Video Poker is a popular game that can be gambled on in casinos all over the world, or in your house on your PC, through a net connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player trying to get the best mixture of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, minus the interaction with any other players. Of course, methods employed during a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the bettor inserts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and presses the play button. A hand of five cards will then be "handed out" on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and enthusiasts will need to now choose which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the bettor would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.
After the player has decided on which cards he or she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are handed out if desired. The game is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Generally, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can change from game to game, so that knowledgeable enthusiasts are agile enough to select the most profitable machine each instance.
After the first round has played out, 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 credits that have been won. Additionally, some styles of the game allow the enthusiast a chance to double their wins, in which instance another game is played. There are also variations between specific games, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.