Video Poker is a favored game that can be played in casinos across the world, or in your house on your computer, through a web account. The regulations are very straightforward and consist of the player trying to achieve the best combination of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it’s much the same as a classic game of poker, minus the involvement with competing players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and presses the deal button. A 5 card hand will then be electronically ‘distributed’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the enthusiast wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any fresh cards will be needed they will be given out. The hand 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 prize money getting larger for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can range from game to game, so that knowledgeable gamblers are able to select the most money-making game each instance.
After the first round has completed, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that they may have won. Further, several versions of the game give the player a chance to double their winnings, in which case another game is played. There are also differences between specific machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying elements to enhance playability.