Video Poker is a popular game that can be gambled on in casinos throughout the globe, or in your house on your computer, through a net connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player attempting to get the highest mixture of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it’s very similar as a classic game of poker, minus the line of contact with competing players. Of course, methods used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the bettor inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A hand of 5 cards will then be "given out" on the screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and bettors should now pick which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the bettor has chosen which cards she wishes to keep, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be handed out if desired. The hand is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the pay out schedule.
Generally, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the pay out schedule can change from game to game, so that skillful bettors are able to select the most profitable game each time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to stay on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that might have been won. Additionally, a few styles of the game give the gambler an opportunity to double their wins, in which case another game is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing aspects to enhance playability.