Electronic Poker is a popular game that can be bet on in casinos all over the world, or alternatively at your house on your home computer, using an Internet connection. The rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player trying to achieve the highest combination of cards achievable in order to win cash. In this respect it is much the same as a normal game of poker, apart from the line of contact with other players. Of course, methods employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the enthusiast inserts credits (whether it is tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A hand of five cards will be "given out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and players will need to now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, from all to none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards will be dealt if desired. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Generally, the minimum 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, moving on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payout schedule can change from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable players are able to select the most profitable ones each time.
As soon as the initial round has completed, the player can either choose to stay on in an attempt to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that they may have won. Further, several styles of the game give the bettor an opportunity to double their profits, in which instance another round is played. There are also differences between specific machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying elements to enhance playability.