Pay Cards!

The 1981 revival was called "Super Pay Cards".The final round boasted a top prize of $5000,however that was rarely won.The next level down was $500 and even that was tough to take home.Its obvious this show cost very little to produce.A very different kind of game show to say the least.No questions or answers,merely turning over cards and trying to match them by memory.In between takes,hostess Mary Lou would interact with the audience,however that never made it on TV,and she merely played announcer/card cutter on screen.Mr James always seemed to have a perky attitude,even when the contestant lost the game/big money.Advertisers included "Micro Go Round",the turntable that was spring powered for microwave ovens (before they featured their own turntables).Not an overly exciting game show...but one I wouldnt mind seeing again.If for no other reason than nostalgia.

When I was growing up in New Jersey, my dad and I went to a taping of the syndicated game show "Pay Cards" with Art James as host. There was a celebrity who played for an audience member among the three players that tried to build the best poker hand and my dad was chosen by the guest celebrity, Frank Gallop. Unfortunately, he didn't win.

As for the game, it was the first attempt to bring poker to TV but it didn't work since it didn't involve a lot of the viewer and the stakes were rather low. Like many other first-run syndicated game shows, "Pay Cards" only lasted one season. But it had a much better run in Canada, where it aired on CTV from 1973 to 1975 with Paul Hanover hosting. I remember seeing a little of this version on a family trip to Winnipeg.

There was also another revival in the early 80s in US syndication and on CTV in Canada. In this version, James returned as host but there were a number of changes. First, the show was taped in Montreal. Also, James was joined by a female co-host and announcer in Mary Lou Basaraba and the number of civilian contestants was reduced to two. The bonus round also changed. Instead of "The Jackpot Wheel", a contestant drew a card from Mary Lou's deck and they had to remember where the card was on the board with the top prize of $5000. Once again it aired only one season in the US but later aired in reruns in Canada. An example of how some shows don't work in our country but are successful in other nations.