Video Poker is a beloved game that is able to be enjoyed in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your personal computer, through an Internet account. The rules are absolutely straightforward and involve the player trying to get the best assemblage of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it’s much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the involvement with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and pushes the draw button. A 5 card hand will be electronically ‘handed out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and enthusiasts should now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be needed they will be handed out. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.
Typically, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the pay out schedule can change from machine to machine, so that discerning players are able to select the most profitable game each and every instance.
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 they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that they may have won. Additionally, several versions of the game give the gambler a chance to increase their winnings, in which case a further hand is played. There are also variations between specific machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing elements to increase playability.