• Home
  • Our Books
  • Our Film
  • Games
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Login

Perspectives on all eras of videogames, computers, technology, and pop culture since 2003

Login

Login
Armchair ArcadeArmchair Arcade
Armchair ArcadeArmchair Arcade
  • Home
  • Our Books
  • Our Film
  • Games
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Login

The History of Arcade-Style Video Poker

Golden Nugget in Las Vegas at night
Golden Nugget (Las Vegas)

The History of Arcade-Style Video Poker

September 14, 2023 Posted by Jane Smith Editorial No Comments

Take a stroll along the floors of land-based casinos and you’re almost guaranteed to find video poker machines adorning the gaming areas. That’s because video poker is still comfortably the second most popular game played in casinos after conventional slot machines.

It’s been a long road to popularity for video poker, which is now played on computerized gaming consoles taking up similar floor space to a slot machine.

The prospect of video poker was conceived in 1891

The origins of video poker begin in the late 19th century, when Sittman & Pitt devised a five-reel poker machine game. Each drum contained ten playing cards and when a coin was entered and the lever pulled, the drums would spin and the symbols land at random. This is similar to how video poker works today, with the randomized outcome of the cards dealt on-screen.

The earliest instances of the arcade-style consoles we see today for video poker were conceived in 1970 by a firm named Dale Electronics. This company pioneered the world’s first genuine video poker machine, which is still revered in the industry today and known as Poker-Matic.

Aerial view of Las Vegas at night
Las Vegas

The Poker-Matic machine was an instant hit up and down the iconic Las Vegas Strip. It was installed in almost every casino in Sin City, around the same time as the boom of Atari’s arcade video games; there is now a new Atari 2600+ set for release in November 2023. It provided inspiration for casino game distributors to pioneer new versions, with Bally Gaming’s Si Redd pitching the Video Poker concept to senior executives in the company’s Chicago headquarters. The pitch was unanimously rejected as executives weren’t keen on diverging from the slot machines that’d proven such a commercial hit through the years.

The birth of SIRCOMA

Bally Gaming’s loss was Si Redd’s own gain. Bally Gaming allowed Redd to forge ahead with the concept himself. He formed a company called Si Redd’s Coin Machines (SIRCOMA) and eventually secured a deal with Fortune Coin Company in nearby Reno to produce his visionary arcade-style video poker machines – which he then successfully patented.

By the turn of the 1980s, video poker had established itself as the most successful new game release on the floors of brick-and-mortar casinos in Vegas. The first version released to the mass market was called Draw Poker. Players needed to make a hand worth at least two pairs to win. Although it wasn’t named after the poker game, the hand rankings used in Draw Poker and future versions of video poker are based on Texas Hold’em poker, the most successful poker variant of all. That’s due largely to its simplistic game mechanics as well as players’ ability to utilize several theories and strategies to try and win.

Minor tweaks were made to Draw Poker’s gameplay, such as altering the lowest-ranking winnable hand to having a pair of jacks. Hence the popular Jacks or Better video poker games you’ll still find in casinos and online. SIRCOMA thrived off the back of the commercial success of their video poker machines, eventually going public and rebranding to International Gaming Technology (IGT), a brand that’s still synonymous with land-based casino gaming today.

The variations of video poker consoles in existence today

Deuces Wild is one of the longest-standing variants of video poker. It uses a single deck of 52 virtual playing cards. The twist in this game is that all four deuces (2s) act as “wild cards”. They can be worth any value you need to build a successful hand. The lowest hand you need to win is three-of-a-kind. Landing four wild deuces carries the second highest win behind a Royal Flush.

Tens or Better was also released to try and lower the barrier of entry to wins, requiring a pair of tens or better to win instead of jacks. Joker Poker is another fun twist which appeals to both beginner and experienced video poker players. The joker is live in this game and a wild symbol, which means it can be whatever card value you need it to be to help you win. The rub is that the lowest-value hand you need to win is increased to a pair of kings. There’s even video poker variants with progressive jackpots triggered when making a Royal Flush.

Online variants of video poker have emerged as the iGaming industry’s evolved, but there’s still nothing quite like the thrill of sitting down to a vintage arcade-style video poker console.

Related

Tags: casinogamblinghistorypokervideo poker
No Comments
Share

About Jane Smith

Correspondent for Armchair Arcade.

You also might be interested in

History Of Video Gaming: Past to Present
History Of Video Gaming: Past to Present

History Of Video Gaming: Past to Present

Mar 10, 2021

If you’re familiar with the history of slots, you might[...]

Futuristic city with high tech mobility for social welfare
The future of Canada's gaming landscape is bright.

Key Insights on Canada’s Evolving Gaming Laws: A Comprehensive Overview

Sep 20, 2024

As technology advances and consumer interests shift, the legal framework governing gaming in Canada must adapt to keep pace.

woman in the Phillippines enjoying playing on her smartphone with cards in front of her and a beverage - Generated with AI
Experience local card games in a whole new way!

How GZone’s Giving Our Local Card Games a Cultural Comeback

Jul 17, 2025

Thanks to platforms like GZone PH, our games are catching the attention of international audiences who are drawn to their unique mix of strategy, pace, and cultural texture.

Leave a CommentCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 coming to Kickstarter this Saturday!
  • SoundSwitch is THE free tool to fast-switch between audio devices in Windows
  • How GZone’s Giving Our Local Card Games a Cultural Comeback
  • Casino 2.0 – How Gamers Are Shaping the Future of Gambling
  • When Arcade-Style Slots Hit Big in 2025 | Top Games & Bonuses
  • Top 10 Retro Games Making a Comeback in 2025
  • How Winning Days Casino Uses Affiliates – Bonus Codes & Free Chips
  • Golden Reels Casino Review Australia 2025 – Bonuses, Games & How It Stacks Up
  • Stake Casino Australia Review 2025 – Is It Still Worth A Punt?
  • What Video Game Furniture Reveals About the 70s and Now

Recent Comments

  • leads dubai on Should You Be Focusing More On Local Marketing?
  • Aiodensghost on Official Game List for My Arcade Atari Gamestation Pro
  • keyboredom on Quick guide on how to play on the Internet Arcade
  • Bill Loguidice on Official Game List for My Arcade Atari Gamestation Pro
  • Melanie Levenstein on Official Game List for My Arcade Atari Gamestation Pro
  • George on How to Predict CS:GO/CS2 Skins Prices?
  • Bill Loguidice on Retro Games Ltd to release The Spectrum, fully working ZX Spectrum, and here’s the game list!
  • Derek on Retro Games Ltd to release The Spectrum, fully working ZX Spectrum, and here’s the game list!
  • Bill Loguidice on Retro Games Ltd to release The Spectrum, fully working ZX Spectrum, and here’s the game list!
  • Simon on Retro Games Ltd to release The Spectrum, fully working ZX Spectrum, and here’s the game list!

Archives

Categories

Explore

android (46) apple (37) ar (38) Arcade (168) Atari (75) atgames (173) augmented reality (33) book (99) books (98) casino (532) esports (47) firmware (43) Flashback (45) gambling (556) Gaming (41) home arcade (115) htc vive (42) humble bundle (282) humble store (67) ios (37) led (35) legends (40) legends arcade family (46) legends pinball (39) legends ultimate (71) Microsoft (40) Nintendo (71) pc gamer (67) pc gaming (53) pinball (43) playstation (55) PS4 (36) retro (34) Sega (38) slots (85) sony (51) steam (145) switch (34) technology (36) update (42) virtual pinball (36) virtual reality (117) vive (34) viveport (42) vr (122)

Affiliates

+ Amazon

The everything store

+ Humble Bundle

Game deals, including name your price bundles

+ Playasia (Play-Asia.com)

Import games and collectibles

+ DJI Store

Amazing drones and related technology

+ Razer

Amazing PC gamer products!

fullSTEAMahead365 Your total news and information resource for all things Science, Technology, Engineering / Mathematics, Art, and Medicine / Health.

Human Advancement Never Stops.

Key Site Statistics

Posts published: 2,610
Latest publish date: July 17, 2025 @ 4:34 pm
Registered user count: 99,026

Contact Us

If you have a question, would like to provide feedback, or otherwise wish to get in touch with us, use this form.

Send Message

Blog Posts by Date

September 2023
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Aug   Oct »

Social Media and RSS

Support Armchair Arcade

All editorial content © 2003 - 2025 Armchair Arcade, Inc., an Armchair Creative Services, LLC, property. All rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. All trademarks and copyrights are retained by their respective owners. No content is to be removed or reused from the Armchair Arcade Website for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the principal Armchair Arcade staff, or the original trademark or copyright holders. Armchair Arcade, Inc., is not responsible for the content of any external sources or links. Further, endorsement of any external sources or links is neither implied nor suggested.

We thank you for your support and encourage you to contact us for any reason, including, but not limited to, questions, concerns, business endeavors, or praise. Especially praise.

Armchair Creative Services, LLC, may earn compensation for sales from links on posts through affiliate and other programs. Editorial rigor and objectivity standards are strictly adhered to and any compensation has no effect on coverage or opinions.

Prev Next