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In Video poker the player
can bet from 1 to 5 different coin denominations.
• The player selects the amount of coins by clicking (once
or several times) on the "bet 1" or "bet 5" (maximum)
buttons.
• Once the bet is set, click on the "deal" button. This will
display 5 cards.
• If the player wants to keep a card, he/she must click on
it to hold.
• Then click again on "deal" to display the new cards.
• If the last five cards are a winning combination, they
will be marked in yellow in the pay out table, showing also
the amount. |
Video poker comes in many different options to play, but most
machines are based simply on the classic poker game of five-card
draw. In this situation you are dealt five random cards from a
52-card deck. Some machines add a 53rd card in the from of a
joker.
You are allowed just one opportunity to improve your hand by
"drawing" cards. This means you get to decide which of your five
original cards you want to keep, and which you want to replace
with (or discard for) other random cards from the deck.
Don't confuse yourself now, when you play video poker it may
remind you of real poker because of the mechanics of five-card
draw. The strategies you employ in each game though have nothing
to do with one another. Ranking of the poker hands is the only
further relation.
Random Card Generator?
Instead of trying to beat each player at the table like in real
poker, when you play video poker for profit, you're intent is to
beat the pay-table of the machine you're at. The RNG (Random
Number Generator) is not what dictates the pay-table of a video
poker machine, as it does in a slot machine. Instead, the RNG is
used to draw 'random' cards from the deck; in effect it
'shuffles' the deck for each hand.
This is important to note for anyone who has ever played slot
machines. The payback for each machine is determined by the
pay-table and the player's skill, not by the RNG. Therefore the
number of coins you play has no effect on the payback
percentage. Playing 'max coins' does not have the same meaning
as in slots. Each coin simply acts as a multiplier for the
payout, without affecting the percentage. Many players play
maximum coins if the machine only qualifies max coin players for
bonus rounds, where payouts are disproportionately greater.
If you're planning to play video poker in a land-based casino
(as opposed to an online casino, both are possible), the first
thing you want to do when you sit down to play is remember to
put in your slots club card. Part of the profitability of Video
Poker comes from the comps you accumulate over time.
To play once you have put your coins in, simply click the deal
button to receive your original five cards. Most machines will
indicate if your original five cards already form a winning hand
right away by highlighting it. Other machines will not
automatically hold the cards that are a winning hand, and you
have to choose to hold them yourself.
Choose which cards you want to keep by clicking the hold button
below each card, or on some games simply touch the card. It's
important to make sure the machine you're playing follows this
standard. It's uncommon, but not impossible to come across a
machine that offers a 'discard' button instead of a hold button
under each card. Playing online the problem seems to come up
fairly often. Be sure you know if you're holding or throwing
away the cards you click.
The cards you choose to discard are thrown away and replaced
with new random cards, giving you a full set of 5 again. This is
your final hand, and if it's a winner, so are you.
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