Video Poker is a popular game that usually will be wagered on in casinos across the world, or alternatively at your house on your computer, using an Internet account. The game rules are very straightforward and consist of the player trying to get the greatest combination of cards possible in order to win cash. In this respect it’s much the same as a classic game of poker, without the line of contact with competing players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, like bluffing, will be useless here.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the bettor puts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A 5 card hand will then be "given out" on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and players will need to now choose which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the gambler has selected which cards she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be handed out if desired. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Typically, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each 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, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It is obvious that the payment schedule can vary from game to game, so that discerning gamblers are able to select the most profitable game every time.
After the initial round has finished, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game give the gambler an opportunity to double their winnings, in which case a further hand is played. There are also differences between specific machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing aspects to enhance playability.