Video Poker is a beloved game that usually will be wagered on in casinos around the world, or alternatively at your house on your computer, using a web account. The game rules are absolutely simple and involve the player trying to get the best combination of cards as you can in order to come away with money. On this account it’s much the same as a normal game of poker, minus the interaction with other players. Of course, techniques employed during a real-life game of poker, like tricking, will be irrelevant in Video Poker.

The game of Electronic Poker starts when the player inserts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the video poker machine and pushes the deal button. A 5 card hand will then be "dealt" on the screen.

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

After the player has selected which cards he would like to retain, they should press ‘draw’, at which point any new cards are needed they will be given out. The hand is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.

Typically, the minimum succeeding hand on a Video Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the award money getting larger for each and every better hand. A common list of winning hands starts with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, three of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It goes without saying that the payment schedule can vary from game to game, so that knowledgeable enthusiasts are able to pick the most beneficial game each instance.

After the initial round has played out, the player can either decide to continue on in an attempt to increase their earnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any credits that might been won. Further, some versions of the game give the enthusiast a chance to double their wins, in which instance another game is played. There are also variations among individual machines, with some decks of cards having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.