Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be wagered on in casinos across the globe, or alternatively at home on your computer, using a web account. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the best combination of cards as you can in order to come away with cash. In this respect it is very similar as a classic game of poker, without the involvement with any other players. Of course, tactics used in a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the enthusiast puts credits (whether it’s tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of five cards will then be electronically ‘dealt’ on the screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and gamblers will need to now choose which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, from all to none.
After the player has selected which cards she wishes to keep, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be dealt if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands printed on the payout schedule.
Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing 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, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that experienced enthusiasts are able to choose the most profitable game each time.
As soon as the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to remain on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that has been won. Additionally, a few styles of the game allow the player an opportunity to double their wins, in which instance another game is played. There are also variations between specific games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.