Video-Poker is simply a blend of two popular forms of betting: the video slot machine using the poker game. Succeeding at a game of Video Poker involves a blend of bettor skill with good fortune, making it a favorite with players. The game of poker is believed to have begun back in Eighteen Thirty, where it is recorded as having been enjoyed by French expatriates dwelling in New Orleans. Electronic-Poker uses a variation of the game known as five-card draw poker. Meanwhile, the coin-operated card device (better-known affectionately as a "slot machine") was originally invented in the late 1800’s, with poker machines showing up in San Francisco in 1890. These machines were very simple by today’s standards, using actual cards instead of symbols.
The machines dropped in popularity throughout the very first half of the 20th century. Economic difficulties combined with the limited technology of the machines themselves meant that people just were not interested in wagering anymore. A incredibly primitive electronic poker machine was released in 1964 but achieved only modest results.
It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the Video-Poker machine as we know it today started to be accessible. Advances in technologies meant that a central processing unit (CPU) could be installed inside the machines to give them a "brain", whilst a video screen transmitted the action to the player.
Meanwhile, casino operators searched for new high-profit games, and also the blend of a slots with the more traditional game of five-card draw poker proved to be a winning combination in the old and new. The first Electronic-Poker equipment was built in ‘76 by Bally Manufacturing. It was black and white only, but a color version followed just eight months later, by the Fortune Coin Firm. Over the next few years, computer chips grew to become less expensive to produce, and a lot more gambling establishments introduced Video Poker machines as they grew to become more financially viable. A version called Draw Poker was unveiled in 1979 by a company now known as IGT, and it achieved amazing success.
Video Poker actually took off from the early 80s where it started to be well-liked in casinos across Las Vegas. Players found themselves much less anxious by a machines than they were when seated at a table facing others. The recognition of the game has gradually improved over the last twenty-five years and it can now be found in the majority of gambling establishments throughout the world, along with bars and on the Web.