Video Poker is a favored game that is able to be wagered on in casinos around the world, or alternatively at your house on your computer, through an Internet connection. The rules are very straightforward and involve the player trying to achieve the highest mixture of cards possible in order to win cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, apart from the involvement with competing players. Of course, techniques employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless here.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be "distributed" on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker game also has hold buttons, and players will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the gambler has selected which cards he or she would like to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards will be handed out if desired. The round 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 pay out schedule.
Typically, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the pay out schedule can range from machine to machine, so that discerning gamblers are agile enough to choose the most money-making ones each time.
After the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to remain on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Further, several styles of the game give the enthusiast a chance to double their winnings, in which instance another round is played. There are also differences between specific games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing aspects to increase playability.