Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be bet on in casinos around the world, or in your house on your personal computer, through a web connection. The regulations are very straightforward and consist of the player attempting to achieve the highest combination of cards possible in order to win cash. In this respect it is much the same as a classic game of poker, without the line of contact with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, like bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the bettor inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be electronically ‘dealt’ on the screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now choose which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, from all to none.
After the enthusiast has decided on which cards he or she would like to retain, they should press ‘draw’, which will mean that any fresh cards will be needed they will be dealt. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving 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 goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable gamblers are agile enough to choose the most profitable game each time.
Once the first round has played out, the player can either decide to continue on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game allow the enthusiast a chance to double their winnings, in which instance a further game is played. There are also variations between individual machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.