Video Poker is a popular game that can be gambled on in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your PC, using a net account. The rules are absolutely simple and involve the player attempting to get the best combination of cards possible in order to acquire cash. In this respect it’s much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the line of contact with any other players. Of course, methods employed during a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.

The game of Electronic Poker begins when the gambler puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the video poker machine and pushes the play button. A hand of five cards will then be "given out" on the video screen.

The Electronic Poker machine also has hold buttons, and players will need to now pick which cards to keep and which to throw away. For the cards the player would like to retain, the ‘hold’ buttons should be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any number of cards they wish, from all to none.

After the player has selected which cards he or she wishes to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards are handed out if desired. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.

Generally, the minimum succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money growing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to 2 pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and finally royal flushes. It goes without saying that the pay out schedule can range from machine to machine, so that discerning enthusiasts are agile enough to choose the most profitable machine each time.

As soon as the initial round has played out, the player can either choose to remain on in an attempt to maximize their earnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that they may have won. Further, several versions of the game allow the gambler a chance to increase their winnings, in which instance a further game is played. There are also differences among individual games, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying characteristics to increase playability.