Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos across the globe, or in your house on your computer, through an Internet account. The rules are very simple and involve the player trying to achieve the best combination of cards achievable in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, apart from the interaction with any other players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the player puts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and presses the play button. A 5 card hand will be electronically ‘dealt’ on the screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and bettors should now pick which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the gambler wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the bettor has selected which cards he or she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are handed out if desired. The game is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Normally, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic 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, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It is obvious that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable enthusiasts are agile enough to pick the most profitable game every instance.
After the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Additionally, several styles of the game give the player a chance to increase their winnings, in which situation another game is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.
