[ English ]

Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be bet on in casinos around the globe, or alternatively at your house on your computer, using an Internet connection. The regulations are very straightforward and consist of the player trying to get the greatest combination of cards possible in order to acquire money. On this account it is very similar as a classic game of poker, without the involvement with competing players. Of course, techniques employed during a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.

The game of Video Poker starts when the player puts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will be "distributed" on the screen.

The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and players should now pick which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the enthusiast would like to keep, 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 wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any fresh cards will be handed out if desired. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands listed in the pay out schedule.

Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payout schedule can vary from game to game, so that skillful players are agile enough to choose the most profitable ones each and every time.

As soon as the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to remain on and try to to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Further, some styles of the game give the bettor a chance to double their profits, in which situation another hand is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.