Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos across the globe, or alternatively at home on your PC, through a web connection. The rules are very simple and consist of the player attempting to get the greatest combination of cards achievable in order to acquire cash. In this respect it’s very similar as a regular game of poker, minus the interaction with other players. Of course, tactics employed during a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker begins when the bettor inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and presses the play button. A hand of five cards will then be "handed out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker game also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and players should now choose which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, from all to none.
After the gambler has decided on which cards he or she wishes to keep, they should press ‘draw’, which will mean that any new cards are dealt if desired. The game is now completed, with the Video Poker machine scanning the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can range from game to game, so that discerning bettors are able to select the most money-making game each instance.
As soon as the first round has finished, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Further, some versions of the game allow the player an opportunity to double their winnings, in which situation another hand is played. There are also differences among specific games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.
