Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be played in casinos around the world, or in your house on your PC, using a web account. The rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to get the highest mixture of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a classic game of poker, apart from the involvement with competing players. Of course, tactics used in a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Video Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A 5 card hand will then be electronically ‘distributed’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker game also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now decide which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, they should press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are given out if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Generally, the lowest succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can range from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable gamblers are able to choose the most money-making machine every time.
Once the first round has finished, the player can either decide to remain on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Further, a few styles of the game allow the enthusiast an opportunity to increase their profits, in which instance another hand is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying characteristics to increase playability.