Electronic Poker is a favored game that is able to be played in casinos around the globe, or alternatively at home on your PC, through a net connection. The rules are very simple and involve the player trying to achieve the highest mixture of cards achievable in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is very similar as a normal game of poker, without the line of contact with other players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Video Poker starts when the enthusiast inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will then be electronically ‘given out’ on the video screen.
The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now pick which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, from all to none.
After the gambler has selected which cards he or she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The round is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A list of common 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 is obvious that the payment schedule can change from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable enthusiasts are able to select the most money-making machine each and every time.
Once the first round has completed, the player can either decide to remain on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that might been won. Additionally, some styles of the game give the gambler a chance to double their profits, in which situation a further round is played. There are also variations between individual games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing elements to increase playability.