Video poker has been around since the 1970s and has always enjoyed immense popularity in casinos around the world. With the introduction of consoles this easy to play game transferred seamlessly into the home environment.

Even though one of the great attractions for video games is the graphics element, the very uncomplicated look of video poker has not diminished its appeal. But with the gaming industry producing more complex and complicated titles is there still room for video poker?

What is video poker?
Video poker is very much like the traditional five-card poker found in real life casinos with just a few variants in the way the game is played. With fixed returns for particular winning hands, players know how much to expect as a payout and can exchange all five cards if they want – something that would not be allowed in a regular, physical casino.

What are the pros and cons?
Any regular player of video poker would say that one of the major advantages of the game is its simplicity. Although to be relatively successful players should follow strict strategies, video poker is remarkably easy to understand once you know the winning hands. Gamers also like the solitary nature of video poker, not having to play against other competitors. Video poker also has a very enticing high payout percentage. If you need some tips about playing the game, check out the 888casino blog where you will find advice on video poker strategy.

Although there is some skill required with the game, video poker does lack the interaction and game playing that is involved in traditional real life poker. But all this obviously depends on what the player wants from their experience. And even though players can expect to win fairly often – if they follow the strategies – they will not win very large amounts as the returns are fixed. This is a big element of why players keep on coming back to the games.

Video poker’s position in the gaming industry
The gaming industry is seemingly enthralled to the use of video poker - in casinos and on home consoles – and customers are more than happy to keep playing. The popularity has not decreased even with the arrival of more complex games, and video poker can now be regarded as part of the casino package.

Game manufacturers have come up with new variants of the traditional video poker game to attract new generations of players and increasing payback levels is always going to entice more players to give these simple games a try.

The future of video poker
Online casinos will continue to do everything they can to keep customers playing video poker, and the ease of play and the ability to change between games can only make video poker even more popular. There are even some bitcoin casinos offering video poker games now and with the use of the crypto currency becoming more prevalent it is just another way that this simple game will continue to attract players for quite a while yet.