The Basics of Video Poker
Video poker is based on the game of five card draw. The basics of play are simple. First place a bet. The machine will usually have a minimum bet. The maximum bet on a regular machine is usually five times the minimum bet. In a power poker machine, there can be many many hands and then the maximum bet can be very high. Once the bet is placed, press the deal button. The machine selects five cards. Choose which cards you wish to hold, and then press deal again. The machine removes the cards that were not held and deals new ones. Then the machine pays out any wins, based on the pay table listed on the machine.
Main Types of Video Poker
The most common types of video poker are Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild, but there are many different types of video poker, so it’s important to look at the machine carefully before you play. Jacks or better means that pairs of jacks, queens, kings, or aces are winning combinations, while pairs of tens or lower are not winning combinations. Deuces wild means that twos are wild and can stand in for any card. In Deuces Wild, pairs do not win any prize.
Winning Combinations
Pairs can be a winning combination in some forms of video poker. Three of a kind means that the player holds three cards of the same rank and is usually a winning combination. Two pairs is a common hand that generally wins some cash in video poker. A flush is a hand that contains cards which are all of the same suit. A straight is a hand in which the cards are a series of numbers. For example 2,3,4,5,6. They do not need to be the same suit. A straight flush is a hand where there is a straight and the cards are the same suit. Four of a kind is a hand in which there are four cards of the same rank. The top hand in many video poker games is a royal flush. This is a straight flush ranging from ten to ace. In a game with wild cards, there may be a distiction between a ‘natural’ straight flush and a straight flush that contains a wild card. There may also be a five of a kind hand in a video poker game with wild cards. Sometimes, there is a jackpot for five of a kind of aces.
Power Poker
Power poker is played much like regular video poker. Instead of playing one hand at a time, players can play many hands at once. The first hand is dealt, and players choose which cards to hold. Then, those cards are laid out from separate decks, and the hand is completed individually from each deck. Each hand is rated separately and can win a prize separately.
