Video Poker is a beloved game that is able to be enjoyed in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your computer, using a web connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the best combination of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, apart from the interaction with competing players. Of course, tactics 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 gambler inserts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A five card hand will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and players should now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards he or she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards will be dealt if desired. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A common list of 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 is obvious that the payment schedule can change from machine to machine, so that discerning gamblers are agile enough to select the most beneficial game every time.
After the first round has finished, the player can either choose to continue on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Additionally, some versions of the game allow the gambler a chance to increase their profits, in which case a further game is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing aspects to increase playability.