Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be wagered on in casinos around the globe, or alternatively at your house on your home computer, through a web account. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player trying to get the highest combination of cards possible in order to win money. On this account it is very similar as a regular game of poker, minus the line of contact with any other players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player puts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A five card hand will be "given out" on the screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and players should now pick which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the bettor wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has selected which cards she would like to keep, they should press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards are dealt if desired. The round is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payment schedule can range from game to game, so that discerning gamblers are able to select the most money-making machine each instance.
Once the first round has finished, the player can either choose to stay on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that have been won. Additionally, a few versions of the game allow the gambler a chance to double their profits, in which instance another game is played. There are also variations between individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing elements to enhance playability.