Everybody
has a theory as to the origin
of poker. Suppositions range
from China to India, from
Persia to Egypt and thence
across the Mediterranean to
Europe. Regardless of its
ancestral journey, there is
strong evidence that it came
to America with the French
settlers in New Orleans who
played a card game called
poque involving bluffing and
rounds of betting. This poque
deck may have been the first
to use suits of spades, hearts,
diamonds and clubs.
Poque migrated up the Mississippi
and Ohio rivers by boat where
it met English-bred railroad
men – who probably corrupted
the name to poker and carried
it back to the eastern cities
during the U.S. Civil War.
Then, in the late 1860's and
early 1870's, Civil War veterans
brought poker westward over
the Continental Divide until
it became a fixture in every
hotel parlor and saloon in
America's Wild West.
As a widely popularized game,
poker developed many variations
including stud, draw and straight.
The introduction of wild cards
around 1875 added another
level of intrigue and excitement.
Today, poker is probably the
most widely played card game
in the world. It ranks as
one of the top sporting events
(in prize money if not publicity),
with many tournaments culminating
in the grand stakes of the
World Series of Poker.
With the advent of computer
chips in the 1970's, Video
Poker came on the scene. It
combines the elements of draw
poker with the look-and-feel
of slot machines. A key difference
between Video Poker and regular
poker is that you're not playing
against other players (so
there is no need to bluff).
Instead, you're trying to
build the best hand you can
to win the highest odds. Because
it's a fast-paced game involving
both skill and luck, Video
Poker has millions of enthusiasts
around the globe who enjoy
this exciting, engaging pastime.
Jacks or Better Video Poker Game Play:
To play a Video Poker game,
just drop Casino chips into
the INSERT COINS slot and
click the DEAL button. The
machine will deal five cards
to the player, all face up.
Since this is draw poker,
you can choose to hold or
discard any of the five cards.
Your goal is make the best
hand you can between your
original deal and your potential
draw. You must get a pair
of Jacks or better to be in
the money.
To hold or keep a card, click
the HOLD button under that
card or simply click the card.
A pin will appear to indicate
that the card is to be held,
and the Hold button changes
to RELEASE. If you change
your mind, click Release or
(click the card). After cards-to-hold
are selected, click DRAW to
draw new cards for those which
are to be discarded (i.e.
not held).
These new drawn cards plus
the hold cards from the first
deal constitute your final
hand (always a total of 5
cards), and the game pays
according to the chart at
the top of the machine by
increasing your coin credits
(shown as a CREDIT meter on
the machine face).
You can drop as many Casino
chips as you wish into the
Insert Coins slot. Putting
chips in the slot increases
your coin credits based on
the coin setting for the machine
and the dollar value of the
chips. The Video Poker machine
can be set to play $0.25 coins,
$1 coins or $5 coins. If you
put a $10 Casino chip in a
machine with a $1 coin setting,
your coin credits will be
10. If you change the coin
setting to $0.25, your coin
credits will increase to 40
(for a $10 chip).
The number of coins bet per
Jacks or Better Video Poker game can range from a minimum
of 1 coin to a maximum of
5 coins. The setting for the
number of coins bet per game
is shown in the COINS BET
meter. The machine sets Coins
Bet to 1 by default. You can
increase your bet by clicking
the BET ONE button. Each time
you click BET ONE, you will
increase your bet by one chip.
(If you click on Bet One when
Coins Bet is 5, it will wrap
back to 1).
To bet the maximum five chips
with a single click, just
click BET MAX. If the machine
is set to a $5 coin value
and a Coins Bet of 5, you
will be betting $25 per hand.
Once you set the Coins Bet
number, the machine will use
this value for each hand until
you change it to another value.
Jacks or Better Video Poker Payouts are as shown in the
chart at the top of the machine.
The payout table has rows
containing the payout amounts
for various rankings of poker
hands (see listing below).
Each rank has 5 possible payout
amounts, depending on the
number in the Coins Bet meter.
As you change the Coins Bet
value, the vertical column
of payout amounts for that
Coins Bet number will be highlighted.
For example, if you play
1 coin in a $5 Video Poker
machine and come up with a
Royal Flush, you will be credited
with 250 coins which represent
a winning of $1,250. If you
had bet the maximum of 5 coins
and came up with a Royal Flush,
you would be credited with
4000 coins — representing
a winning of $20,000 on a
$5 machine!!
When you are finished playing,
you can click COINS OUT to
exchange your coin Credits
for Casino chips. As the coins
come out of the machine, the
number of Credits will be
multiplied by the coin value
setting ($0.25, $1 or $5)
and the resulting amount will
be added to your Casino Account
balance.
Royal Flush
The highest ranking hand possible.
An Ace, King, Queen, Jack
and 10 of the same suit. Starting
with an Ace, all five cards
are in sequence and in a common
suit.
Straight Flush
Five cards both in sequence
and common suit, but not starting
with an Ace.
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank.
Full House
Three cards of one rank and
two cards of another rank.
Flush
Five cards of same suit.
Straight
Five cards in sequence (Aces
may be used high or low).
Three of a Kind
Three cards of same rank.
Two Pair
Two groups of two cards of
same rank.
A pair, Jacks or better
Two cards (Jacks or better)
of the same rank
,
K
,
9
,
5
,
5
