Video Poker is a popular game that can be enjoyed in casinos all over the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, using a net connection. The game rules are very straightforward and involve the player attempting to achieve the greatest assemblage of cards possible in order to come away with cash. In this respect it’s much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the interaction with competing players. Of course, methods employed during a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and presses the draw button. A five card hand will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players will need to now pick which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the gambler would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.
After the bettor has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The hand is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each and every better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, and moves on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the payout schedule can range from game to game, so that discerning bettors are able to choose the most beneficial ones each time.
After the first round has completed, the player can either choose to continue on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that might have been won. Additionally, a few versions of the game allow the player a chance to double their wins, in which case a further hand is played. There are also differences among individual games, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing elements to enhance playability.