Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be gambled on in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your personal computer, through an Internet account. The game rules are very straightforward and involve the player attempting to achieve the greatest assemblage of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, without the line of contact with any other players. Of course, tactics employed during a real-life game of poker, like tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the bettor inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or cash) into the machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of five cards will then be "given out" on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and bettors will need to now pick which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they light up. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they want, whether it is all or none.
After the gambler has selected which cards he wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any fresh 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 payout schedule.
Generally, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts 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 payout schedule can change from machine to machine, so that skillful players are able to choose the most profitable machine each and every instance.
After the first round has completed, the player can either choose to remain on in an attempt to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that has been won. Further, several styles of the game give the gambler a chance to increase their wins, in which instance a further game is played. There are also variations between individual games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.