Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be wagered on in casinos across the world, or in your house on your computer, using a net connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player trying to achieve the highest mixture of cards as you can in order to acquire money. In this respect it’s very similar as a regular game of poker, minus the line of contact with other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Electronic Poker begins when the enthusiast puts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and pushes the draw button. A 5 card hand will be electronically ‘handed out’ on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and bettors will need to now decide 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 light up. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.
After the gambler has chosen which cards she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are dealt if desired. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the payment schedule.
Typically, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the payment schedule can range from machine to machine, so that experienced enthusiasts are agile enough to select the most beneficial ones each time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that they may have won. Additionally, some styles of the game allow the player a chance to double their winnings, in which instance another round is played. There are also variations between specific machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other differing characteristics to enhance playability.