Electronic Poker is a popular game that is able to be played in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your PC, using a web connection. The rules are very straightforward and involve the player trying to get the greatest assemblage of cards as you can in order to come away with money. In this respect it is much the same as a normal game of poker, without the line of contact with other players. Of course, methods employed during a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be useless here.
The game of Video Poker starts when the bettor puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and presses the play button. A 5 card hand will then be "distributed" on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and bettors will need to now choose which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to keep, 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 bettor has selected which cards she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.
Generally, the minimum winning hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award 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 is obvious that the payment schedule can range from machine to machine, so that discerning enthusiasts are agile enough to select the most beneficial game every time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to continue on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game allow the enthusiast an opportunity to double their wins, in which situation a further hand is played. There are also variations between specific machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.