[ English ]

Video Poker is a popular game that usually will be gambled on in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your PC, through an Internet account. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player attempting to get the highest combination of cards achievable in order to acquire cash. In this respect it’s much the same as a normal game of poker, without the involvement with competing players. Of course, methods employed during a physical game of poker, like bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.

The game of Electronic Poker starts when the gambler puts credits (whether it is tokens, credit slips or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will then be "distributed" on the video screen.

The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and gamblers should now pick which cards to hold and which to throw away. For the cards the player wishes to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons need to be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it’s all or none.

After the gambler has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards are given out if desired. The hand is now finished, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.

Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money increasing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It is obvious that the payment schedule can range from machine to machine, so that experienced gamblers are able to choose the most money-making ones each instance.

After the first round has finished, the player can either decide to remain on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that have been won. Additionally, several styles of the game give the bettor an opportunity to double their wins, in which situation a further round is played. There are also differences among specific machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying aspects to increase playability.