Video Poker is a beloved game that can be played in casinos across the world, or in your house on your PC, through a web connection. The game rules are very simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the best mixture of cards as you can in order to come away with cash. On this account it is much the same as a classic game of poker, apart from the interaction with any other players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the gambler puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and pushes the play button. A 5 card hand will then be "given out" on the screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and enthusiasts will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the player has selected which cards she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards are dealt if desired. The game is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands printed on the payout schedule.
Typically, the lowest 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 vary from game to game, so that skillful enthusiasts are able to select the most profitable ones every time.
After the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to stay on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that might been won. Further, several styles of the game give the player an opportunity to increase their winnings, in which situation another round is played. There are also variations between individual games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.