VIDEO POKER RULES

If you’re a gambler who wants a little more skill than slot machines provide, or a poker player who wants to have more control over his bets, then online video poker might be the game for you. The video poker rules are a quick read, especially if you’re at all familiar with draw poker. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the fundamental principle of draw poker is that you can exchange some of the cards in your hand for new cards in an attempt to improve it. You start with five cards, then get a chance to replace up to three of them if you don’t have an ace, or up to four of them if you do. The goal is to end up with the best possible five-card poker hand at the end of the game. Video poker rules are much the same.

Normally draw poker is played against other players, but online video poker games change things up. With video poker rules, it’s just you versus the machine. Different hands are worth different payouts, depending on how difficult they are to achieve. It really is that simple to play video poker. Of course winning will require a little more effort, so if you want a head start check out our video poker strategy page.

The online video poker rules for playing are simple too. There is typically one button that says “Deal/Draw,” one button that says “Cash Out,” and one button under each card that says “Hold.” After inserting your money, you press the “Deal/Draw” button to play video poker. You will then be dealt five cards. You must choose which of these cards you want to keep and which you want to replace. To keep a card, you will press the “Hold” button beneath it. This should make the word “Hold” appear across the card on the screen.

Once you’ve selected all the cards you want to keep, you press the “Deal/Draw” button again. This will replace all the cards that you did not mark “Hold” with new ones. Then, the computer will check to see if you're holding a paying hand; if you are, with online video poker rules you receive your winnings automatically. It's so easy to play video poker that you can complete literally hundreds of video poker games in a single hour.

Like slots, the amount you win in online video poker depends on the amount of money you bet. Most video poker machines will have a minimum bet, defined as a “coin” or a “credit.” Video poker rules for payouts differ slightly between games, but ultimately the size of the payouts will be determined by how many credits you wager (between one and five). All video poker games feature a payout table, posted right on the machine, that lays out the payouts for each winning combination. The payouts increase with the value of your poker hand. For example, two pairs pay better than one pair, and three of a kind pays better still, and so on and so forth up to a royal flush.

Video poker game payouts usually increase by multiples for each credit you bet. For example, for one credit bet, a video poker machine will pay two credits for two pairs; for two credits bet, it will pay out four credits, and so on up to the maximum of five credits bet. The one exception to this rule is the royal flush which triggers a jackpot at maximum bet.