Video poker is not only one of the
most popular casino games, it's also one
of the easiest among the video machines
at the casinos. In fact, the game is so
popular, at the casino bars there is
always a video poker screen in front of
every seat, so patrons can play this
entertaining game while having a drink.
Here you will learn how to play poker,
we will give you the basic information,
along with pictures and examples of this
famous casino game.
Video poker is played with a
virtual deck of cards and each deal
consist of two draws. In the first draw
the player is dealt five cards. The
player than has the option to select and
hold as many of those five cards as they
wish. Once the cards are selected, the
player draws one more time, substituting
the cards which were not held with new
ones. Following the second draw, the win
(if any) is calculated based on the
video poker pay table which you can see
below. Let's look at some examples to
show you the steps to playing video
poker (images of video poker machines at
the
Bovada internet casino):
1. First five cards are dealt.
2. The player holds the cards they wish
to save for the next draw. In this case,
we hold the two Jacks, this guarantees
us at least a pair, which means we would
at least get our money back.
3. The second and final draw. No other
beneficial cards are turned, thus the
final hand is only a pair of Jacks.
So now you know the basic steps to
playing the video poker game, but what
is the point of the game? Your goal when
playing video poker is to get the
highest possible combination from the
pay table. You do this by holding cards
in the first draw which would give you
the best chance to win. In our example
above, after the first five cards had
been dealt, we decided to hold the two
Jacks, since they gave us the best
chance of matching a combination on the
payout table. At the very least, it
ensured the minimum payout, which in
this case was 5 coins. If during the
second draw we were to get two more
Jacks - we'd have gotten a "4 of a
Kind", that pays 125 coins. As you can
see - it's that simple. You select the
cards to hold in attempt to match one of
the combinations on the pay table. And
here are the winning combination and a
picture of the pay table. Note, this
applies only to Jacks or Better
variation of video poker. There are
other variations which we have discussed
in other articles, but Jacks or Better
is the most common and available at
every internet casino.
Here is a common video poker pay table:
And the winning combinations, from
smallest payout to the largest. Here is
the ranking of video poker hands:
Jacks or Better - the payout of
this combination is paid out when the
player gets only a pair of Jacks or
higher card (Queens, Kings or Aces), a
pair of 10s for example will bring
nothing.
2 Pair - any two pairs, for
example two 3s and 2 Aces.
3 of a Kind - still simple to
decipher, any three same cards, i.e.
three 9s.
Straight - This is where it gets
a bit complex, yet the payout rises, as
well. A straight is five consecutive
cards of different suit. Example of a
straight is [2 of Hearts]+[3 of
Diamonds]+[4 of Hearts]+[5 of Clubs]+[6
of Diamonds]
Flush - the video poker player
gets a Flush when they get five cards of
the same suit, but not in a consecutive
manner.
Full House - when the player gets
one pair and one 3 of a Kind in the same
hand.
4 of a Kind - four of the same
cards, for example four Kings.
Straight Flush - the same as a
Flush, but the cards are of the same
suit, as well. There is one exception,
which is the:
Royal Flush - the highest
possible payout combination (winning
hand) you can get in any variation of
video poker. The Royal Flush is a form
of a straight flush (five consecutive
cards of the same suit) but it end in an
Ace. In other words, the combination of
10+J+Q+K+A in any of the four suits will
give you the Royal Flush.
As you can see yourself, playing video
poker couldn't be more easy. We will
close this article on how to play video
poker with a tip fro the pros - always
bet the maximum coin when playing video
poker, whether at the internet casinos
or the local gambling hall.
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