Video Poker is a favored game that usually will be enjoyed in casinos across the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, through a web connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player trying to achieve the greatest assemblage of cards achievable in order to acquire money. In this respect it is much the same as a normal game of poker, minus the interaction with competing players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the player puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A hand of five cards will then be electronically ‘handed out’ on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the enthusiast would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they wish, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards will be needed they will be dealt. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each and every better hand. A list of common 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 finally royal flushes. It is obvious that the payment schedule can vary from game to game, so that experienced enthusiasts are able to select the most money-making machine every time.
After the first round has finished, the player can either decide to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game allow the gambler a chance to double their wins, in which case another hand is played. There are also differences among specific machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.