Video Poker is a favored game that can be wagered on in casinos across the globe, or alternatively at home on your home computer, through a web connection. The rules are very simple and consist of the player trying to get the greatest mixture of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it is much the same as a classic game of poker, apart from the line of contact with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a real-life game of poker, such as tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.

The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player puts credits (whether it is tokens, tickets or money) into the video poker machine and presses the draw button. A hand of 5 cards will be "handed out" on the video screen.

The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and players should now pick which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the bettor would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they want, from all to none.

After the gambler has chosen which cards she would like to keep, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards are dealt 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 payment schedule.

Generally, the minimum winning hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each and every 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 is obvious that the payment schedule can change from game to game, so that skillful enthusiasts are able to pick the most money-making ones each instance.

Once the initial round has completed, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that might have been won. Additionally, some styles of the game allow the player a chance to double their winnings, in which situation a further game is played. There are also variations among specific games, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other varying aspects to increase playability.