Electronic Poker is a popular game that can be enjoyed in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your home computer, through an Internet connection. The regulations are absolutely straightforward and consist of the player attempting to achieve the greatest combination of cards possible in order to win money. In this respect it’s very similar as a regular game of poker, without the involvement with other players. Of course, methods used in a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Video Poker starts when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A hand of five cards will be electronically ‘dealt’ on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and gamblers will need to now pick which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they want, from all to none.
After the gambler has decided on which cards she would like to retain, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards are handed out if desired. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the pay out schedule can range from machine to machine, so that discerning enthusiasts are agile enough to pick the most money-making ones each time.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to remain on in an attempt to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game allow the gambler a chance to double their winnings, in which instance a further hand is played. There are also variations among individual games, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.
