs. female) competed, facing a board of 16 playing cards and trying to build their best hand out of them.
Five Card Draw[]
The players were shown four cards at the start of the round and where they were located. After they were hidden again, the player in control called out three cards, trying to build the best possible five-card hand with them. If a pair or three-of-a-kind was revealed, the player automatically kept those cards and tried to build on the hand.
After each card (or set of three differently-ranked cards) was revealed, the player could either keep the card(s) and control, or refuse it/them and pass control. This continued until one of the players completed their five-card hand, with the opponent having to then draw enough cards to complete their hand, automatically keeping what cards they revealed.
At the end of each round, players were paid off depending on what they had in their hand:
| Payout | Hand |
|---|---|
| $20 | Each Pair |
| $50 | Three of a Kind |
| $100 | Full House |
| $200 | Four of a Kind |
| $300 | Five of a Kind† |
†This hand was only possible in the Wild Card Hand and/or if the Round 2 game was "Two-Three-Four-Five".
As in the original series, a $50 bonus was awarded to the better hand in the round.
If time was running short during a round and if neither player completed their hand, then both players were required to immediately complete their hand.
Round 2[]
Round 2 had four different formats
- Four-Of-A-Kind – Four sets of four-of-a-kind were on the board. It was possible for both players to receive $200 in this round. No free cards were shown at the start.
- Seven-Card Stud – Mary Lou gave each player a choice of two sets of two cards to use and see for themselves, and place in front of their podium. The players used their own two cards with the five additional cards they wanted to keep. The two cards were not revealed to their opponent until they keep all five cards.
- Strategy – Played with three cards being revealed (but not turned back as in the first round) at the start of the hand. The players would take two turns calling off cards (two each) and would pick two cards from the five cards then showing as to what they wanted in the hand. Each player on their third turn would call off one card and pick one card from the four displayed cards.
- Two-Three-Four-Five – One set of cards had a fifth duplicate (a repeated card of rank and suit) in addition to two pairs, a three-of-a-kind set and a four-of-a-kind set. Each player may turn over two cards per turn (or one if they already had four cards), but had the option of turning them back.
Audience Participation Game[]
Since the show was taped in Canada, television regulations required some Canadian content in each episode. Thus, after Round 2 was played, hostess Mary Lou Basaraba ran an "audience participation game" that aired only in Canada (US runs of the show cut out this segment). A member of the studio audience (one who lived in Canada) was chosen to play a one-hand modified version of the Bonus Round (see below). They were shown 8 cards on the gameboard for 8 seconds. (Unlike the Bonus Round, these were usually 8 cards of different ranks, i.e. only one 2 or Jack; no repeats. In the Bonus Round, ranks could be duplicated in the mix.) They then chose a card from an 8-card deck (consisting of the same cards seen on the gameboard) from Basaraba. They would then try to locate the same card on the gameboard. If they did this correctly, they won a small prize (usually valued at under C$200). If they failed, they won nothing. This would then immediately lead into the Wild Card Hand. (NOTE: Episodes posted to YouTube on the BONUSROUND.CA channel include these Audience Participation Games, as do a few other fan-posted episodes.)
Wild Card Hand[]
Round 3 was played similar to Round 1, but with one, two, or three Jokers shuffled into the cards to make five-of-a-kind (and a $300 hand payoff) possible.
At the end of this round, the player with more money won the game and advanced to the Bonus Round for a chance at $5,000. The losing player left with the cash in front of them as well as a copy of the show's home game. In the event of a tie, a playoff was held, in which both players chose cards from the remainder of the board (Aces are high) and the contestant that started Round 3 would pick first; with high card awarding $50 and the game.
In some cases, the winner ended up being determined before Round 3 due to being ahead by more than $350 after Round 2. In this event, Round 3 was still played for additional money.
The maximum possible score was $950: $250 in Round 1, $350 in the "Two-Three-Four-Five" format of Round 2, and $350 in the Wild Card Hand.
Bonus Round[]
In the first phase of the bonus round, a player was given four cards to memorize and four seconds to do it with. They would then pick a card from Mary Lou and try to find where it was on the board. Doing so won $50.
The second phase involved eight cards and eight seconds of memorization time. Success here increased the player's winnings to $500.
If a player got to the third and final phase, they faced a 12-card board. After having twelve seconds to memorize the cards, they'd make one final choice of card. Correctly recalling its location won the contestant the top prize of $5,000.
If the player made a mistake during one of the first two levels, the player lost the chance to win the $5,000, but could play that stage again. A wrong guess on the third level meant that the contestant lost the $5,000, but kept the $500 for success on the first two levels.
The series had no returning champions.
Merchandise[]
A board game was produced by Whitman Publishing in 1969. The game used a plastic pocketed board, four play decks (three with 20 cards for the main game and the fourth with 12 cards for the Jackpot Round) and play money. Gameplay was modified in that all three opening rounds were played in "Five Card Draw" format (although with a little tweaking, the game could be played to the TV rules for either version), and all players participated in the Jackpot Round to try and find the chosen card.
Three printings of the game were released: The first version had no Wild Cards and a red spinner. The second printing included the red spinner and two Wild Cards (one each in two of the 20-card play decks), but the revised rules specifically forbid use of the Wild Cards for five-of-a-kind hands. The third came with the two Wild Cards and a black spinner. This third printing also had a reprinted box with pink copyright lettering (as opposed to black on the first two) and the adult male's shirt color changing from brown to red.
The game was given away as a consolation prize on the show, as shown in the photos below.
Super Pay Cards! promoted a board game on-air (as it was awarded to losing players), with the credits listing Milton Bradley as provider. The box seen on-air appears to have been a mockup with the show's logo on its lid. Despite all this, there is no known evidence that the game was actually released in any form in the US or Canada.
Trade Ads[]
Taping Locations[]
1968–1969: New York City, NY and Cincinnati, OH
1981–1982: CFCF-TV, Montreal, QC
International Versions[]
An Australian version aired in both weekly and daily forms during 1969 on Network Ten, hosted by John Bonney with Ann Aczel as hostess. The weekly version debuted on April 18 followed by the daily version on May 12, with both ending their runs on December 5.
A Canadian version hosted by Paul Hanover aired on CTV from September 10, 1973 until September 5, 1975.
Links[]
Rules for Super Pay Cards! @ loogslair
Super Pay Cards! @ the Illustrious Game Show Page