Video Poker is a popular game that is able to be played in casinos across the globe, or in your house on your home computer, through a web connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and consist of the player attempting to get the greatest assemblage of cards achievable in order to come away with cash. In this respect it’s very similar as a normal game of poker, without the involvement with any other players. Of course, tactics used in a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant here.

The game of Electronic Poker starts when the enthusiast puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or cash) into the video poker machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will be "given out" on the video screen.

The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players should now decide which cards to hold and which to discard. For the cards the player wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they want, whether it is all or none.

After the bettor has decided on which cards he wishes to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any fresh cards are needed they will be handed out. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands printed on the payment schedule.

Generally, the lowest winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the payout schedule can range from game to game, so that knowledgeable gamblers are able to select the most profitable game each instance.

Once the first round has completed, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Additionally, several styles of the game give the player a chance to increase their profits, in which instance another round is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing characteristics to enhance playability.