Not so long ago the general idea of a gambler was that of a cigar-chomping man, playing poker with a few others around a table in a smoke-saturated room. Such a vision has been presented in a number of movies. At present, however, this idea is no longer valid, as there is no stereotypical portrait of a gambler.
Casino visitors today comprise an entire spectrum of ages, genders, racial features, even lifestyles. What’s more, due to the constant demand for gambling experience, a growing number of casinos are reported on a global scale. And among all the gaming options provided at these establishments, the one with the greatest popularity is undoubtedly that of video poker.
There are casinos, where management needed to remove a number of table games so that enough space was provided for video poker machines. There must be a reason (or an array of reasons) why this game suits the preferences of the crowd so well. Let us mention a few of them.
First, video poker is similar to traditional poker and the majority of players are quite aware of the basic rules; second, video poker is a fast-paced and enthralling experience and also provides a player with the opportunity to score huge gains; third, in video poker, a player is able to make decisions, while his/her skill in playing the cards will undeniably determine the outcome of the game itself; fourth, video poker is among the few gaming options that offer player advantage games, thus, a player is given the advantage over the house.
A little bit of history
The matter on poker’s exact origins remains open for debate. However, many experts mention one name, when it comes to poker’s inception, Jonathan Green, who played on riverboats along the Mississippi River. He made the first reference to ”poker” in 1834 and called it ”the cheating game”. Regardless of the cheating element in the game, it gained huge popularity right from the beginning and spread as far as the East Coast.
At the very beginning, poker was a game involving 20 cards. Later it became a game of 32 cards, and finally a 52-card game with the inclusion of two Jokers. Among the most notable movies, which provided a glance at the game of poker, was ”Maverick” from 1994 with Mel Gibson in the lead role. At present, it is the card game played the most.
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For more than 100 years, regardless of the card number variations we noted, the game was played using real cards by a group of individuals around a table. Later, in 1975 in Las Vegas, a new type of slot machine was introduced to the public, which immediately caught its eye. At the time, there was only one video poker game available, Jacks or Better draw poker. Nowadays more than 100 varieties of the game are to be named, while video poker is certainly the most renowned gaming option at casinos.
A basic explanation of the game
At its core, video poker is a game of simplicity. A player makes a bet, after which they are dealt 5 cards. They then select which of these cards, if any, they want to hold. Then, additional cards are dealt in order to complete the hand. The player receives a payout, in the instance that they have formed a paying hand. After that, another game can be initiated by making another bet, but the player may choose not to.
However, there are several important moments we should stress. At a large elite casino, one can find over 100 different variations of video poker games. These games may vary by denomination (1 cent, 2 cents, 10 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, $5, $50, etc) and also by game type (Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, Double Double Bonus Poker, etc). What’s more, within every type of game there are various pay schedules.
The Game of Video Poker
Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild
Double Bonus, Pick’em Poker
Ranking Hands Video Poker
Video Poker Machine Appearance
As modern poker is a 52-card game, exactly 2, 598 960 different hands can be dealt. If we take into account duplicates, the number may become easier to manage. A hand consisting of 5h 5s 5d 3h 3s (h=hearts, s=spades, d=diamonds) differs from another hand, which includes 5h 5s 5d 3h 3d, but both of them are played the same way.
If you are willing to play any video poker game, you will need to be aware of how to play each of the 2 598 960 hands properly. At first, this may appear insanely difficult to achieve, but you will come to understand it is not.
Another moment worth noting is that video poker offers only one betting interval. Or, after you placed your bet, you are in the game until it ends. This is what makes video poker fundamentally different from both live poker and blackjack.
At some locations, such as Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, and other regulated states, video poker is dealt in a fair manner, while this may not be the case with other regions (New York, Florida, and so on).
In video poker there is a computer algorithm, that determines which cards are dealt; it is known as the random number generator (RNG). We shall talk a bit more about it at a later stage.
Over the years many players have expressed their concerns over how exactly the RNG works. In general, it is meant to simulate a fair deal from a well-shuffled deck. But, in fact, no computer program is entirely random. It can be designed to be close to random, but never 100% random. As for the RNG, specific statistical measures track whether it is random enough. To a beginner, however, learning to play the different games accurately is the highest priority.
