Video Poker is a popular game that can be wagered on in casinos throughout the world, or in your house on your personal computer, using an Internet connection. The rules are absolutely straightforward and consist of the player attempting to get the highest combination of cards possible in order to come away with money. In this respect it’s very similar as a normal game of poker, minus the interaction with other players. Of course, tactics used in a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be useless here.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the enthusiast inserts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the play button. A hand of five cards will then be "handed out" on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now pick which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the player would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the player has decided on which cards he or she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are needed they will be handed out. The game is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands printed on the payout schedule.
Generally, the lowest succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can change from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable bettors are able to select the most beneficial ones each instance.
Once the first round has completed, the player can either choose to remain on and try to to increase their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that has been won. Further, a few versions of the game give the bettor a chance to double their wins, in which instance another hand is played. There are also differences among individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.