Video Poker is a beloved game that is able to be wagered on in casinos around the globe, or in your house on your personal computer, using a net connection. The game rules are very simple and involve the player trying to get the greatest assemblage of cards achievable in order to come away with cash. In this respect it is much the same as a regular game of poker, apart from the interaction with competing players. Of course, techniques used in a physical game of poker, like tricking, will be useless in Video Poker.

The game of Video Poker begins when the player puts credits (either tokens, credit slips or money) into the machine and pushes the draw button. A 5 card hand will then be "dealt" on the video screen.

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

After the player has chosen which cards she would like to keep, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any fresh cards will be dealt if desired. The round is now finished, with the Electronic Poker machine analyzing the hand to see if it is the same as any of the winning hands shown on the pay out schedule.

Typically, the lowest succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money growing for each better hand. A list of common winning hands begins with jacks or better, moving on to two pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the payout schedule can vary from game to game, so that experienced gamblers are agile enough to pick the most beneficial machine each and every time.

After the initial round has completed, the player can either decide to stay on and try to to maximize their winnings, or they can press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that they may have won. Further, several styles of the game allow the gambler an opportunity to increase their profits, in which situation another round is played. There are also variations between specific machines, with some decks of cards including wild cards and other varying characteristics to enhance playability.