Video Poker: Meaning and Definition
Video poker is a popular casino game that blends chance and skill, as it incorporates the player’s decision which cards to keep and which to discard. Video poker is popular both in brick-and-mortar casinos and online casinos, and it’s always played against the house.
Summary
Based on five-card draw poker, video poker is one of the most famous casino games, played both in land-based casinos on machines resembling slot machines and online. Video poker is played against the house and has various variants, including Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker, and Double Bonus Poker, to name a few of the most well-known ones.
What Is Video Poker?
Video poker is a casino game based on the popular poker variant, five-card draw. Unlike poker, which is both a card and a table game, video poker is played on a machine that resembles a traditional slot machine.
Another key difference between traditional poker and video poker is that, instead of playing against other players, video poker is generally played against the machine or computer.
Why It's Important
Video poker has a vital place in the history of gambling, as it appeared alongside the first mass-produced personal computers in the mid-1970s and gained popularity in the 1980s. Today, video poker comes in various forms, including, but not limited to:
- Jacks or Better
- Tens or Better
- Deuces Wild
- Joker's Wild
- Joker Poker
- Aces and Faces
- Multi-hand Poker
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
How It's Used
Video poker is played like the standard version of the five-card draw. The goal is the same as that of five-card draw poker: to build the strongest hand possible. This is achieved by deciding which dealt hands to keep and which to
The objective of video poker is just like any other game of five-card draw: build as strong a hand as possible by choosing which cards to hold, which to discard, and to place bets accordingly.
