If you’re completely new to the game or unaware of why it’s the best game, the following video will be helpful.

Not all video poker games are the same. There are many variations . Some games have an easier strategy than others. Some pay big bonuses for higher ranking hands but pay less on the more frequently dealt lower ranked hands. Some variations even use wild cards. But the vast majority, and the most popular games are based on the the original jacks or better.

The chart below illustrates the standard hand ranking for a basic (Jacks or Better) game.  The machine uses a regular 52 card poker deck.

Basic Play
Press the “Deal” button to begin a game and place your bet. You’ll randomly be dealt 5 cards from the 52 card deck.  The deck is constantly shuffled but the shuffling stops at the moment that you press the “deal” button.

Once you review the cards that have been dealt, you’ll decide which ones to hold and which ones will be replaced by the computer. To hold cards, simply press the “Hold” key or tap the appropriate cards on the screen if it is a touch display machine.

Now that you’ve made your selection of cards to hold, press the “Draw” button and the machine will randomly replace your discards from the deck.

Your win or loss after a particular hand will be determined by the value of that hand as posted on the pay table. The pay table displays the amounts that are paid per winning hand such as two pair, three of a kind, a full house and so forth.

It may be obvious, but the ability to hold and discard allows the player to have a say in the outcome of the game. That is, when you play video poker you can influence not only if you’ll win or lose but also how much a win would pay. Making the right choice is one of the most important thing to understand if you want to win.  The better you are at doing so the more money you will win.

So, making the right hold decision for every possible hand will give you the best chances of winning throughout your session but also the a better chance to win a jackpot – which is usually a Royal Flush.

Understanding different pay tables is also an important part of learning video poker. They vary not only between different games but often on the same game but on different machines. So, one Jacks Or Better machine may return 9 coins for a full house but another Jacks or better game in the same casino might only pay 8 coins for the same hand. Which one would you prefer to play?

To win consistently at at video poker you’ll need to play the right machine and use the right strategy for that particular game. The right machine is one that has the best pay table for the game that you’re playing. You should start off by learning the Jacks Or Better version of video poker. It’s the easiest strategy and one of the most commonly found games.

Don’t waste your money by just playing any video poker machine and then guessing at which cards to hold. You will lose. Video Poker is a game that can be beat fairly easily. All you need to do is understand the different pay tables and learn a basic strategy. But don’t practice in the casino. Learn at home, on your computer, before you go into the casino.

The best place to learn, practice and play video poker is at the Video Poker Page of Action Gaming. There you can play the same video poker games that you’ll find in the casino for free. It was developed to teach newcomers how to play and to allow experienced gamblers to test new games that will soon be found in the casino. Best of all it’s free and you can play anytime, 24 hours a day.

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