How to Play Electronic Poker
Electronic Poker is a popular game that is able to be enjoyed in casinos all over the world, or in your house on your PC, using a web connection. The rules are absolutely straightforward and consist of the player attempting to achieve the greatest combination of cards achievable in order to win money. In this respect it’s much the same as a regular game of poker, minus the line of contact with any other players. Of course, tactics employed during a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.
The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or money) into the machine and presses the play button. A 5 card hand will then be electronically ‘distributed’ on the video screen.
The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and gamblers should now decide which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the player would like to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can choose to keep any number of cards they want, whether it’s all or none.
After the enthusiast has decided on which cards he or she wishes to retain, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any fresh cards are needed they will be dealt. The hand is now completed, with the Video Poker machine scanning the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.
Normally, the minimum succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It definitely goes without saying that the pay out schedule can vary from machine to machine, so that experienced enthusiasts are able to choose the most profitable ones each instance.
Once the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to continue on in an attempt to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any cash that might have been won. Further, a few styles of the game allow the bettor an opportunity to double their wins, in which instance a further game is played. There are also differences between individual games, with some virtual decks including wild cards and other varying characteristics to increase playability.