Video Poker Lessons
There are 2,598,960 poker hands that can be produced with a standard 52-card deck. Most video poker games make use of the combinations of hands that can be made from a standard deck.
The RNG inside the video poker machine is set to simulate the probabilities of drawing any one of these combinations of hands. With a set number of combinations that can be made from the cards used in each video poker game, the payout can be calculated by how much the video poker machine pays for each winning combination.
How to Play Video Poker
A game of video poker begins when the player places a stake and is dealt five cards from a standard 52-card deck. (Not all variations of video poker make use of a standard deck. This is explained later on.) Because it is a draw game, once the player sees his five cards, he has one opportunity to discard any number of unwanted cards, 
from a minimum of one card to a maximum of all five cards. He is then dealt an equal number of replacement cards from the deck. The player also has a choice not to have any card replaced, and simply retain all five of his original cards. The player receives a certain number of points based on the final poker hand he is holding. According to the calculated points, he is paid based on a fixed scale of odds. If the player's final hand is lower than the dealer's, the stake is lost to the dealer.
For example, Jacks or Better was the only form of the game when video poker machines first appeared on the casino floors in the late 1970’s. In this variation, the lowest possible "good" poker hand you can make is a pair of Jacks; hence, the monicker. Therefore, if you have a pair of Jacks or better, you are paid according to your hand. If your hand is worse than a pair of Jacks, you lose to the dealer/machine.
In principle, the rules of video poker make it possible to play the game with real cards and a human dealer as the banker. But in its present incarnation, as the name suggests, the game is played on a machine, with virtual cards and a virtual dealer. Typically, you make a bet by depositing anywhere from one to five coins in the video poker machine. Using a random number generator (RNG), the machine deals you five cards, which are displayed on the video screen. To retain a card, you push the "hold" button under that card. To discard and replace a card, you push the "deal" button under that card.
One good reason that video poker is played on a machine is that your final hand corresponds to a specific number of points, which, in turn, corresponds to a specific payout as well as bonuses and jackpots. This is the part of the game that makes it similar to slots, in which a specific combination of picture symbols is equivalent to a set payout and jackpot bonuses pre-defined on each slot machine. One advantage that video poker games have over slot machine games is that, while you never know what percentage a slot machine is set to pay back, you can tell a video poker machine’s payback percentage just by looking at it. In this way, it is not blind luck and a completely random outcome that can make or break your game.
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