Electronic Poker is a favored game that usually will be played in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, through a web connection. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to get the highest combination of cards achievable in order to win cash. In this respect it is very similar as a normal game of poker, without the line of contact with any other players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, such as tricking, will be useless here.

The game of Video Poker begins when the gambler inserts credits (either tokens, credit slips or cash) into the machine and presses the deal button. A hand of 5 cards will be "handed out" on the screen.

The Video Poker machine also has hold buttons, and enthusiasts should now pick which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the gambler would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any amount of cards they want, from all to none.

After the player has chosen which cards she wishes to retain, the player will then press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards will be needed they will be handed out. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.

Generally, the minimum succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each and every better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It is obvious that the payout schedule can vary from game to game, so that discerning enthusiasts are agile enough to pick the most profitable ones each time.

Once the initial round has finished, the player can either choose to stay on and try to to maximize their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any money that has been won. Further, a few versions of the game give the gambler an opportunity to double their winnings, in which situation a further hand is played. There are also differences between specific games, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other varying aspects to enhance playability.