Video Poker Beginner Guide: The Basic Rules

Although it's perfectly possible to play Video Poker games with a very rudimentary knowledge of the traditional ranking of Poker hands, it's probably a wise move to get pretty familiar with those rankings if you truly want to get the most out of playing these machines. Once you're up to speed with the most basic principles of classic five card Poker (which you can find in the Game Rules section of this site) then Video Poker itself is simple to play.

Ahead of receiving your deal, you must choose the amount of money you want to bet by putting the appropriate value of coins / credits into the machine (playing online you click on a ‘coin menu' to replicate this). This done, hitting the ‘Deal' button on the console commences the game.

After the first hand(s) of cards appear on the screen, you assess which are, or could potentially develop into, winning hands in accordance with the machines payout table. Then, rather like the function found on some slot machines, you can choose to ‘hold' certain cards that are favourable, and replace the rest by hitting the ‘Draw' button for a second time. If you've been successful in achieving the minimum paying hand you will normally have the option to collect your winnings, or gamble on doubling your money with a further bonus round.