Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be gambled on in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your PC, using a web connection. The rules are absolutely straightforward and consist of the player trying to achieve the greatest assemblage of cards as you can in order to win money. In this respect it’s very similar as a classic game of poker, without the interaction with any other players. Of course, tactics used in a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the bettor puts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and pushes the play button. A hand of five cards will then be electronically ‘handed out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and enthusiasts will need to now pick which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has selected which cards he or she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The hand is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the payout schedule.
Typically, the minimum winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the pay out schedule can change from game to game, so that experienced players are agile enough to select the most profitable game each instance.
After the initial round has finished, the player can either choose to stay on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Additionally, several versions of the game give the gambler a chance to increase their profits, in which situation a further game is played. There are also variations among individual games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.