Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be enjoyed in casinos across the globe, or alternatively at your house on your personal computer, through a net connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player trying to get the highest combination of cards as you can in order to come away with money. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the involvement with other players. Of course, tactics used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and presses the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be "handed out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and enthusiasts will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the enthusiast would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they wish, whether it is all or none.
After the player has decided on which cards he or she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are needed they will be given out. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the pay out schedule.
Generally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video 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 is obvious that the payout schedule can range from machine to machine, so that skillful players are agile enough to pick the most profitable game every time.
Once the first round has completed, the player can either decide to remain on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that have been won. Additionally, several styles of the game allow the bettor an opportunity to double their profits, in which case a further hand is played. There are also variations between individual games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.