Video Poker Rules: Overview

Video Poker is another machine game popular in casinos which fuses elements of classic five-card draw Poker with Slots-style mechanics. Very much a part of modern casino culture, the roots of Video Poker can probably be found back in the early 1890s, when the Sittman & Pitt company based in New York developed a mechanical-gambling machine that used Slot-style reels to randomly ‘deal' Poker hands. These early machines did not directly payout cash prizes, like Slots, however the bars where they found a popular following would often devise their own schemes to reward different hand rankings. Prizes might be, for example, a free beer for customers spinning up a high-value pair.

Whilst the fundamental concept of this game can be found in mechanical marvel that Sittman & Pitt built, it wasn't until the crimes-against-fashion era of the mid-1970s that the dawn of cheap consumer computing gave rise to the development of the first ‘Video Poker' consoles in the format that is played today. The first commercial Video Poker consoles, like International Game Technology's Draw Poker, arrived on the casino scene in 1979 and, whilst primitive compared to modern machines, they proved an instant hit especially with casino visitors who found the customs of traditional table gaming a little intimidating!

Still a firm favourite with customers at real-world clubs, Video Poker's digital heritage has also made it a perfect game for the online environments of Internet casinos. Players joining any quality UK online casino will invariably find a goodly selection of Video Poker choices amongst the attractions. Video Poker's popularity online has also been boosted by the availability of progressive jackpots on certain machines that can generate single payouts into the millions!

For more detail about the rules of the most popular formats of Video Poker you'll find at good quality UK online casinos, please click the relevant tabs above.