Electronic Poker is a favored game that can be played in casinos all over the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, through a web connection. The rules are very straightforward and consist of the player trying to achieve the greatest combination of cards possible in order to come away with money. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, apart from the involvement with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the enthusiast puts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker game also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now choose which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the player wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the bettor has decided on which cards she would like to keep, they should press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards will be needed they will be given out. The game is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.
Normally, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the pay out schedule can vary from game to game, so that experienced gamblers are able to pick the most money-making game every time.
After the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that might have been won. Additionally, a few versions of the game allow the player a chance to increase their wins, in which situation a further game is played. There are also variations among specific machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying aspects to increase playability.