Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your PC, through a net connection. The regulations are very straightforward and consist of the player trying to achieve the greatest mixture of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it’s much the same as a classic game of poker, without the interaction with competing players. Of course, techniques employed during a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the gambler inserts credits (whether it’s tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and presses the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be "given out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and gamblers will need to now choose which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the player has selected which cards she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are handed out if desired. The game is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Typically, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payment schedule can vary from game to game, so that skillful enthusiasts are agile enough to choose the most money-making machine each and every time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to stay on in an attempt to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that has been won. Further, several styles of the game give the gambler a chance to increase their wins, in which instance a further round is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing aspects to enhance playability.