Video Poker is a favored game that can be bet on in casinos all over the world, or in your house on your computer, using an Internet connection. The rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the highest assemblage of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it’s very similar as a classic game of poker, minus 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 Video Poker begins when the bettor inserts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will be electronically ‘distributed’ on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has hold buttons, and players 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 must be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.
After the player has selected which cards he wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be handed out if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money getting larger for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins 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 players are agile enough to choose the most money-making machine each and every time.
As soon as the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to continue on in an attempt to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that might have been won. Additionally, some styles of the game give the gambler a chance to increase their wins, in which case another hand is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying characteristics to increase playability.