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After vingt-et-un and Craps, video poker gives you some of the greatest odds in the casino if you play it right. It marries some of the excitement of a slot machine game with some of the excitement of a table game, all while not rushing you to wager. This is why a lot of professional gamblers use video poker as a way of diversion in amongst the demands of black jack or a poker game.

For a number years now, electronic poker has steadily grown in prominence in the betting houses. While many electronic poker machines may look like slot machine games, make no mistake about it – they are not! Unlike slot machine games, electronic poker is a merger of fortune AND skill.

The cards are given out randomly, just like in actual poker game. The house’s advantage is determined by how much it pays for the varying combos of succeeding hands. Different machines have differing payout schedules for the numerous poker hands, so be certain to pick a machine with a favorable payment schedule.

In order to wager on video poker with any chance at winning, you need to understand the essential details regarding wagering on five card draw poker, which is beyond the purview of this article. We’ll suppose that you know the essential basics of the game and how the various poker hands are graded.

To bet on a video poker game, you simply insert one or more coins (generally up to a max of five) and push the "deal" button. Five cards are dealt to you on the screen. You pick the cards you want to maintain by pushing the "hold" button underneath each card.

You then hit the "deal" button once more and you’ll be assigned the number of cards you decided not to keep, to create your final, 5 card poker hand. If you end up with a winning combination, you’re paid according to the pay out schedule.

It’s as clear as that! Most video poker games have a payout schedule that is 97 or 98%.