Video Poker is a popular game that can be gambled on in casinos all over the globe, or in your house on your home computer, using a net connection. The game rules are very simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the highest combination of cards as you can in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the interaction with other players. Of course, methods used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the bettor puts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the draw button. A five card hand will be "given out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now choose which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the bettor would like to retain, 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 bettor has selected which cards she wishes to keep, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are dealt if desired. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the payment schedule.
Normally, the minimum 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, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the payment schedule can change from machine to machine, so that discerning bettors are able to select the most profitable machine each instance.
Once the first round has finished, the player can either decide to continue on in an attempt to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that might have been won. Additionally, some styles of the game allow the bettor a chance to increase their winnings, in which case a further game is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other differing aspects to enhance playability.