Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be played in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your computer, using a web connection. The rules are very straightforward and consist of the player attempting to get the best mixture of cards achievable in order to win cash. On this account it is much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the interaction with other players. Of course, tactics used in a real-life game of poker, like tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the player inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A five card hand will be "dealt" on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and players should now decide which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the gambler wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the player has decided on which cards she wishes to keep, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are dealt if desired. The hand is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Typically, the minimum winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of 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 last but not least royal flushes. It is obvious that the payment schedule can range from game to game, so that discerning enthusiasts are able to choose the most money-making game each and every time.
After the first round has finished, the player can either decide to remain on in an attempt to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that they may have won. Further, a few styles of the game give the bettor an opportunity to increase their profits, in which instance a further game is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.