Video Poker is a beloved game that is able to be bet on in casinos across the world, or in your house on your home computer, using a net connection. The game rules are very straightforward and involve the player attempting to get the best combination of cards possible in order to win money. In this respect it is very similar as a classic game of poker, minus the involvement with any other players. Of course, techniques employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will then be "handed out" on the screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has hold buttons, and enthusiasts will need to now choose which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the enthusiast has selected which cards she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any fresh cards will be handed out if desired. The round is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that experienced players are agile enough to select the most profitable machine each and every instance.
Once the initial round has finished, the player can either choose to remain on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that have been won. Additionally, several styles of the game give the player a chance to double their winnings, in which instance a further game is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.