Video Poker is a somewhat contemporary invention, a fusion between traditional poker and modern slot machines. The video poker game is a match between you and the machine. During a game of video poker the dealer aka the machine will deal you a hand of five cards. After you receive your hand you must decide which cards to hold (keep) or discard.
The objective of course is to finish the game with the strongest hand possible. The payout at the end of the game is dependent on the value of the hand you are holding according to the payout schedule. If you have won, the game will offer you an additional opportunity to increase your winnings by participating in a doubling phase more on that later.
There are literally dozens of video poker game types most however are a take of jacks or better, a wild game, or a bonus game. Popular video poker games include: Aces & Faces, Deuces & Joker, Double Joker, Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, Joker Poker, Louisiana Double, Tens or Better, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Double Jackpot Poker, Bonus Poker. Depending on which software provider powers the casino you have chosen to visit, the games available will vary.
The game of video poker which is played on a machine was made possible by of the invention of the computer chip, thus the origins of "video poker" can be clearly traced back to the mid 1970's. The term "video poker" is used as a general term to refer to the many variations of the original poker game.
Video poker is a amalgamation of slot machines and the normal five-card draw poker game. The cards of a video poker game are located on a reel much like those found in slot machines. The goal of video poker is to attain the best possible hand according to the payout table for the particular game you are playing. Each game will have unique rules and payoffs, but all are played in a comparable manner based on the original poker game.
The precise date regarding the invention of poker is often argued and unfortunately no clear-cut answers exist. Additionally, there are no clear accounts as to how the game initially was created.
Based only on the elementary philosophy of the game it is thought by scholars to have been created a long time ago. It is also broadly acknowledged that Poker as we know it today is a product of a variety of different games.
Referring to the earliest known references in common literature we can date the games origins as far back as 1834. The author, Jonathan Green wrote about a game, which was at that time being played in the Mississippi river boats. He referred to card game as the "cheating game" and wrote about the rules of the game. When Mr. Green discovered that he was the first to write about the game he chose to call it poker.
The origin of the word Poker is also highly debated, and this might be of interest to how Mr. Green actually chose the name. A lot of dictionaries indicate that the word was derived from an eighteenth century French game called poque. Adding to the confusion there are also many other dictionaries, which make reference to a German game known as pochspiel.
About Power Poker / Multi Hand Poker
The biggest difference between power poker and the standard video poker games is that you will be dealt multiple hands instead of one. Your initially dealt one hand, play it as you would play any poker hand. When you select the cards you want to keep those cards are selected to keep for all other hands e.g. if your dealt two aces and you choose to hold them, they will be held in all of the other hands. As one might expect the objective is to finish the game with the strongest hand possible.
Understanding Video Poker Paytables
The table below is what a typical paytable looks like. This particular tabe is for a full pay 9/6 Jacks or Better game offered on casinos powered by Microgaming software.
The table indicates how much each winning hand will be paid out according to the number of coins wagered. The first column shows the hand needed for that payout, the second - fifth columns on this paytable indicate the amount paid for a 1 coin bet thru a 5 coin bet.
For example if you had bet 1 coin and hit a flush you would get a payout of 6 coins, if you had bet 5 coins you would be paid out 30 coins. The difference of 24 coins might not sound like a big difference but as you see a 1 coin royal flush pays 250, a 5 coin royal flush will pay you a whopping 4000 coins!
Double Up ?
Some video poker games will give you an opportunity to double your winnings at the end of a winning hand. You will be given a chance to select a card in hopes that it is higher than the dealers. If yours is higher you double up if not you lose your original winnings. This double up option doesnt seem like a bad bet if your win was a small win, but if you have a big win unless you are a real gambler you might want to skip this play all together.
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