Playing Video Poker
Introduction
An often overlooked aspect that millions of poker fans enjoy is playing video poker games. For some purist poker players they can only contemplate playing poker at a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table, yet in the pre-internet/online poker website days of the 1970s, 80s and most of the 90s – video poker games were the only alternative option to actually sitting down at a poker table.
The Video Poker market
Video poker used to only be on machines in casinos and bars - now you can even play it on your cell phone.
As computer technology developed in the 1970s so too did video poker games, which are essentially reliant on a computer screen and central processing unit; and one company in particular came to dominate the market in computer video games quite early on – International Game Technology. One result of the world wide web development has been the introduction of online video poker games that can be played at home. However, whilst a video poker game can be played at home, in their strictest sense they are not a simple ‘home computer’ game. Video poker games were originally designed and built to be positioned along side other more ‘traditional’ gaming machines in casinos and bars etc. As such they are designed to offer players a variety of pay-outs, alongside the usual winnings by betting against the poker video machine. For example they can offer various bonus poker games as well as the option to play single or multiple poker hand games.
Betting in video poker games
Video poker games are invariably a 5-card draw game, so the payouts are invariably fast and can be big indeed, relevant to the bets placed. Particularly for regular online players; its worth remembering that if you play a video poker gaming machine in a casino or bar, be wary of trying to outplay the machine – it can be all too easy to get carried away when not in your familiar surroundings. Why? Well, the answer is that a video poker game will offer incremental jackpots based on how much you play. In other words, the more you play the more it will offer you for hitting a winning hand. However, don’t ask what you’re your chances are of getting say a Royal flush against one of these machines! Having said that bets can be anything from a quarter to $5 in coins. Given that the more you play/bet – the better winnings you can make; the best tip for betting on video poker games is to chose a machine where you can always bet the maximum amount you can afford. If $5 a bet is too much – simply find a machine with lower bet tariffs to match your pocket.