Video Poker is a beloved game that can be enjoyed in casinos across the globe, or alternatively at your house on your computer, through an Internet connection. The rules are absolutely simple and involve the player trying to achieve the best assemblage of cards possible in order to win cash. On this account it is much the same as a classic game of poker, minus the involvement with any other players. Of course, methods used in a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the enthusiast inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and presses the draw button. A hand of five cards will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the player would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards she would like to retain, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards will be dealt if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing for each better hand. A list of common 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 last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from game to game, so that skillful gamblers are agile enough to select the most beneficial ones each instance.
After the first round has completed, the player can either decide to stay on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that might have been won. Additionally, some versions of the game allow the bettor a chance to double their winnings, in which situation a further round is played. There are also variations among specific machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing aspects to enhance playability.