Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos around the world, or in your house on your computer, through a web connection. The game rules are very straightforward and consist of the player attempting to get the highest assemblage of cards as you can in order to win money. In this respect it is very similar as a classic game of poker, without the line of contact with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the gambler puts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the draw button. A five card hand will be electronically ‘distributed’ on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and bettors should now choose which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards he wishes to keep, they should press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The hand is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Generally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that experienced gamblers are able to choose the most profitable machine each instance.
Once the first round has finished, the player can either choose to remain on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game give the enthusiast an opportunity to increase their winnings, in which case a further round is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.