Electronic Poker is a favored game that is able to be bet on in casinos all over the globe, or alternatively at home on your PC, using a web connection. The game rules are very simple and consist of the player attempting to get the highest mixture of cards as you can in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the interaction with competing players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and gamblers will need to now decide which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, 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 is all or none.
After the gambler has selected which cards she wishes to retain, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be needed they will be dealt. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the payout schedule.
Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money getting larger for each better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It is obvious that the payout schedule can change from game to game, so that knowledgeable players are able to select the most money-making ones every time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to continue on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game give the player a chance to increase their profits, in which situation a further round is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.