U.S. patent application number 09/956292 was filed with the patent office on 2002-05-16 for add 'em up video poker.
Invention is credited to Roethel, John Edward, Wood, Michael W..
Application Number | 20020058542 09/956292 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26926835 |
Filed Date | 2002-05-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020058542 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Roethel, John Edward ; et
al. |
May 16, 2002 |
Add 'em up video poker
Abstract
During the play of a session of a video poker game that uses
only a player's hand to determine winning or losing outcomes, the
player accrues points for each hand played. The points can be
allocated based on the ending hand achieved by the player.
Alternatively, the points can be allocated based on the starting
hand dealt to the player. After a predetermined number of hands of
video poker, say one hundred hands, the player=s accrued point
total is compared to a pay table and the player receives an award
based on the point total.
Inventors: |
Roethel, John Edward; (Las
Vegas, NV) ; Wood, Michael W.; (Denham Springs,
LA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JOHN EDWARD ROETHEL
4880 W UNIVERSITY AVENUE
SUITE B3
LAS VEGAS
NV
89103
US
|
Family ID: |
26926835 |
Appl. No.: |
09/956292 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60233350 |
Sep 18, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/34 20130101;
G07F 17/3293 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/13 |
International
Class: |
A63F 009/24 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of playing a poker game that uses only a player's hand
to determine winning or losing outcomes and in which points are
accumulated by the player over a predetermined number of hands
comprising: a) dealing an initial player's hand of five cards all
face up; b) selecting none, one or more of the face up cards from
the initial player's hand as cards to be held; c) discarding from
the initial player's hand the face up cards that were not selected
to be held and replacing each of those cards with a face up card
resulting in a final five card player's hand; d) determining the
poker hand ranking of the final player's hand; and e) awarding the
player at least one point for each winning outcome based on the
poker hand ranking of the final player's hand.
2. The method of claim 1 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
3. The method of claim 1 further including awarding the player at
least one negative point for each losing outcome based on the poker
hand ranking of the final player's hand.
4. The method of claim 3 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
5. The method of claim 1 in which the amount of points awarded for
each winning outcome is based on the poker hand ranking of the
final player's hand.
6. The method of claim 1 in which the player makes a wager to
participate in the poker game and the player also receives a
monetary payout when the player achieves a winning outcome based on
the poker hand ranking of the final player's hand.
7. A method of playing a poker game that uses only a player's hand
to determine winning or losing outcomes and in which points are
accumulated by the player over a predetermined number of hands
comprising: a) dealing an initial player's hand of five cards all
face up; b) determining the poker hand ranking of the initial
player's hand; c) selecting none, one or more of the face up cards
from the initial player's hand as cards to be held; d) discarding
from the initial player's hand the face up cards that were not
selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with a face
up card resulting in a final five card player's hand; e)
determining the poker hand ranking of the final player's hand; and
f) awarding the player at least one point for each winning outcome
based on the poker hand ranking of the initial player's hand.
8. The method of claim 7 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
9. The method of claim 7 further including awarding the player at
least one negative point for each losing outcome based on the poker
hand ranking of the initial player's hand.
10. The method of claim 9 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
11. The method of claim 7 in which the amount of points awarded for
each winning outcome is based on the poker hand ranking of the
initial player's hand.
12. The method of claim 7 in which the player makes a wager to
participate in the poker game and the player also receives a
monetary payout when the player achieves a winning outcome based on
the poker hand ranking of the final player's hand.
13. A method of playing a poker game that uses only a player's hand
to determine winning or losing outcomes and in which points are
accumulated by the player over a predetermined number of hands
comprising: a) dealing an initial player's hand of at least five
cards all face up; d) determining the poker hand ranking of the
initial player's hand; and c) awarding the player at least one
point for each winning outcome based on the poker hand ranking of
the initial player's hand.
14. The method of claim 13 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
15. The method of claim 13 further including awarding the player at
least one negative point for each losing outcome based on the poker
hand ranking of the initial player's hand.
16. The method of claim 15 further including accumulating a total
points of the awarded points over all of the predetermined number
of hands and awarding the player a payout based on the total
points.
17. The method of claim 13 in which the amount of points awarded
for each winning outcome is based on the poker hand ranking of the
final player's hand.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/233350, filed Sep. 18,
2000.
[0002] This application relates to a method of playing video poker
and more particularly to a method of playing video poker in which
the player accrues points for each hand of video poker. After a
predetermined number of hands, the player=s accrued points are
compared to a pay table and the player receives an award based on
the number of points the player has accrued.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A well known game of chance offered to players in most
gaming casinos is video draw poker. After making a wager, the
player is dealt five cards face up. The player selects which cards,
if any, the player wishes to hold, the unheld cards are discarded
and replacement cards are dealt for the discarded cards. The final
five card hand is analyzed to determine its poker hand ranking and
the player is paid for winning poker hand rankings based on the
amount of the player=s wager. A pay table is displayed to the
player showing the amounts that the player can win based on the
poker hand ranking achieved by the player and the amount wagered by
the player.
[0004] There is a need in the gaming industry to provide new and
exciting games for the players to maintain interest in casino
gaming. It is an object of the present invention to provide players
with a separate game within a game so that the player has the
chance to win additional payouts during the course of play of video
poker.
[0005] It is a feature of the present invention to accrue points
for each hand played by the player during the course of a session
of video poker. The points can be accrued based on the ending hand
achieved by the player. After a predetermined number of hands of
video poker, the player=s point total is compared to a pay table
and the player receives an award based on the total points accrued
by the player.
[0006] It is an advantage of the present invention that the player
will receive additional payouts based on the length of time that
the player plays the gaming machine. This will encourage the player
to play the gaming machine for a longer time and add an additional
entertainment feature to the gaming machine. This also adds a form
of entertainment to the game of video poker since the player will
have a rooting interest in watching his total points accrue over a
series of hands of video poker.
[0007] Other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from a consideration of the
following detailed description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] During the play of a session of a video poker game that uses
only a player's hand to determine winning or losing outcomes, the
player accrues points for each hand played. The points can be
allocated based on the ending hand achieved by the player.
Alternatively, the points can be allocated based on the starting
hand dealt to the player. After a predetermined number of hands of
video poker, say one hundred hands, the player=s accrued point
total is compared to a pay table and the player receives an award
based on the point total.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a gaming machine configured to operate the
method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0010] The present invention adds a feature to the method of play
of conventional video poker. In conventional video poker, a player
makes a wager to be able to play a hand of cards. After making the
wager (which can be any number of coins, tokens or credits, but is
usually a maximum wager of five credits), the player is dealt five
cards face up. These first five cards are the player=s initial hand
or starting hand.
[0011] The player selects which cards, if any, the player wishes to
hold from his initial hand. The unheld cards are discarded and
replacement cards are dealt for the discarded cards. The final five
card hand is analyzed to determine its poker hand ranking and the
player is paid for winning poker hand rankings based on the amount
of the player=s wager. A pay table is displayed to the player
showing the amounts that the player can win based on the poker hand
ranking achieved by the player and the amount wagered by the
player.
[0012] In conventional video draw poker, a typical pay table would
be:
1TABLE 1 DRAW POKER NUMBER OF COINS BET POKER HAND 1 2 3 4 5 ROYAL
FLUSH 250 500 750 1000 4000 STRAIGHT FLUSH 50 100 150 200 250
FOUR-OF-A-KIND 25 50 75 100 125 FULL HOUSE 9 18 27 36 45 FLUSH 6 12
18 24 30 STRAIGHT 4 8 12 16 20 THREE-OF-A-KIND 3 6 9 12 15 TWO PAIR
2 4 6 8 10 JACKS OR BETTER 1 2 3 4 5
[0013] While this pay table is known as a regular Draw Poker format
pay table, other pay tables have been developed for the other
variations of draw poker, such as Deuces Wild Poker, Bonus Poker,
Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Triple Bonus Poker,
Joker=s Wild Poker or any of the myriad of video poker formats that
have been developed. Each of these video poker formats uses various
arrangements of poker hand rankings as winning combinations and
they use various payout amounts for the poker hand rankings. The
amounts paid for the various winning hand combinations in each of
the video poker formats are calculated to provide a certain
theoretical game return which is generally in excess of ninety per
cent.
[0014] The method of the present invention can be applied to any of
the various video poker formats discussed above.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a gaming machine upon which the method of the
present invention can be carried out. The gaming machine 10
includes a video screen display 20 on which is shown the playing
cards that will be used during the play of the method of the
present invention. The video screen display 20 also includes other
information and data presented to the player to allow the player to
understand the play of the game and to effect the operation of the
method.
[0016] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
video screen display shows a credit meter 22 and a display of the
total number of credits 24 wagered for a particular round of play
of the game. The video screen display also has a first touch screen
location 47 to allow the player to DEAL the initial five card hand,
then to DRAW replacement cards when the player has decided which
cards to hold and which cards to discard during the play of the
video draw poker game. Other touch screen locations allow the
player to make his initial wager, which can be made one credit at a
time using the BET ONE location 26 or which can be made by wagering
the maximum number of credits allowed by the gaming machine using
the BET MAX location 28.
[0017] The playing cards 30 used in the play of the game are
displayed at any suitable location on the video screen display 22.
Each of the card locations on the video screen display 22 can also
be touch screen locations so that the player may designate which
cards he wishes to hold by merely touching the appropriate card
location on the video screen display 20.
[0018] The gaming machine 10 also has a button panel 40 which
includes typical buttons that the player may press to activate
various actions during the play of the method of the present
invention. A CASH OUT button 41 is provided to allow the player to
collect any credits which the player has accrued on the credit
meter 22. A BET MAX button 42 and a BET ONE button 44 are provided
to allows the player to wager either the maximum amount of credits
or to wager one credit at a time on the play of the game as desired
by the player. A DEAL/DRAW button 46 is provided to allow the
player to effect the deal step and the draw step of the method of
play as desired should the player prefer to use the button panel
instead of the DEAL/DRAW touch screen location 47 on the video
screen display 20. A plurality of HOLD buttons 48 are also provided
to allow the player to select which cards the player wishes to hold
should the player prefer to use the button panel instead of the
card touch screen locations on the video screen display 20.
[0019] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, when
the initial five card hand is displayed on the video screen display
20, the player must choose which cards to hold by either pressing
the card location on the touch screen or by pressing the HOLD
button associated with the card position.
[0020] The gaming machine 10 also includes a coin head 50 to allow
the player to insert coins or gaming tokens as wagers to allow play
of the gaming machine 10. A bill acceptor slot 52 is also provided
on the gaming machine 10. In order to accrue credits that may be
used to play the gaming machine 10, the player inserts paper
currency or other suitable script or gaming coupons into the bill
acceptor slot 52 behind which, on the interior of the gaming
machine, is mounted a bill acceptor which takes in and validates
the currency. The monetary value of the inserted currency is then
applied to the credit meter 22, the credits on which the player may
use to play the gaming machine.
[0021] In the method of the present invention, during the play of a
session of video poker, the player accrues points for each hand
played. The points can be allocated based on the ending hand
achieved by the player. Any suitable amount of points can be
allocated to each ending hand achieved by the player. In a very
simple example, the player could achieve a single positive point
for each hand that is a winning hand and the player could achieve a
single negative point for each losing hand. The points achieved by
the player are then accumulated over a series of hands of video
poker play. Any suitable number of hands of play can be used, say
one hundred hands. The player can then be paid an award depending
on the point total achieved by the player. The player could be paid
an award for achieving a number of positive points, or a number of
negative points or for ending with exactly zero points.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
player can achieve points based on the number of credits allocated
to each winning hand combination and the player would also achieve
one negative point for each losing hand combination. In this
example, a Double Double Bonus poker format is the poker game being
played by the player with the following pay table being used:
2TABLE 2 DOUBLE DOUBLE BONUS POKER FORMAT NUMBER OF COINS BET POKER
HAND 1 2 3 4 5 ROYAL FLUSH 250 500 750 1000 4000 STPAIGHT FLUSH 50
100 150 200 250 FOUR ACES WITH 2, 3 OR 4 400 800 1200 1600 2000
FOUR ACES 160 320 480 640 800 FOUR 2'S, 3'S OR 4'S WITH 160 320 480
640 800 ACE, 2, 3 OR 4 FOUR 2'S, 3' OR 4'S 80 160 240 320 400 FOUR
5'S THRU K'S 50 100 150 200 250 FULL HOUSE 8 16 24 32 40 FLUSH 5 10
15 20 25 STRAIGHT 4 8 12 16 20 THREE-OF-A-KIND 3 6 9 12 15 TWO PAIR
1 2 3 4 5 JACKS OR BETTER 1 2 3 4 5
[0023] The player would engage in the play of this Double Double
Bonus format video poker game in the conventional manner. The
player would wager one or more credits (with a maximum of five
credits) and an initial five card hand would be displayed to the
player. The player would determine which cards he wished to hold,
if any, and replacement cards would be dealt to the player. The
ending five card hand would be the player=s final hand and the
poker hand ranking of this five card hand would be determined. The
player would win or lose on this final hand based on the pay table
shown in Table 2. Winning hands would be paid to the player based
on this pay table and, if the player had a losing hand, his wager
would be lost.
[0024] The player would also achieve points equal to the credits
won by the player for winning hands and the player would achieve a
single negative point for a losing hand. The points achieved by the
player would be shown on a separate point meter on the screen
display.
[0025] After a predetermined number of hands of video poker, say
one hundred hands, the player=s accrued point total is compared to
a pay table and the player receives an award based on the point
total achieved by the player over the course of this predetermined
number of hands.
[0026] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
player is not required to make a separate or an additional wager to
be eligible for this accrued point total award. A portion of the
moneys wagered by the player in the regular video poker game is
used to fund this accrued point total award.
[0027] Any suitable scheme can be used to determine the accrued
point total award. In one example, an award can be paid to the
player for simply achieving a positive point total, or an award can
be paid to the player for simply achieving a negative point total,
or an award can be paid to the player for achieving exactly zero
points at the end of the predetermined number of hands of video
poker play.
[0028] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
range of total points is used to determine the amount of the point
total award to be paid to the player. Any suitable ranges and any
suitable awards can be used. For example, the following total
points ranges and their corresponding awards can be used:
3 TABLE 3 TOTAL POINTS AWARD LESS THAN 0 20 0-50 0 51-75 40 76-100
60 101-150 80 151-200 100 201-300 1000 301+ 5000
[0029] The video screen display 22 can also include a location 70
which displays to the player the pay table for the various total
points amounts that the player may achieve during each one hundred
rounds of play of the game. Since the probability of an particular
range of total points can be calculated for any predetermined
number of hands of video poker, the amount of each award can be
determined based on the percentage amount that is willing to be
added to the regular game return.
[0030] In another embodiment of the present invention, the player
can be required to make a separate wager of any suitable amount,
say one credit, and the moneys generated by this separate wager can
be used to fund the accrued total point award.
[0031] Alternatively, the points can be allocated based on the
starting hand dealt to the player. After each initial five cards
are dealt to the player, the poker hand ranking of these five cards
is determined. A point value can be assigned to each poker hand for
this starting hand. The points are accrued over a predetermined
number of starting hands and an award is made to the player based
on the total number of accrued points, as explained above.
[0032] While the invention has been illustrated with respect to
several specific embodiments thereof, these embodiments should be
considered as illustrative rather than limiting. Various
modifications and additions may be made and will be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
* * * * *