diff --git a/lib/vmpooler/api/v1.rb b/lib/vmpooler/api/v1.rb
index 3146cc6..066af86 100644
--- a/lib/vmpooler/api/v1.rb
+++ b/lib/vmpooler/api/v1.rb
@@ -89,18 +89,16 @@ module Vmpooler
         template_backends += aliases
         weighted_pools = get_pool_weights(template_backends)
 
-        pickup = Pickup.new(weighted_pools) if weighted_pools.count == template_backends.count
-        count.to_i.times do
-          if pickup
+        if weighted_pools.count > 1 && weighted_pools.count == template_backends.count
+          pickup = Pickup.new(weighted_pools)
+          count.to_i.times do
             selection << pickup.pick
-          else
+          end
+        else
+          count.to_i.times do
             selection << template_backends.sample
           end
         end
-      else
-        count.to_i.times do
-          selection << template
-        end
       end
 
       count_selection(selection)
diff --git a/spec/integration/api/v1/ondemandvm_spec.rb b/spec/integration/api/v1/ondemandvm_spec.rb
index 37b315c..a361f9f 100644
--- a/spec/integration/api/v1/ondemandvm_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/api/v1/ondemandvm_spec.rb
@@ -24,15 +24,19 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
           'vm_lifetime_auth' => 2,
           'max_ondemand_instances_per_request' => 50,
           'backend_weight' => {
-            'compute1' => 5
+            'compute1' => 5,
+            'compute2' => 0
           }
         },
         pools: [
-          {'name' => 'pool1', 'size' => 0},
-          {'name' => 'pool2', 'size' => 0, 'clone_target' => 'compute1'},
+          {'name' => 'pool1', 'size' => 0, 'clone_target' => 'compute1'},
+          {'name' => 'pool2', 'size' => 0, 'clone_target' => 'compute2'},
           {'name' => 'pool3', 'size' => 0, 'clone_target' => 'compute1'}
         ],
-        alias: { 'poolone' => ['pool1'] },
+        alias: {
+          'poolone' => ['pool1'],
+          'pool2' => ['pool1']
+        },
         pool_names: [ 'pool1', 'pool2', 'pool3', 'poolone' ]
       }
     }
@@ -92,6 +96,22 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
             post "#{prefix}/ondemandvm", '{"poolone":"1"}'
           end
 
+          context 'with a backend of 0 weight' do
+            before(:each) do
+              config[:config]['backend_weight']['compute1'] = 0
+            end
+
+            it 'sets the platform string in redis for the request to indicate the selected platforms' do
+              expect(redis).to receive(:hset).with("vmpooler__odrequest__#{uuid}", 'requested', 'pool1:pool1:1')
+              post "#{prefix}/ondemandvm", '{"pool1":"1"}'
+            end
+          end
+
+          it 'sets the platform string in redis for the request to indicate the selected platforms using weight' do
+            expect(redis).to receive(:hset).with("vmpooler__odrequest__#{uuid}", 'requested', 'pool2:pool1:1')
+            post "#{prefix}/ondemandvm", '{"pool2":"1"}'
+          end
+
           context 'with domain set in the config' do
             let(:domain) { 'example.com' }
             before(:each) do