Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be played in casinos all over the world, or in your house on your computer, using a net account. The regulations are very straightforward and involve the player trying to achieve the highest combination of cards possible in order to come away with money. On this account it is very similar as a classic game of poker, minus the involvement with any other players. Of course, tactics used in a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Video Poker begins when the player puts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A five card hand will be "handed out" on the screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and gamblers should now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the enthusiast wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the enthusiast has selected which cards he or she wishes to retain, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards will be needed they will be dealt. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.
Normally, the minimum succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing 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, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can range from game to game, so that experienced players are agile enough to choose the most profitable machine each and every time.
Once the first round has finished, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game allow the bettor a chance to double their winnings, in which instance another game is played. There are also variations between specific games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.