[ English ]

Electronic Poker is a popular game that can be wagered on in casinos throughout the world, or alternatively at home on your computer, using a net connection. The rules are absolutely straightforward and involve the player attempting to get the greatest assemblage of cards possible in order to acquire money. On this account it is much the same as a normal game of poker, minus the interaction with competing players. Of course, methods used in a physical game of poker, such as bluffing, will be useless in Video Poker.

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

The Video Poker machine also has buttons with ‘hold’ written on them, and bettors should now choose which cards to keep and which to discard. For the cards the bettor wishes to keep, the ‘hold’ buttons must be pressed so that they illuminate. The player can decide to keep any amount of cards they wish, from all to none.

After the bettor has selected which cards she would like to retain, they should press ‘deal’, at which point any new cards will be needed they will be handed out. The round is now completed, with the Video Poker machine analyzing the cards to see if it matches any of the winning hands shown on the payment schedule.

Typically, the minimum succeeding hand on an Electronic Poker machine is a pair of jacks with the prize money increasing for each better hand. A common list of winning hands begins with jacks or better, and moves on to 2 pairs, 3 of a kinds, straights, flushes, full houses, 4 of a kinds, straight flushes and last but not least royal flushes. It should be known that the pay out schedule can range from machine to machine, so that discerning bettors are able to pick the most money-making machine every time.

After the initial round has finished, the player can either decide to continue on and try to to maximize their winnings, or press the ‘collect’ button to retrieve any cash that might have been won. Further, several versions of the game give the gambler a chance to double their profits, in which case another game is played. There are also differences between individual machines, with some virtual decks having wild cards and other differing elements to enhance playability.