Video Poker in the 20th Century
While video poker may seem like a recent invention, in reality it is one of the older enduring gambling games. Its modern incarnation remains as popular today as in all the time video poker machines have appeared in casinos.
Video Poker: The Early Years
Believe it or not, in a way, video poker actually even pre-dates slot machines. In 1891, in Brooklyn, New York, Sittman and Pitt developed a machine that contained card symbols printed on five drums. Pulling a lever would generate a poker hand that would be used to determine prizes. This machine may even have been the inspiration for the modern slot machines.
Video Poker in the 20th Century
In the ’70s, true video poker began to appear, starting with Dale Electronics’ Poker-Matic in 1970. Although players initially were wary of the machines since they were mistrustful of the electronic mechanisms, as society became more electronics-friendly, the machines gained in popularity. By the 1980s, video poker machines could be found in nearly every casino, with wild card variations such as Joker Poker and Deuces Wild adding to the attraction. These machines, which allowed players to enjoy the thrill of poker without needing to compete directly with other players, proved extremely popular and were a great source of casino revenue.
Video Poker Today
In 1994, MicroGaming began offering online video poker as well as a variety of other online casino games. Video poker proved to translate extremely well to the online game, since video poker functions in almost exactly the same way whether live or online. Today’s online video poker machines offer a wide variety of ways to play, including progressive machines with jackpots in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has not signaled the end of the live video poker machine however. Anyone can go to their local casino with confidence that along with the banks of slot machines and table games there will be an ample assortment of video poker options for players to try their luck. With the recent boom in real poker, casinos are even more eager to lure curious players to their video poker machines, which offer a much larger financial benefit to the casino than traditional poker play.
If you can play poker, you can play video poker. Even if you don’t play traditional poker, a quick review of the strength of hands is pretty much all you need to get started. When you’re ready to give it a shot, you can go to nearly any online casino to start enjoying the excitement of video poker.