Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be enjoyed in casinos all over the world, or alternatively at your house on your personal computer, using an Internet connection. The rules are very simple and consist of the player trying to achieve the highest assemblage of cards achievable in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, minus the interaction with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the deal button. A five card hand will be electronically ‘dealt’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now pick which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any fresh cards are handed out if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands printed on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each and every better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that skillful players are able to select the most beneficial game every time.
As soon as the first round has played out, the player can either choose to continue on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that might have been won. Additionally, some styles of the game give the player a chance to double their winnings, in which situation a further game is played. There are also differences between specific games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.