Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos throughout the world, or alternatively at home on your computer, using a web connection. The regulations are absolutely simple and consist of the player attempting to achieve the best mixture of cards achievable in order to win money. On this account it is much the same as a normal game of poker, minus the line of contact with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Video Poker begins when the player puts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and presses the draw button. A five card hand will 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 discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards he or she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are needed they will be handed out. The hand is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the payment schedule can vary from game to game, so that experienced enthusiasts are able to select the most profitable ones each time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to remain on in an attempt to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game give the player a chance to increase their profits, in which case another game is played. There are also variations between specific games, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.