Let’s take regular Video Poker and multiply it by 100 - what do you get? Multi-Hand Video Poker. So far the math is easy!

Those who have played it know the appeal of this game, especially when dealt a full house, or perhaps a hand that is only one card shy of a royal flush. The first time I played a multi-hand machine I got a 10, J, Q, K, and nine of spades on a 50-hand machine. When I discarded the nine, I got five royal flushes, more than I've had in an entire lifetime of playing! Regrettably, I was day-dreaming at the time, and only dropping pennies into the slot at a penny a hand, so the total payout for my stunning five royal flushes didn't even cover the dinner which should have been a major feast in celebration of my video poker triumph.

Multi-Hand Video Poker is played just like conventional video poker, except you can play "up to" 100 hands at once. You begin by choosing the number of hands you wish to play by clicking one of the numbers across the bottom of the video poker screen: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100.

Then you place your bet. The machine is multi-denominational and will accept bets ranging from pennies to $1 units. Now you click the ‘Deal’ button. If you decide to play the maximum coin amount, just click on ‘Bet Max’ for five credits for every hand you choose to play. After you click Deal, you are presented with five cards.

On the screen, each hand you are playing, from the 1st to the 100th, will contain these same five cards. Just as in conventional video poker, you choose the cards you wish to hold. All of the favorable cards you choose to hold from the initial hand are copied into each remaining hand played. When you are ready to draw new cards, click the ‘Deal’ button again. For each hand you play, a random set of replacement cards is drawn for each successive hand.

To show 100 hands on a video screen, each hand has to be minute in size, making it all but impossible for anyone to keep track of what's going on in the 100 hands being simultaneously played out at high speed. Forget about trying to watch each individual draw. The computer driving the game will highlight all your winners, displaying the amount returned and the total amount of accumulated credits.

In addition, at the bottom of each winning hand, a color-coded bar will appear, indicating the type of hand and coins won. Also, in the bottom left or right corner of the screen, a corresponding chart will appear, telling you how many of each type of winning hands the player has hit.

The odds for multi-hand video poker are the same as for the single-hand version. Playing each hand multiple times magnifies its strength or weakness, but overall, the odds don't change. Therefore, strategies for optimizing your return at the single-hand versions are relevant to the multiple-hand versions, as long as you choose the best pay tables.

What is the downside to Multi-Hand Video Poker?

In a casino, the more hands you play per hour, the more you subject your gambling funds to the house edge. Does this mean one should play more slowly? But by playing one hand of Multi-Hand Video Poker, you are actually getting 100 different results on the draw and each one is subject to a built-in casino advantage.

Although Multi-Hand Video Poker can increase your earning potential on good hands, it also magnifies your losing potential on bad hands, meaning that your bankroll can disappear very quickly. If you are playing 5-coin single-handed video poker at a quarter a throw and are dealt "junk," all you have at stake is $1.25. With multi-hand play you would have much more invested in those same poor cards.

Even if you are betting only pennies, the maximum-coins you will risk at 100 hands is $5 per play, which is four times the maximum on single-hand quarter games. If you bet nickels you are on the hook for $25 per hand. Not cheap! In the end, it is only you who can decide if Multi-Hand Video Poker is within your means.