Video Poker is a favored game that is able to be gambled on in casinos all over the world, or alternatively at home on your personal computer, using a net connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player trying to achieve the highest assemblage of cards as you can in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, without the involvement with other players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the play button. A five card hand will be electronically ‘given out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and enthusiasts will need to now decide which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the enthusiast has chosen which cards he would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be handed out if desired. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the pay out schedule.
Normally, the lowest succeeding 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 starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payout schedule can range from game to game, so that discerning gamblers are agile enough to choose the most beneficial machine each time.
As soon as the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to stay 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, several versions of the game allow the player an opportunity to double their winnings, in which case a further hand is played. There are also differences among individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing elements to increase playability.