Video Poker Games

What Are Video Poker Games?

In the purest definition, video poker games are those that emulate the casino game. In casino poker, players sit at a machine (similar to a slot machine, but dedicated the one game) and make a wager. Once the bet is placed, the machine deals them a virtual hand; then, players have the opportunity to hold or draw new cards. Once the final hand is drawn, the machine calculates whether the player has a winning hand, and if so, makes a pay-off. In classic video poker games, players are pitted against the cards as opposed to against other players.

However, many people use the term very loosely; for many people video poker games describe any software variation of poker, whether it is software to facilitate playing against human opponents online or against a computer. Whether you are playing Texas Hold'em software on your PC to hone your skills or gambling online in an Omaha tournament, you are playing video poker games. These days, you can even play on your PDA or cell phone!

How Do I Play?

Since there are so many types of video poker games, the rules really depend on the game you choose to play and the software you are using to play it. In general, most of the games follow standard rules and hand rankings. However, it is very important to note, especially if you are playing for money, that you should read each video poker game's rules and policies before playing.

Where Can I Get Them?

Whatever your requirements, you can probably find several games to meet them. If you just want an intensive video poker game that you can play for fun, without ever playing for money, you may want to buy a product so you can avoid annoying pop-ups and invitations to gamble. However, if you prefer to play for money, you can easily get free video poker games from many reputable online casinos.

Some of the available variations of video poker games include:

• Boxed Software: There are video poker games available at retail for PCs, Macs and all of the popular console game systems. These can generally be played on a stand-alone system, although they sometimes allow the player to connect to others via the Internet for multi-player games. For example, Stacked with Daniel Negreanu is currently available for the Xbox; play at home against the in-game poker champions, or use Xbox Live to go online and play in multiplayer games against your friends.

• Downloads:' Many of the free video poker games, and almost all of the paid ones, require some kind of software download. Once you download the software, some games are self-contained and you can play on your computer regardless of whether you are connected to the Internet. However, if you want to play a game for money, or play an online multiplayer game, you will need one of the many video poker games that downloads the basic software, but connects to the Internet for the actual game.

• Online with no download required: There are some simple games available that use on-line applications without any software download. While these are handy if you are short of hard disk space or wary of downloads, they are generally simpler and less graphically interesting than their larger downloadable cousins.