Video poker is poker played solo at a computerized console. It is a simple way to play poker online or offline, without the same level of stress afford in table poker. The house has little to no advantage and you control the pace of the game.
To begin a session of video poker approach the machine and familiarize yourself with the unit and its rules. Be comfortable with the pay schedule, which explains what card combinations will produce a payout, and the button layout. Each hand begins by inserting payment into the machine. Payment may take the form of coins, bills, a bar-coded paper ticket or a player’s card with a magnetic strip; there will be a minimum bet and a maximum bet. Once your bet has been set you are ready to play and the machine will deal you five cards at random from the standard 52-card deck. The goal is to get the best hand possible with a payout attached to that hand. Hand values follow the standard poker rules and are as follows from lowest to highest:
- One Pair
- Two Pair
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Full House
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Royal Flush
Note: It is common in video poker for the rules to be “Jacks or Better.” This means that your one pair must be jacks or higher to receive a payout.
Looking at the five cards dealt, the player must choose to hold the cards they wish to keep by pressing the corresponding hold button for each card located on or beside the screen. Once you have settled on the cards you wish to keep press the draw button to have the un-held cards replaced by new cards from the same deck. The five cards now displayed make up your final hand and a payout is assessed on this hand.