Video Poker is a popular game that usually will be bet on in casinos all over the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, using a web account. The regulations are very simple and consist of the player attempting to get the best mixture of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it is much the same as a classic game of poker, without the interaction with any other players. Of course, techniques employed during a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be useless here.
The game of Video Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and presses the deal button. A five card hand will then be electronically ‘dealt’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards he wishes to retain, they should press ‘draw’, which will mean that any fresh cards are handed out if desired. The game is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the pay out schedule can vary from game to game, so that experienced enthusiasts are agile enough to select the most money-making game every instance.
After the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Further, a few styles of the game give the bettor an opportunity to increase their profits, in which case another hand is played. There are also differences among specific machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other differing elements to increase playability.