Video Poker Games: variety is the spice of poker-life!
As with a poker game with a good old deck of cards, there are rules of play with video poker too! If you are familiar with the rules of card poker, and particularly are familiar with what constitutes a winning hand and how these rank against each other, then it's not too difficult to transfer this knowledge (and of course your skill) over to the video poker games.
- Basic rules of actual play are very simple and are based on a five card hand. Once you join the game and pay your first coin, the game deals out five cards. You check your cards and choose to discard or hold by pressing the appropriate button beneath each card. Cards that you have discarded are replaced with new card and if the new hand contains a winning combination, you have won your bet! This is the real difference between video poker and real poker: you are not playing against a table full of other players with their unseen hands; you are just trying to create a good hand that will win you some money!
- The thing to be aware of in your cash-winning quest is that there is a significant variation in rules of payout across games and casinos - for example a Royal Flush in Jacks or Better video poker tends to payout less than a Royal Flush in Deuces Wild video poker. Always check the pay table carefully before commencing your play so that you know exactly what you are doing and for how much!
- Different rules also apply to multi-hand games, sometimes known as Power Poker, which allow you to hold more than one hand at a time - each from a separate deck of cards, which can add to the excitement, but also confusion in play!
- Rules of payout will also vary according to the size of the coins bet and will relate to the size of this. You should particularly bear in mind that progressive jackpot poker games will only payout the jackpot if you have placed the maximum bet, so make it a personal rule that if you are playing these games to win big you should always place the maximum bet!
- Just like a game of poker where the cards are in your hand, strategy can apply and can make a real difference to the outcome of each hand, so the basic rule that all players (real or virtual) should follow is to know when to hold certain cards to improve the hand you have been dealt and know when to fold. In the world of video poker this is even more true because what you want to hold or discard will be extremely relative to the game you are playing: there's no real point in holding onto tens if you are playing Jacks or Better, whilst the lowest paying hand in Deuces Wild Poker is for three of a kind, so there's no point in holding on to two pairs in the hope of a win on the pairs (you won't get it) or a full house (the odds on a three of a kind make it a more likely outcome than a full house).
- Lastly, if all poker rules are very new to you, do seek out the free play games that many casinos offer, as it's better to learn by doing and seeing and these free games will give you a much quicker (and less risky) learning experience!