Video Poker is a popular game that can be gambled on in casinos all over the world, or in your house on your PC, using a net connection. The game rules are very simple and involve the player attempting to achieve the best assemblage of cards possible in order to come away with cash. In this respect it’s very similar as a normal game of poker, minus the line of contact with any other 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, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the play button. A hand of five cards will be "distributed" on the screen.

The Electronic Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ printed on them, and enthusiasts will need to now decide which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the bettor would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they light up. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they wish, whether it is all or none.

After the gambler has chosen which cards he or she wishes to retain, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be handed out if desired. The game is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the payout schedule.

Normally, the lowest winning hand on an Electronic 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 two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It should be known that the payout schedule can range from machine to machine, so that experienced gamblers are able to pick the most profitable machine each instance.

As soon as the first round has played out, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any money that they may have won. Further, several versions of the game allow the bettor an opportunity to increase their wins, in which situation another round is played. There are also variations among specific machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying elements to increase playability.