Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be wagered on in casinos throughout the world, or in your house on your computer, through an Internet connection. The regulations are very simple and consist of the player attempting to get the best combination of cards as you can in order to win money. In this respect it’s very similar as a normal game of poker, apart from the interaction with any other players. Of course, methods used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the enthusiast inserts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of five cards will be electronically ‘handed out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and bettors should now choose which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.
After the bettor has selected which cards he would like to keep, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are handed out if desired. The round is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Generally, the minimum 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, and moves on to 2 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 game to game, so that discerning bettors are able to select the most money-making ones each instance.
After the initial round has finished, the player can either choose to remain on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Additionally, a few styles of the game give the gambler an opportunity to increase their wins, in which case a further round is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.