Video Poker
Video Poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. Video Poker is played on a computerized console which is a similar size to a slot machine.
A Video Poker game begins by placing a bet of one or more credits, by inserting money (or in newer machines, a bar coded paper ticket with credit) into the machine, and then pressing a "Deal" button to draw cards.
The player is then given an opportunity to keep or discard one or more of the cards in exchange for a new card drawn from the same virtual deck. After the draw, the machine evaluates the hand and offers a payout if the hand matches one of the winning hands in the posted pay schedule.
On a typical Video Poker machine, payouts start with a minimum hand of a pair of Jacks. Pay tables allocate the payout for hands based partially upon how rare they are, and also based upon the total theoretical return the game operator chooses to offer.
Some machines offer progressive jackpots for the royal flush, (and sometimes for other rare hands as well), thereby spurring players to both play more coins and to play more frequently.
Newer Video Poker machines may employ variants of the basic five-card draw.
Typical Video Poker variations include Deuces Wild (where a 2 serves as a wild card and a jackpot is paid for four deuces or a natural royal) and Jokers Wild (where jokers serve as wild cards).
In Deuces Wild Poker variations, a 3 of a Kind hand is usually paid out even money. In Jokers Wild Poker variations, a 3 of a Kind hand is usually paid out 2:1. In Jacks or Better Video Poker variations, a 3 of a Kind hand is normally paid out 3:1.