Electronic Poker is a popular game that usually will be played in casinos across the globe, or in your house on your home computer, using a web account. The regulations are very straightforward and consist of the player attempting to achieve the highest mixture of cards possible in order to come away with money. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the involvement with other players. Of course, tactics used in a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant here.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the bettor inserts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be "handed out" on the screen.
The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should 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 illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, from all to none.
After the player has decided on which cards he or she would like to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards will be dealt if desired. The hand is now completed, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the payment schedule.
Generally, the minimum winning hand on a Video 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, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that knowledgeable players are able to choose the most money-making machine each time.
After the first round has finished, the player can either decide to remain on and try to to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Additionally, several versions of the game give the player a chance to double their profits, in which instance a further game is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying characteristics to increase playability.