Video Poker - How To Play
Video Poker is an easy game to learn, especially if you already play poker. Your goal in video poker is simply to make your best poker hand by keeping or discarding the cards dealt to you on the screen.
Video Poker Basics
When you put in your coins and press deal/draw, you will be dealt five cards. Press the buttons corresponding to the cards you want to hold (not the ones you want to discard). Press deal/draw again and the cards you did not hold will be replaced. The new five-card hand determines how much you win.
Differences From Traditional Poker
Unlike a traditional poker game, you are not playing against other opponents in video poker. That means no bluffing, raising or folding. You simply try to make the best hand. The stronger the hand is, the more you win.
Usually a pair of jacks is the minimum needed to win. Any pair jacks or higher pays one coin for one. Hands like a flush usually pay six coins for one, a full house nine coins for one, and so on.
Other Things to Know About Video Poker
Video poker machines can accept more than one coin at a time. In most cases, the maximum number of coins is five. Playing the maximum number of coins for each turn not only multiplies your winnings, but also makes you eligible for any large progressive jackpots the machine may be offering.
Different video poker machines may have different rules. The standard machine is the "Jacks or Better" machine, but other machines may have wild cards or offer special prizes for certain card combinations. These machines usually have less favorable pay tables than the jacks or better machines.