A Quick Rundown About Video Pocker

Video Poker machines are favored by a lot of devoted casino gamers. With the introduction of online casinos, there are lots of players learning the basics of video poker rules, and discovering just how exciting these games can be.

Poker and video poker are very similar, with the obvious difference being that you are not competing with any other real players and you can go and use no download video poker machine games instead of waiting for other people to gather up and play. Instead of getting the “best hand”, it’s your goal to get a “good enough” hand to get a payout.

If you like to play poker-oriented card games but have never tried the electronic, single-player version, please continue reading to learn the rules of video poker.

Objective
The object in video poker is to achieve a hand that is strong enough to provoke a winning payout. For example, in “Jacks Or Better”, you need at least a Pair of “Jacks” to signal a win, “Or Better” to get a higher win.

Minimum Hand Requirements & Payouts

All video poker variants have different winning hand requirements and payouts. You can find the exact requirements of all winning combinations and payouts by clicking the video poker “Rules” button. However, most video poker machines will display the entire payout schedule directly on the machine's interface.

In general, the easier it seems to hit a strong hand, the higher the minimum winning hand requirement will be. For example, a video poker game with the wild cards, such as “Deuces Wild”, is not going to pay out for a Pair, no matter how high that pair is. You’ll need to get at least a Three of a Kind to win.

Also, note that the minimum hand is not going to make you a profit. The lowest paying hand will always return your original bet.

How To Play
Playing video poker is as simple as pressing, or clicking, a series of buttons. First, you will place a bet by using the Coin Denomination Arrows. Press the left arrow to lower the price of each coin, or the right arrow to increase the price of each coin. You are usually able to insert anywhere from 1 to 5 coins per play, so keep this in mind when choosing a coin size.

Press the Bet button to insert 1 coin. You may press the Bet button again to continue betting more coins, up to the maximum bet allowed. If you wish to bet the full amount of coins, simply press Bet Max.

Pressing Bet Max will automatically deal the cards. Otherwise, when you’ve placed your desired bet, click the Draw button.

Your cards will appear on the screen. Beneath each card is a Hold button. Press this button under each card you wish to keep. The word HOLD will appear on each card you’ve chosen to keep. When you are ready to discard all other cards, to be replaced by new ones, press Draw.

Your new hand is revealed. If you have a winning combination, you will be paid according to the payout chart on the video poker machine. If the winning combinations are displayed at the top of the machine, your winning hand and payout rate will be highlighted to show you what you’ve won.

Repeat the process to continue playing…

Multi-Hand Video Poker
Some video poker machines come in multi-hand play, meaning you can play more than one poker hand in a single turn. When you play multi-hand video poker, be careful how much you choose to wager, as your bet is actually multiplied by the number of hands being played.

In multi-hand video poker, you are dealt a single hand, which is played in the same manner as single-hand video poker games. However, when you discard and draw new cards, they are dealt out to as many hands as you have laid to play.