Video Poker is a beloved game that can be wagered on in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your home computer, using a web account. The regulations are absolutely straightforward and consist of the player trying to get the best mixture of cards possible in order to come away with money. In this respect it’s much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the line of contact with any other players. Of course, methods used in a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the gambler puts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and pushes the deal button. A 5 card hand will be electronically ‘handed out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and enthusiasts should now decide which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the enthusiast wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to 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 player has selected which cards he wishes to keep, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards are handed out if desired. The game is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Normally, the minimum succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, and moves on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that skillful players are agile enough to select the most profitable machine every time.
As soon as the first round has played out, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Additionally, several versions of the game allow the bettor a chance to double their winnings, in which situation a further round is played. There are also differences between specific machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing elements to increase playability.