Video Poker is a favored game that usually will be wagered on in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your home computer, using a web account. The rules are very simple and involve the player trying to achieve the best mixture of cards possible in order to come away with cash. In this respect it is very similar as a regular game of poker, apart from the line of contact with any other players. Of course, methods used in a real-life game of poker, like bluffing, will be irrelevant here.

The game of Video Poker begins when the bettor puts credits (either tokens, tickets or cash) into the machine and presses the play button. A five card hand will then be "handed out" on the screen.

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

After the bettor has selected which cards he or she wishes to keep, the player will then press ‘deal’, which will mean that any new cards are handed out if desired. The round is now finished, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payout schedule.

Normally, the lowest succeeding hand on a Video 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 last but not least royal flushes. It is obvious that the payout schedule can change from game to game, so that knowledgeable gamblers are able to pick the most money-making ones each instance.

After the first round has finished, the player can either choose to continue on and try to to increase their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to cash out any credits that have been won. Additionally, several styles of the game allow the gambler a chance to increase their winnings, in which case another hand is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing characteristics to increase playability.