Electronic Poker is a beloved game that usually will be played in casinos across the world, or alternatively at home on your computer, using a web connection. The rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the best combination of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the involvement with any other players. Of course, methods employed during a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the gambler puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A hand of five cards will then be "distributed" on the screen.
The Video Poker game also has hold buttons, and players will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the enthusiast wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they wish, from all to none.
After the bettor has selected which cards he would like to keep, they should press ‘draw’, which will mean that any fresh cards will be given out if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Generally, the minimum 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, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It is obvious that the pay out schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable gamblers are able to select the most profitable ones each time.
Once the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game allow the bettor an opportunity to double their wins, in which case a further hand is played. There are also variations between specific machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other differing characteristics to enhance playability.