Electronic Poker is a popular game that usually will be played in casinos around the world, or in your house on your computer, using an Internet connection. The regulations are very straightforward and involve the player trying to achieve the greatest mixture of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it’s much the same as a classic game of poker, without the involvement with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be useless here.
The game of Video Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (whether it’s tokens, credit slips or cash) into the machine and pushes the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be electronically ‘handed out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and enthusiasts will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should 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 selected which cards she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards will be needed they will be given out. The game is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the minimum winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 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 change from machine to machine, so that experienced enthusiasts are able to pick the most profitable ones each time.
After the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to continue on and try to to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Additionally, several styles of the game give the player an opportunity to double their winnings, in which case a further hand is played. There are also differences among individual games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.