U.S. patent application number 11/195558 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-31 for multi-play poker apparatus and games with bonus feature.
This patent application is currently assigned to Waterlead Limited. Invention is credited to Michael Paul Novellie.
Application Number | 20060194628 11/195558 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37267526 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060194628 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Novellie; Michael Paul |
August 31, 2006 |
Multi-play poker apparatus and games with bonus feature
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for playing multi-play poker games are
disclosed. The games include a bonus wager feature in which the
player makes a wager that at least a minimum number of hands in the
multi-play poker game will have a predetermined minimum poker hand
ranking. For example, if ten hands are played in the multi-play
poker game, the player may wager $1.00 that at least four of the
ten hands will have a ranking of a pair of jacks or better. The pay
table for the bonus wager feature may take the form of an array of
rows and columns, rows representing poker hand rankings (including
the minimum poker hand ranking) and columns headed by integers
representing a number of hands between the minimum number of hands
(M) and the total number of hands (N) in the multi-play poker game,
with the entries in the array being payout multiplies that are
applied to the bonus wager if the player has the number of hands
with the associated poker hand ranking.
Inventors: |
Novellie; Michael Paul;
(Ballakillowey, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCDONNELL BOEHNEN HULBERT & BERGHOFF LLP
300 S. WACKER DRIVE
32ND FLOOR
CHICAGO
IL
60606
US
|
Assignee: |
Waterlead Limited
Douglas
GB
|
Family ID: |
37267526 |
Appl. No.: |
11/195558 |
Filed: |
August 1, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11058680 |
Feb 14, 2005 |
|
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11195558 |
Aug 1, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/32 20130101;
A63F 2001/005 20130101; A63F 1/00 20130101; A63F 3/00157 20130101;
G07F 17/3293 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/013 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method for playing a multiple-play poker game, the method
comprising the steps of: playing a round of multi-play poker
wherein N hands are played, N being an integer greater than or
equal to 2; determining a bonus payout in accordance with a bonus
pay table, the bonus payout being a function of the rankings of all
the completed N playing hands.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each played hand has one or more
cards common to each hand.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the common cards were selected
from a pool hand.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the bonus pay table, at least
a minimum number of hands (M) in the plurality of N playing hands
having a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required to
result in a bonus payout, where 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein, in the bonus paytable, M is the
same for all poker hand rankings listed in the paytable.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein M is an integer having a value of
between 0.3 and 0.8.times.N, rounded either up or down to the
nearest integer, if necessary depending on the value of N.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the bonus paytable takes the form
of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the rows comprising
poker hand rankings and the columns comprising integers M . . .
N.
8. The method of claim 4, wherein the second paytable takes the
form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the columns
comprising poker hand rankings and the rows comprising integers M .
. . N.
9. A method for playing a multiple-play poker game, the method
comprising the steps of: displaying a pool hand comprising a
plurality of face up cards, wherein the pool hand is not played;
designating none, one or more of the cards of the pool hand as held
cards; reproducing the held cards in a plurality of playing hands;
completing the plurality of playing hands with new face up cards;
and determining a ranking of each of the completed playing hands;
and deriving a bonus payout from a bonus pay table as a function of
the rankings of all the completed playing hands.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of playing hands
comprise four or more hands.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein, in the bonus pay table, at
least a minimum number of hands (M) in the plurality of playing
hands having a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required
to result in a bonus payout.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein M is an integer having a value
of between 0.3 and 0.8.times.N, rounded either up or down to the
nearest integer, if necessary depending on the value of N, and
wherein N comprises the number of hands played in the plurality of
playing hands.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bonus pay table takes the
form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the rows
comprising poker hand rankings and the columns comprising integers
M . . . N.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the bonus pay table takes the
form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the columns
comprising poker hand rankings and the rows comprising integers M .
. . N.
15. A method of facilitating play of a multi-play poker game, the
method comprises the steps of: receiving a wager associated with a
plurality of hands to be played and a wager associated with a bonus
feature; providing a first pay table showing the odds associated
with poker hand rankings that provide for a payback; providing a
bonus pay table to show odds as a function of the collective poker
hand rankings of all the hands that are played in the multi-hand
poker game; dealing a pool hand comprising a plurality of face up
cards, wherein the pool hand is not a played hand; receiving a
selection designating none, one or more cards of the pool hand as
held cards, reproducing the held cards in a plurality of playing
hands, completing the plurality of playing hands with new face up
cards, determining a ranking of each of the completed playing
hands; determining a payout amount based on the ranking of each of
the played hands, the wager and the first pay table, and
determining a bonus payout based on the collective poker hand
rankings of all the completed playing hands, the wager on the bonus
feature and a bonus pay table.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of playing hands
comprise four or more hands.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein, in the bonus pay table, at
least a minimum number of hands (M) in the plurality of playing
hands having a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required
to result in a bonus payout.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein M is an integer having a value
of between 0.3 and 0.8.times.N, rounded either up or down to the
nearest integer, if necessary depending on the value of N, and
wherein N comprises the number of hands played in the plurality of
playing hands.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the bonus pay table takes the
form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the rows
comprising poker hand rankings and the columns comprising integers
M . . . N.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the bonus pay table takes the
form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the columns
comprising poker hand rankings and the rows comprising integers M .
. . N.
21. An apparatus for playing a multiple-play poker game, comprising
a storage medium containing set of machine-readable instructions
for controlling a display device, wherein the machine readable
instructions comprise instructions for generating the following
displays on the display device: 1.) a plurality of playing hands
for playing a multiple-play poker game; 2.) a first pay table
comprising a display of poker hand rankings and the associated
payout odds for each hand in the rankings; and 3.) a bonus pay
table, wherein, in the bonus pay table, at least a minimum number
of hands (M) in the plurality of playing hands having a
predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required to result in a
bonus payout, wherein N comprises an integer representing the
number of playing hands, and wherein N is greater than or equal to
2 and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the bonus pay table takes
the form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the rows
comprising poker hand rankings and the columns comprising integers
M . . . N.
23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the bonus pay table takes
the form of an array arranged in rows and columns, with the columns
comprising poker hand rankings and the rows comprising integers M .
. . N.
24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are
obtained from a gaming web site.
25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display device comprises
a display of a general purpose computer.
26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display device comprises
a display of a video poker terminal.
27. A gaming server adapted for communication with a remote gaming
device over a network, the gaming server comprising: a computing
platform; and a game service module implemented in software
executable by the computing platform, the game service module
including instructions (a) for receiving a datagram from the remote
gaming device representing a wager on a bonus feature, wherein, in
the bonus feature, a bonus payout is determined according to a
bonus pay table, the bonus payout occurring when at least a minimum
number of hands (M) have a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking
or better, where M is an integer and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N, and N is
an integer representing the number of hands played in the plurality
of hands; (b) generating a plurality of N playing hands, and (c)
transmitting a datagram containing data representing the playing
hands to the remote gaming device, the playing hands to be
displayed on the remote gaming device in a multi-play poker game,
the datagram further indicating the results of the wager on the
bonus feature.
28. The gaming server of claim 27, wherein the remote gaming device
comprises a general purpose client computer, and wherein a download
server transmits a set of software modules to the client computer
to enable the client computer to interact with the gaming
server.
29. The gaming server of claim 27, wherein the gaming server
includes a router module allowing the game service module to
communicate simultaneously with a plurality of remote client
computers and receive and transmit datagrams according to (a) and
(c) in claim 27.
30. A client computer for playing a multi-play poker game,
comprising: a general purpose computing platform; a memory storing
gaming software comprising a set of machine-readable instructions;
the instructions including communications utilities for enabling
the client computer to communicate with a remotely located gaming
server; a file containing logic required for the multi-play poker
game, and for controlling the presentation of the game to the
player, and wherein the logic includes code wherein the player may
make a bonus wager that at least a minimum number of hands (M) will
have a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking or better, where M
is an integer and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N, wherein N is an integer
representing the number of hands played in the multi-play poker
game.
31. The client computer of claim 30, wherein the client computer
connects to the gaming server via a network.
32. The client computer of claim 31, wherein the network comprises
the Internet.
33. The client computer of claim 30, wherein the client computer
downloads the logic file from the gaming server.
34. The client computer of claim 30, wherein the logic includes
code wherein a pool hand is displayed and the player selects cards
to be held from the pool hand and such held cards are replicated
into the N playing hands.
35. The client computer of claim 30, wherein the logic includes
code displaying a bonus wager pay table, and wherein, in order to
pay out in the bonus wager, M is the same for all poker hand
rankings in the bonus wager pay table.
36. The client computer of claim 30, wherein the logic includes
code displaying a bonus wager pay table, and wherein, in order to
pay out in the bonus wager, M is not the same for all poker hand
rankings in a bonus wager pay table.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.
11/058,680 filed Feb. 14, 2005, the entire contents of which are
incorporated by reference herein.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND
[0003] 1. Field
[0004] This invention relates to card games and, more particularly,
to methods and apparatus for playing card games, such as poker,
multiple times. It also relates to bonus game features for
multi-play games. The methods and bonus game features can be used
in electronic games such as, for example, games that are provided
by a gaming website on the World Wide Web of the Internet.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] The well-known poker game of five-card draw involves each
player receiving an initial hand of five cards. One at a time, each
player makes a selection of cards they wish to hold. They then
discard unwanted cards and receive a replacement of discarded
cards. The players' resulting hands are then ranked in accordance
with the poker hand rankings and the hand with the highest ranking
wins.
[0007] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,873 and 6,067,066, both issued to
Earnest Moody, disclose multi-hand variations of five-card draw
poker, wherein multiple hands are played simultaneously in an
electronic video poker format. In one representative example, a
card game is played in which three rows of cards are dealt to a
player. The player makes a wager for each row of cards. All three
rows of cards are dealt face up with each row having the same cards
by rank and suit. The player selects none, one or more of the face
up cards from one of the rows as cards to be held. The cards that
are held are also held in all of the other rows. Replacement cards
for the non-selected cards are dealt into each row. The poker hand
ranking of each five-card hand by row is determined. The player is
then paid for any winning poker hands based on a pay table and the
amount of the player's wager.
[0008] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/058,680, filed Feb. 14,
2005, describes multi-play poker games that include graphical user
interface features which are well suited to on-line gaming
environments. The game includes a pool hand comprising five face-up
cards that are displayed to a player. The pool hand is not a played
hand and is not subject to wagering or poker hand ranking, but is
displayed to a player only for purposes of selection of cards to be
held. At the time of display of the pool hand, the played hands do
not exist and, as such, are not displayed to the player. The player
designates none, one or more of the cards of the pool hand as held
cards. Once the task of selecting none, one or more of the cards of
the pool hand as held cards is completed, the playing hands are
displayed to the player in a separate area of the display. The
cards that are held are reproduced into a plurality of playing
hands. Each of the playing hands includes the same held cards that
were designated as held cards in the pool hand. The plurality of
playing hands are completed with new, randomly selected, face up
cards, the additional cards that are added to complete each hand
being dealt from a separate deck of cards. The ranking of each of
the completed playing hands is separately determined, in accordance
with standard poker hand rankings.
[0009] There is a need in the art for additional game features in
multi-play poker games that are functions of the individual
rankings of all the playing hands. Such additional features are
desired to enhance the player experience of the game and maintain
player interest. This disclosure provides a bonus feature for
multi-play poker that enhances the player's experience, provides
additional wager opportunities, and helps maintain player interest
in the game.
SUMMARY
[0010] A bonus feature is provided for multi-play poker games. In
such games, a player plays a round of multi-play poker where some
number (N) of hands are played simultaneously. N may be 3, 5, 10,
50 or some other number, greater than or equal to 2. The bonus
feature is a wager that pays out as a function of the rankings of
all the completed playing hands. For example, the wager is that at
least some minimum number of hands in the total number of hands
will have a minimum poker hand ranking, e.g., a pair of Jacks, and
if so, a payout occurs. Typically, if the player has more than the
minimum number of hands of the minimum poker hand ranking, they
also win a bonus, and the more winning hands they have the greater
the payout in the bonus feature.
[0011] The minimum number of hands required to win the bonus
feature (parameter referred to as M herein), can and will normally
vary depending on the total number of hands (N) that are played.
For example, in a ten play multi-play poker game, M can be equal to
4. This value for M could be different depending on the features
and "flavor" of the game desired by the proprietor, and different
values of M may likely cause the bonus pay table entries to vary.
For example, for a ten hand multi-play game, one could set the
minimum threshold for bonus win to 6 winning hands of a
predetermined minimum poker hand ranking (e.g. pair of Jacks)
(M=6), but with higher payouts for 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 winning hands
than would be the case in the pay table if M was equal to 4. If N
is equal to 2 (two hand multi-play poker), then M would typically
be also equal to 2. If N is equal to 3, N could be equal to 2 or 3.
If N is equal to 4, M could be equal to 2, 3 or 4. As a
generalization of this concept, M is preferably an integer greater
than or equal to 2 and between 2 and N, inclusive. Values of M of
between 0.3 and 0.8 times the total number of hands (N) are
preferred, with M rounded up or down as may be necessary, but
between the values of 2 and N, inclusive. The minimum number of
hands required to have a bonus payout may be the same regardless of
the poker hand ranking, or conceivably could vary depending on the
poker hand ranking.
[0012] Thus, in one embodiment, a method for playing a
multiple-play poker game is described comprising the steps of (a)
playing a round of multi-play poker wherein N hands are played, N
being an integer greater than or equal to 2; (b) determining a
payout for the N hands based on rankings of the N hands and a first
pay table; and then determining a bonus payout in accordance with a
bonus pay table, the bonus payout occurring when at least a minimum
number of hands (M) in the set of N hands have a predetermined
minimum poker hand ranking or better, where M is an integer and
2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
[0013] The nature and features of the multi-play poker game that
occurs in conjunction with the bonus feature is not particularly
important and can vary considerably. An example is described in
this disclosure wherein a pool hand is provided. In this
embodiment, a method is disclosed for playing a multiple-play poker
game, the method comprising the steps of: displaying a pool hand
comprising a plurality of face up cards, wherein the pool hand is
not played; designating none, one or more of the cards of the pool
hand as held cards; reproducing the held cards in a plurality of
playing hands; completing the plurality of playing hands with new
face up cards; determining a ranking of each of the completed
playing hands; and deriving a bonus payout from a bonus pay table
as a function of the rankings of all the completed playing
hands.
[0014] In yet another aspect, a method of facilitating play of a
multi-play poker game is provided, the method including receiving a
wager associated with a plurality of hands to be played and a wager
associated with a bonus feature. A first pay table is provided
showing the odds associated with poker hand rankings that provide
for a payout. A bonus pay table is provided to show odds as a
function of the collective poker hand rankings of all the hands
that are played in the multi-hand poker game. A pool hand
comprising a plurality of face up cards is dealt, wherein the pool
hand is not a played hand. A selection is received designating
none, one or more cards of the pool hand as held cards. The held
cards are reproduced in a plurality of playing hands. The playing
hands are completed with new face up cards. Next, the method
includes steps of determining a ranking of each of the completed
playing hands; determining a payout amount based on the ranking of
each of the played hands, the wager and the first pay table, and
determining a bonus payout based on the collective poker hand
rankings of all the completed playing hands, the wager on the bonus
feature and a bonus pay table.
[0015] The methods of this invention are capable of being coded in
software and executed on a gaming device, which may take the form
of a general purpose computer, video game terminal, or other
computing device. In another aspect, an apparatus for playing a
multiple-play poker game, comprising a storage medium containing
set of machine-readable instructions for controlling a display
device, wherein the machine readable instructions comprise
instructions for generating the following displays on the display
device:
[0016] 1.) a plurality of playing hands for playing a multiple-play
poker game;
[0017] 2.) a first pay table comprising a display of poker hand
rankings and the associated payout odds for each hand in the
rankings; and
[0018] 3.) a bonus pay table wherein, in the bonus pay table, at
least a minimum number of hands (M) in the plurality of playing
hands having a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required
to result in a bonus payout, wherein N comprises an integer
representing the number of playing hands, and wherein N is greater
than or equal to 2 and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
[0019] The methods of this invention can also be played by an
electronic gaming device that is coupled to a gaming server over a
computer network, such as the Internet. The gaming server
facilitates play of the game by a player at a remotely located
gaming device, such as a computer in a home or casino environment.
In another aspect, a gaming server is provided which is adapted for
communication with a remote gaming device over a network. The
gaming server comprises a computing platform (e.g. Windows computer
operating system and central processing unit), and a game service
module implemented in software executable by the computing
platform. The game service module includes instructions (a) for
receiving a datagram from the remote gaming device representing (1)
a wager on a plurality of hands in a multi-play poker game, and (2)
a wager on a bonus feature, wherein, in the bonus feature, an
additional payout is determined according to a bonus pay table, the
bonus payout occurring when a minimum number of hands (M) have a
predetermined minimum poker hand ranking or better, where M is an
integer and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N, and N is an integer representing
the number of hands played in the plurality of hands. The game
service module performs a function (b) of responsively generating a
plurality of playing hands and a function (c) of transmitting a
datagram containing data representing the playing hands to the
remote gaming device, the playing hands to be displayed on the
remote gaming device in a multi-play poker game, the datagram
further indicating the results of the wagers (1) and (2) on the
plurality of playing hands.
[0020] In still a further embodiment, a client computer is provided
for playing a multi-play poker game, comprising: a general purpose
computing platform, and a memory storing gaming software comprising
a set of machine-readable instructions. The instructions including
communications utilities for enabling the client computer to
communicate with a remotely located gaming server, and a file
containing logic required for the multi-play poker game, and for
controlling the presentation of the game to the player. The logic
includes code wherein the player may make a bonus wager that a
minimum number of hands (M) will have a predetermined minimum poker
hand ranking or better, where M is an integer and
2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N, wherein N is an integer representing the
number of hands played in the multi-play poker game.
[0021] In addition to the aspects and embodiments described above,
further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference
to the drawings and by study of the following detailed
descriptions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] A presently preferred embodiment will be described below in
conjunction with the appended drawing Figures, of which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a screen shot showing a GUI display that may
appear on the display of an electronic gaming device, such as a
video poker terminal or display of a computer. The display of FIG.
1 shows the GUI at the commencement of a multi-hand poker game.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a screen shot showing the dealing of a pool hand
in the bottom portion of the display.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a screen shot showing the selection of cards in
the pool hand as cards to be held.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a screen shot showing the pool hand "grayed-out"
(made less visible) and ten playing hands. Each playing hand has
the held cards plus randomly selected cards to make up a hand of
five cards.
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a screen shot in a "double your money" side
wager game, by which a player can double their winnings after
playing all ten hands as shown in FIG. 4. The player selects one of
the face-down cards and doubles their money if the card they
selected is ranked higher than the displayed card.
[0028] FIG. 6 shows a screen shot in the "double your money" side
wager, in which the displayed card is a King, and after the player
has made a selection of one of the face down cards.
[0029] FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface design for an
alternative embodiment of a multi-play poker game which includes a
bonus feature.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a screen shot of a bonus pay table of a ten hand,
multi-play poker game.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a screen shot showing the selection of cards in
the pool hand as cards to be held in the embodiment of the
multi-play poker game of FIG. 7.
[0032] FIG. 10 is a screen shot of the embodiment of FIG. 7 showing
the pool hand "grayed out" (made less visible) and ten playing
hands. Each playing hand has the held cards plus randomly selected
cards to make up a hand of five cards. Each playing hand has been
ranked and the screen shot indicates a win from the bonus feature
of the game.
[0033] FIG. 11 is a network diagram showing a client computer which
connects to a gaming server over an Internet Protocol network such
as the World Wide Web in order to download gaming software and
exchange messages with the gaming server and thereby play
multi-play poker games as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10.
[0034] FIG. 12 is a more detailed diagram of the gaming server
showing the software modules included in the gaming server in a
preferred embodiment.
[0035] FIG. 13 is a more detailed diagram of a set of software
modules which are downloaded onto the client computer in order to
communicate with the gaming server and play the multi-play poker
games as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10.
[0036] FIGS. 14-18 are a flow chart showing the flow of messages
between the gaming server and the client computer, and processing
steps performed at both the gaming server and client computer, to
play the multi-play poker games as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0037] The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described
and illustrated in conjunction with computer systems, user
interface features, and methods which are provided by way of
illustration and not limitation.
[0038] Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a screen shot showing a
GUI display (10) that may be provided on a computer screen, video
poker terminal or other game device, which is provided to
facilitate playing of multi-play poker games. The display (10) of
FIG. 1 is presented to a player at the commencement of a multi-hand
poker game. The bonus feature will be described below in
conjunction with FIGS. 7-10. The bonus feature can be implemented
in a variety of multi-play poker games, and so the example of a
multi-play poker game using a pool hand described below in FIGS.
1-4 is just one of may possible examples of how the bonus feature
may be incorporated into a multi-play poker game. For example, the
bonus feature could be adapted to the multi-play poker games of the
above-referenced Moody patents or variants thereof. As another
example, the bonus feature could be adapted to seven card stud
multi-play poker. The bonus feature can be applied in any situation
where you have 2 or more hands that are played simultaneously in a
multi-play poker format.
[0039] Before describing this particular multi-play poker game of
FIGS. 1-4 in detail, some of the display (10) shown in FIG. 1 will
be described initially.
[0040] The display (10) of FIG. 1 includes a variety of features
that are designed to facilitate ease of use. The first feature is
the display of a pool hand (12). The pool hand (12) in this
embodiment consists of five cards, which are shown face down
indicating that the game has not yet commenced. The pool hand (12)
is a hand that is used for selection of cards to be held in a
draw-type poker hand. The held cards are later presented in each of
a plurality of playing hands, as will be described in further
detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 2-4. The pool hand (12) is
not ranked and is also not played or subject to any wagering. It
merely exists as a convenient vehicle for selection of cards to be
held and presented in the playing hands. The number of cards in the
pool hand (12) will preferably be the same number of cards in the
completed playing hands, described below. For example, where the
game is five-card draw, the pool hand has five cards and each
completed playing hand has five cards. It is possible to have a
greater or lesser number of cards in the pool hand as compared to
the playing hands.
[0041] The display includes a region (14) that is devoted to a
later display of the playing hands. The region (14) includes
placeholders (16), each of which delineate an area where a playing
hand is later displayed. In FIG. 1, there are ten placeholders
(16), indicating to the player that this particular hand is a
ten-hand poker game.
[0042] The display of FIG. 1 further includes a plurality of boxes
(22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38) that, collectively, form a
first pay table for the game. Each box (or entry in the pay table)
consists of a poker hand ranking (e.g. "Three of a Kind",
"Straight", etc.) and a corresponding number indicating the payout
associated with the particular poker hand. A minimum ranking (pair
of Jacks or better in the game of FIG. 1) is needed for a
payout.
[0043] The game of FIG. 1-4 is played with ten played hands (see
FIG. 2) having an equal amount wagered on each playing hand. Each
of the playing hands is individually ranked and the amount wagered
on that playing hand is paid in accordance with the pay table. For
example, a single played hand with a pair of Jacks will pay out the
amount wagered on that particular hand (indicated by the "1" in box
(22). A single playing hand with a Flush poker ranking (five cards
in the same suit) will pay out six times the amount wagered on that
playing hand. Similarly, a Royal Flush hand will pay out 250 times
the amount wagered on that playing hand. The total payout for
playing all ten playing hands is equal to the sum of the poker hand
rankings for each hand, in accordance with the pay table. In other
words, a player obtaining ten hands with a pair of Jacks or better
will break even, whereas a player obtaining five hands with a Flush
ranking will obtain a payout of three times the amount wagered for
all ten hands.
[0044] The display further includes a control section (18), where a
set of icons are presented which allow the player to exercise
control over the wagering of money and the execution of play of the
game. The icons in the control section (18) include a DEAL icon
(20) which, when activated (e.g. by mouse click), causes the game
to commence and the five cards in the pool hand (12) to be turned
face up, as shown in FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that the pool
hand (12) shown in FIG. 1 could simply consist of a graphical
representation of five cards, in which case the dealing of five
random cards from a standard deck of playing cards to form the pool
hand (12) does not occur until the deal icon (20) is activated.
[0045] The icons in the control section (18) include the leftmost
icon (40), which is a credit meter that reflects a running balance
of a player's credit account. The balance on the credit account
will vary according to the ebb and flow of the game. The credit
meter thus allows the user to track how much money they have won or
lost, and helps the player to decide whether to quit the game or to
continue playing.
[0046] The control section (18) includes a group of icons (42),
which include MENU, BANK, HELP, OPTIONS, STATS and EXPERT icons.
The MENU icon, when activated, takes the player to a "games lobby"
display, which presents the player with a menu of games available
for play. The BANK icon takes the player to a banking application
where the player may purchase credit to top up their credit
account, or may cash out all or a portion of the credit in their
credit account. The HELP icon displays help text describing the
rules of the game to the player. The OPTIONS icon allows the player
to configure certain game parameters such as, for example, speed of
play, sound effects, autohold feature, etc. The STATS icon is used
for display of parameters relating to the player's current session
of play in this particular game such as, for example, number of
hands played to date, duration of current playing session, hands
played per hour, a ranking of player's highest wins, etc. The
EXPERT icon toggles between two modes, EXPERT and REGULAR. These
will be described subsequently.
[0047] The control section (18) includes a "Coin Size" set of icons
(44), which display the current "coin size" used for the wager on
each of the playing hands. The coin size is $0.10 in FIG. 1,
denominated in units of credit. There are a number of selectable
standard coin sizes, such as $1, $0.50, $0.10, or other value. The
"-" icon decrements the current coin size to the next smaller
standard size, while the "+" icon increments the current coin size
to the next larger standard size. The current value of the coin
size indicates the amount wagered on each of the ten played hands.
For example, if the coin size unit is $0.10, this amount is wagered
on each playing hand and a total of $1 is wagered on all ten
playing hands.
[0048] The DEAL icon (20) toggles between two modes, a DEAL mode
and a DRAW mode. In the DEAL mode, the activation of the icon
initiates a turn of the game by dealing cards in the pool hand face
up, whereupon the icon switches to the DRAW mode. In the DRAW mode,
the player selects which cards to hold in the pool hand. When the
player has finished the selection, he activates the icon (20). The
activation initiates a phase of the game in which the held cards
are replicated in each playing hand and any additional cards are
dealt in each playing hand to complete the playing hands. The
playing hands are then ranked, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0049] The display includes the BET ONE and BET MAX icons (46) and
(48). The manner of use of these icons changes depending on whether
the player is in EXPERT mode or in REGULAR mode (the state of
toggling the EXPERT icon in the group of icons (42) ). Each
activation of the BET ONE icon, in the REGULAR mode, causes the
number of coins (or units) of the current standard coin size that
are wagered on each playing hand to be incremented by 1. There is a
minimum value of 1 coin or unit per playing hand and a maximum of 5
coins or units per playing hand. The BET MAX icon (48) wagers five
coins of the current standard coin size per playing hand. When the
BET MAX icon is activated, play commences automatically by dealing
the cards in the pool hand (12) (i.e. turning the cards face
up).
[0050] A DOUBLE icon (50) initiates a side game in which the player
is offered a chance to double his winnings (if any) on the current
turn of the game. The side game is explained further below in
conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6.
[0051] When the player is in EXPERT mode, several additional icons
appear (not shown). An ANALYZE icon appears, which displays to the
player the probabilities of obtaining a winning poker hand as a
function of the cards held in the pool hand. A SHOW HINTS icon
displays a warning message to the player each time the player's
selection of held cards in the pool hand differs from optimal play
by more than a quantifiable threshold. A DEAL 10.times. icon
appears which, when activated, plays 10 consecutive turns of the
game automatically without further intervention by the player. A
DEAL 5.times. icon occurs that, when activated, plays 5 consecutive
turns of the game automatically without further intervention by the
player. An AUTOPLAY icon appears that plays a selectable number of
consecutive turns of the game automatically without further
intervention by the player. The player is able to configure
stopping rules and a doubling strategy.
[0052] When the player has any winnings in a turn of the game, he
can elect to either play a double side wager, using icon (50), or
to collect the winnings. The COLLECT icon (52) allows the player to
receive his winnings and the player's credit account balance is
updated to reflect these winnings. If the player clicks on the DEAL
icon (20) to initiate a new turn of the game, without first having
clicked on the COLLECT icon (52) to collect the previous winnings,
this action causes a COLLECT operation to occur anyway behind the
scenes.
[0053] The explanation of play of multi-hand poker in accordance
with the illustrated embodiment will now be made with reference to
FIGS. 1-4. When the user activates the DEAL icon (20) in FIG. 1,
the player is dealt a pool hand (12) of five randomly selected
cards face up. See FIG. 2. Note that the DEAL icon (20) of FIG. 1
has toggled to a DRAW icon in FIG. 2. No other hands appear on the
screen. The screen displays ten placeholders bounded by borders
(16) indicating the locations where the ten playing hands will
subsequently be dealt. In this example, the pool hand consists of
the Queen of Spades, Five of Clubs, Ten of Spades, Jack of Clubs
and Ten of Clubs. The cards of the pool hand (12) are randomly
selected from a standard deck of playing cards. The use of Jokers
(or other wild cards) in the pool hand is optional.
[0054] The next step in the process is the designation of cards to
be held for replication into each of the playing hands. FIG. 3 is a
screen shot showing the selection of cards in the pool hand as
cards to be held. The player selects none, one or more cards from
the pool hand as cards to be "held", that is, cards that will be
present in the ten new hands. To make a designation, the player
moves the mouse or cursor (60) over a card in the pool hand (12) he
wishes to hold and clicks the mouse. The selection of a held card
is indicated by the "Held" legend superimposed on the card in the
pool hand. In the example of FIG. 3, the player has elected to hold
the Queen of Spades, the Jack of Clubs and the Ten of Clubs, each
card having the "Held" legend.
[0055] After completion of the process of designation of none, one
or more held cards, the player activates the DRAW icon (20).
[0056] Referring to FIG. 4, after the DRAW icon (20) has been
activated in FIG. 3, a number of changes occur on the screen. The
pool hand (12) is "greyed out", that is, partially darkened. The
cards in the pool hand (12) that were designated as held cards
remain in a face up orientation and the cards that were not
designated are turned face down, to further emphasize the cards
designated as held cards. There is no replacement of un-held cards
in the pool hand. The held card or cards from the pool hand (if
any) are presented in each of ten new playing hands (70) that are
displayed in the central and upper portion of the display. The
playing hands (70) are then completed with additional cards, face
up, that are dealt at random to complete a hand of five cards. As
can be seen, the Queen of Spades, Jack of Clubs and Ten of Clubs
are present in each of the ten played hands (70), in the same
position that they occupied in the pool hand (12). Each of the ten
played hands includes new cards dealt at random from a standard
deck of playing cards. The held cards are removed from the decks
used to deal the additional cards to complete the playing hands
(70) to avoid the possibility of any single playing hand having two
cards that are exactly the same.
[0057] A ranking of the ten playing hands (70) then occurs. The
ranking can be done in accordance with standard poker hand
rankings. No ranking of the pool hand occurs, as it is not used for
playing and remains greyed out. The ten playing hands in the
example of FIG. 4 include three hands with a pair of Jacks or
better and one hand with a Straight. A ranking of a pair of Jacks
or better is needed for any hand to pay out in accordance with the
first pay table. To facilitate the player's appreciation of the
rankings, boxes (22) and (28) flash to highlight for the player
that they had at least one hand of these rankings (pair of Jacks
and Straight).
[0058] Additionally, a ranking indicium in the form of an icon with
the rank of the hand is superimposed on each played hand having a
minimum poker hand ranking (pair of Jacks or better). Thus hand
(72) has a Jacks or better indicium (74) superimposed over the hand
and hand (76) has a Straight indicium superimposed over the hand.
The indicia (74) and (78) also indicate the payout for the hand.
Jacks or better has a payout of 0.10, which is the payout for Jacks
or better, namely 1, multiplied by the coin value of 0.10 units and
1 coin wagered per hand. A Straight has a payout of 0.4, which is
the payout for one Straight, namely 4, multiplied by the coin value
of 0.01 and 1 coin wagered per hand. Thus the size of the wager on
each hand is the coin size multiplied by the number of coins. The
total wager on each turn of the game in a ten-hand game is ten
times the wager on each playing hand. The total payout on each turn
of the game is equal to the sum, for each playing hand, of the coin
size multiplied by the pay table multiplier for the ranking of that
hand, multiplied by the number of coins wagered.
[0059] In the example of FIG. 4, the total payout is 0.70 units (or
70 cents on a dollar wager for all ten hands), since the play
resulted in three hands with Jacks or better and one hand with a
Straight [ (3.times.0.10.times.1 coin wagered per
hand)+(4.times.0.10.times.1 coin wagered per hand) ]. The total
payout, 0.70 units, is shown in box (90) in FIG. 4.
[0060] The multi-play poker game described above includes a bonus
feature that is based on a bonus pay table and which will be
explained further in conjunction with FIGS. 7-10. FIG. 7 represents
an alternative GUI design for a ten-play multi-hand poker game. The
display of FIG. 7 includes a region (14) for later display of ten
playing hands with a border or placeholder (16) showing the future
location for each of the playing hands. A control section (18) is
provided for game playing control icons as described above. The
number of playing hands (10 in this example) can of course vary,
e.g., 4, 10 or 50.
[0061] The display of FIG. 7 further includes a bonus feature check
box (150) that allows the player to enable or to disable the bonus
feature of the game. The display includes a further icon (155)
labeled "View Bonus Paytable" that, when activated, causes the
display of FIG. 8 to appear. The display of FIG. 8 represents a
bonus pay table (160) and an icon (165) labeled "Back to Game"
that, when activated by the player, causes the display to revert
back to that of FIG. 7.
[0062] The bonus pay table (160) is displayed as a two-dimensional
array (170) with nine rows and seven columns. Each row corresponds
to a different poker hand ranking, namely "Jacks or better", "Two
Pairs", "Three of a Kind", "Straight", "Flush", "Full House", "Four
of a Kind", "Straight Flush" and "Royal Flush". Jacks or Better is
the minimum poker hand ranking needed for a payout, and need not
necessarily be the same as the minimum poker hand ranking to win in
the pay table of FIG. 1 (boxes (22)-(38)). The columns of the bonus
pay table are labeled "4" to "10", respectively. The number "4"
represents the minimum number of hands (M) a player must have in
any one round of play of the displayed poker hand rankings in order
to receive a payout. Bonus payouts are made in which the number of
winning hands is between M (four in this example) and N, the total
number of played hands in the multi-play poker game, N=10 in the
present example. Thus, the columns are numbered between M and N (4
and 10). The pay table could be arranged with the rankings in the
columns and the number of hands in the rows, of course.
Furthermore, the value of M need not necessarily be the same for
each ranking in the bonus pay table. (E.g., six hands of Jacks or
Better are needed to have a bonus payout, but for a Royal Flush,
only 3 hands are needed).
[0063] Each entry in the two-dimensional array (170) of the bonus
pay table (160) represents a multiplier associated with a bonus
feature win, which is determined as a function of the respective
poker hand rankings of all of the ten playing hands. For example,
if five played hands have a ranking of Jacks or better, the bonus
game will have a multiplier of 2, while if seven played hands have
a ranking of Full House, the bonus game multiplier will be 36. When
the player has checked the bonus feature check box (150), an amount
equal to the wager on a single playing hand is wagered on the bonus
feature. The payout arising out of the bonus feature is the amount
wagered on the bonus feature multiplied by the multiplier derived
from the bonus pay table (160). The amount wagered on the bonus
feature is the number of coins wagered per playing hand multiplied
by the selected standard coin size. It will be appreciated that any
payout from the bonus feature is additional to any winnings
achieved by the player in the multi-play poker game as described
above. It will be further appreciated that payouts arising from the
bonus feature itself are cumulative. For example, a turn of the
game in which six playing hands have a ranking of Two Pairs and the
remaining four playing hands have a ranking of Full House results
in a bonus feature multiplier of 12 (6+6).
[0064] An example of use of the bonus feature will be described in
conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 10. Referring now to FIG. 9, a pool
hand (12) is dealt. The first and fourth cards from the left in the
pool hand (12) are Jacks and are held. The player clicks the DRAW
icon (20) and the display changes to that shown in FIG. 10. The
pool hand (12) is greyed out and the non-designated cards are
placed face down. The two held cards (Jacks) are reproduced in the
playing hands (70) and additional face up cards are dealt at random
into each of the ten playing hands to complete each playing hand.
Each hand is dealt from a separate deck with the held cards
removed. The ten playing hands are ranked in accordance with a
poker hand ranking. The play resulted in nine Jacks or better and
one Three of a Kind. The playing hands with a minimum poker hand
ranking (Jacks or better) have ranking indicia (100) superimposed
over the hands, as indicated in FIG. 10. The bet icon (125) shows
that the player wagered 1 unit and won 1.8 units from the
multi-play game, or a net gain of 0.8 units. The "View Bonus
Paytable" icon (155) is replaced by a notice indicating that the
player has won an additional 0.6 units from the bonus feature
according to the bonus pay table (160), from a 0.1 unit bonus
feature wager, to yield a total gain of 1.3 units on the turn of
the multi-play poker game.
[0065] The bonus win of 0.60 is calculated as follows from the pay
table of FIG. 8: in the Jacks or Better row, one goes to the column
under the heading "9" since nine played hands have a Jacks or
better ranking. The value of 6, for this location in the pay table
array, is multiplied by the 0.10 coin size wagered on the bonus
feature, for a total of 0.60 units. At least four hands meeting one
of the poker hand rankings in the pay table is needed to win in
accordance with the bonus pay table. For example, if the player had
three winning hands of a Flush or Royal Flush, they would win the
wager in the regular game using the pay table of FIGS. 1-4, but
would not win the bonus feature.
[0066] The minimum number of hands required to win the bonus
feature (M), is 4 in the paytable. This value could be different
depending on the features and "flavor" of the game desired by the
proprietor, and different values of M may likely cause the pay
table entries to vary. For example, for a ten hand multi-play game,
one could set the minimum threshold for bonus win to 6 winning
hands (M=6), but with higher payouts. If N is equal to 2 (two hand
multi-play poker), then M would typically be also equal to 2. If N
is equal to 3, N could be equal to 2 or 3. If N is equal to 4, M
could be equal to 2, 3 or 4. As a generalization of this concept, M
is preferably an integer greater than or equal to 2 and between 2
and N, inclusive. In the example of FIGS. 7-10, N is 10 and M is 4.
Values of M of between 0.3 and 0.8 times the total number of hands
(N) is one possible embodiment, with M rounded up or down as may be
necessary but between the values of 2 and N, inclusive
[0067] To summarize then, a method for playing a multiple-play
poker game has been described comprising the steps of (a) playing a
round of multi-play poker wherein N hands are played, N being an
integer greater than or equal to 2; and (b) determining a bonus
payout in accordance with a bonus pay table, the bonus feature pays
out as a function of the rankings of all the completed playing
hands. For example, the bonus feature pays out when at least a
minimum number of hands (M) in the set of N hands have a
predetermined minimum poker hand ranking or better, where M is an
integer and 2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
[0068] From the foregoing, it will also be appreciated that a
method for facilitating play of a multiple-hand poker game with a
bonus feature has been described. The method includes a step of
displaying a pool hand (12) comprising a plurality of face up cards
(FIGS. 2, 9), wherein the pool hand is not played. The method
continues with a step of receiving a selection from a player
designating none, one or more of the cards of the pool hand as held
cards (FIGS. 3, 9). The method continues with a step of retaining
the held cards in a face up orientation and turning face down any
cards of the pool hand not designated as a held card (FIG. 4, lower
portion of the display, FIG. 10). The method continues by
reproducing the held cards in a plurality of playing hands (FIGS.
4, 10, playing hands (70) ). The method continues with a step of
completing the plurality of playing hands (70) with new face up
cards (FIGS. 4, 10). For example, in FIG. 4, three hands have
rankings of a pair of Jacks or better and one hand has a ranking of
a Straight. The method continues with a step of deriving a bonus
payout from a bonus pay table (160) as a function of the rankings
of all the completed playing hands (FIG. 7 and FIG. 10, lower
portion of the display).
[0069] In still another aspect, a method is provided for
facilitating play of a multiple-hand poker game with a bonus
feature. The method comprises a step of receiving a wager
associated with a plurality of hands to be played and a wager
associated with a bonus feature. For example, the player may wager
a given amount (say, $10 or some number of units of wager) that the
poker hand ranking of each of N hands will be equal to or greater
than a certain score. The player may wager an additional amount
(say $1) on the bonus feature that the collective poker hand
rankings of all N hands will be equal to or greater than a certain
score. The wager size is indicated in the coin size icon (48) of
FIG. 1. A first pay table (set of boxes (23)-(28) in FIG. 1, set of
boxes (115) in FIG. 7) may be provided on the screen display to
show the odds associated with poker hand rankings that provide for
a payback. Here N is the number of hands that are played in the
multi-hand poker game. N could be any integer of 2 or more, such as
four, ten, fifty or even more. A bonus pay table (FIG. 8) may also
be provided to show odds as a function of the collective poker hand
rankings of all the N hands that are played in the multi-hand poker
game. The method continues with the steps of dealing a pool hand
(12) comprising a plurality of face up cards, wherein the pool hand
is not a played hand (see FIGS. 2, 7). The method continues with
the steps of receiving a selection designating none, one or more
cards of the pool hand as held cards, retaining the held cards in a
face up orientation and turning face down any cards of the pool
hand not designated as one of the held cards (FIGS. 3, 9),
reproducing the held cards in a plurality of playing hands,
completing the plurality of playing hands with new face up cards,
and determining a ranking of each of the completed playing hands
(FIGS. 4, 10). The method continues with the step of determining a
payout amount based on the ranking of each of the played hands, the
wager and a first pay table, and determining a bonus payout based
on the collective poker hand rankings of all the completed playing
hands, the wager on the bonus feature and a bonus pay table. The
payouts and the bonus payout can be determined as explained
above.
[0070] In still another aspect, an apparatus is provided for
playing a multiple-hand poker game. The apparatus comprises a
storage medium containing set of machine-readable instructions for
controlling a display device, such as a video poker machine or
terminal, computer display, or display of any other gaming device.
The set of instructions can be downloaded as an executable file
from a web site, for example in an on-line gaming situation, or
stored locally on the game device, as in the case of a video poker
terminal. The machine-readable instructions comprise instructions
for generating the following displays on the display device:
[0071] 1.) a plurality of playing hands for playing a multiple-play
poker game;
[0072] 2.) a first pay table comprising a display of poker hand
rankings and the associated payout odds for each hand in the
rankings (e.g., boxes (22)-(38) of FIG. 1); and
[0073] 3.) a bonus pay table (example of which is shown in FIG. 8)
comprising a display in the form of an array of poker hand rankings
and integers M . . . N, wherein, in the bonus pay table, a minimum
number of hands (M) in the plurality of playing hands having a
predetermined minimum poker hand ranking is required to result in a
bonus payout, the bonus payout set forth in the array, wherein N
comprises an integer representing the number of playing hands, and
wherein N is greater than or equal to 2 and
2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N.
[0074] The format for display of the first pay table (boxes
(22)-(38) of FIG. 1) can vary widely and is not particularly
important. Further examples are illustrated in U.S. application
Ser. No. 11/058,680 filed Feb. 14, 2005.
[0075] In one specific embodiment, the displays include the
following displays: 1.) a pool hand (12); 2.) a plurality of
playing hands (70) for playing a multiple-hand poker game; 3.) a
first pay table (boxes (22)-(38), (115)) comprising a display of
poker hand rankings and the associated payout odds for each hand in
the rankings; 4.) a control section (18), the control section
comprising at least one of wagering controls (e.g., icons (44),
(46), (48)), a deal icon and a draw icon (which can be combined as
shown in the Figures); 5.) ranking indicia (74), (76) for
illustrating the poker hand ranking of at least one of the playing
hands; 6.) a bonus pay table comprising a display of composite
poker hand rankings and the associated payout odds for each
composite poker hand ranking; and 7.) a bonus payout indicium
(155). The ranking indicia can be superimposed over the played
hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10. For example, if a hand has a
poker hand ranking of a Flush, the ranking indicia "Flush" can
appear superimposed over the hand. The ranking indicia may also
display the payout for that hand, as shown in indicia (74) and (76)
in FIG. 3. The bonus payout indicium may indicate a payout based on
the collective hand rankings of all the playing hands. The total
payout for all the playing hands is determined by summing the
individual payouts for each hand and the bonus payout as explained
above.
[0076] At the completion of the multi-hand poker game, the player
can optionally play a side game to double their money. The player
activates the double icon (50). The screen of FIG. 5 then appears.
The side game consists of showing one card randomly selected as a
face up card (80) (here the Four of Hearts), and four face down
cards (82) dealt from the same deck. The player selects one of the
face down cards, and then all four cards (80) are turned over and
the card they selected is highlighted. If the selected card has a
higher value than the face up card, the player doubles their money.
If the selected face down card is of an equal or lower value, they
lose the money they won in the multi-hand game.
[0077] In the example of FIG. 5, the player was fortunate in being
dealt the Four of Hearts (80), as the chances are good that a card
they select from the four cards (82) will be a five or better.
However, as shown in FIG. 6, the player could be dealt a high card,
such as a King, as the face up (card (80)), and none of the four
cards in the pool (82) are an Ace. Thus, the player will lose their
wager regardless of which card they select. In this example, the
player selected the third card over (84) (which turned out to be
the Three of Hearts) and loses the "Double" side wager.
[0078] The disclosed embodiments meet a need in the art for an
improved multi-play poker game that offers a player a more exciting
playing experience. The bonus feature of the multi-play poker game
serves to magnify the payout associated with completed playing
hands that are uniformly successful. For example, as described
above, a player playing a ten-hand poker game that obtains ten
hands with a ranking of pair of Jacks or better will break even
when the bonus feature is not present, but will achieve a net gain
of 70% of his original wager when the bonus feature is enabled. As
a further example, a player obtaining five hands with a Flush
ranking will obtain a net gain of twice the amount wagered on all
ten hands without the bonus feature versus 3.2 times the amount
wagered on all ten hands when the bonus feature is present. It is
expected that the bonus feature will render the multi-play poker
game more attractive to players, thereby helping to prolong player
interest in the game and reducing the likelihood of player
attrition from the game.
[0079] Web-Based Gaming Embodiment
[0080] As noted previously, the games of FIGS. 1-10 can be played
on a computer that has a connection to the World Wide Web. This
section of the disclosure will describe the apparatus, processing,
and message flow for playing multi-play poker games with a bonus
feature in a Web-based gaming environment.
[0081] FIG. 11 is a network diagram showing a client computer (200)
that connects to a gaming server (202) via an Internet Service
Provider (204) and Internet Protocol network (206) such as the
Internet. The client computer (200) downloads gaming software from
the gaming server (202) and exchanges messages with the gaming
server (202) as described below to play multi-play poker games with
a bonus feature as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10.
[0082] At the hardware level, the client computer (200) may take
the form of any general purpose computing device such as a personal
computer running a Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows ME and the
like operating system, or an alternative such as a Linux operating
system. Only one such computer (200) is shown, but in practice any
number of client computers may be connected simultaneously with the
gaming server (202) and play the games. The gaming server (202)
takes the form of a general purpose computing platform and may
operate, for example, under a Windows Server 2003 operating system
or other state of the art system. The gaming server (202) may
include other functions, such as an HTML web page server. In a
representative embodiment, the gaming server is managed by a entity
offering Internet casino gaming services via a presence on the
World Wide Web.
[0083] FIG. 12 is a more detailed diagram of the gaming server
(202) showing the software modules included in the gaming server
(202) in a preferred embodiment. The modules include a router
module (210), a game service module (212), a casino database module
(214), and an ancillary services module (216).
[0084] The router (210) provides one point of contact for all
download clients (200) communicating with the gaming server (202).
A download client (200) establishes a connection to the router
(210) when a player using the download client (200) wishes to play
a game. The router (210) receives a message from the download
client and passes the message to the game service (212) for
processing.
[0085] In the illustrated embodiment, the game service module (212)
is written as one or more Windows Server 2003 services. The game
service (212) generates an outcome for the game, determines the
results of any wagers and transmits the outcome and the result of
the wager back to the download client. The processing logic
executed by the game service module (212) is explained in more
detail in the flow chart of FIGS. 14-18.
[0086] The casino database (214) is used to log the state of a
player's session with the casino. The game service (212) on the
gaming server (202) writes the outcome of the game and the result
of the wager to the casino database (214), before the outcome and
the result of the wager are transmitted back to the download client
(200). The casino database (214) uses a state engine such that if
the download client (200) disconnects from the gaming server (202)
for whatever reason (say, communication failure or session
termination by the player), the player will, upon subsequent
reconnection with the gaming server (202), be presented with an
identical screen display and game state as when disconnection
occurred.
[0087] The server (202) also includes an ancillary services module
(216) that performs ancillary functions related to operation of the
gaming site, such as banking, player login, player registration,
and the like.
[0088] The client computer (200) executes client software that is
either downloaded from a remote download server and subsequently
installed on the client computer, or is installed directly from a
storage medium such as a compact disc. In the illustrated
embodiment, the software is downloaded directly from the gaming
server (202).
[0089] FIG. 13 is a more detailed diagram of a set of software
modules (220) which are downloaded onto the client computer (200)
and stored locally in memory in the computer (200) in order to
communicate with the gaming server (202) and play the multi-play
poker games with a bonus feature as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10.
These modules include a graphics engine (222) which renders
graphics on the screen of the client computer (200), a sound engine
(224) which plays sound effects occurring during play, a script
engine (226) which renders text on the screen, communications
utilities (228) which enable the client computer (200) to
communicate with the gaming server (202), a set of graphics objects
(230) such as, for example the cards of a deck of cards, buttons
and text objects, a game-specific Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file
(232) that contains all the logic required for the game, and which
controls the presentation of the game to the player, an encrypted
text file (2)34 that tells the game where to position the graphics,
the buttons, what graphics to load, etc., and an encryption engine
(236) that provides 128-bit encryption of data communication
between the download client (200) and the gaming server (202).
[0090] FIGS. 14-18 are a flow chart showing the flow of messages
(300) between the gaming server (202) and the client computer
(200), and processing steps performed at both the gaming server
(202) and client computer (200), to play the multi-play poker games
with a bonus feature as illustrated in FIGS. 1-10. The flow of
messages (300) is for one turn of the game and the flow may repeat
any number of times as the player plays the game repeatedly. The
message flow (300) assumes that client computer (200) has initially
accessed the web site hosted by the gaming server (202) and
registered to play games at the online casino, and in the process
has downloaded the software modules of FIG. 13. The DLL file has
been loaded for processing by the host processor (not shown) in the
client computer (200) and the display of FIG. 1 has been presented
to the user on the client computer (200). Reference should be made
to FIGS. 7-10 and 11-13 in the following discussion, in which it is
assumed that the player has enabled the bonus feature by checking
the bonus feature check box (150).
[0091] Starting with FIG. 14, the process starts at step (302) with
the activation of the DEAL icon (20) in FIG. 1.
[0092] At step (304), the client software determines the coin size
(0.10 in FIG. 1, see icons (44)).
[0093] At step (306), the client software determines the number of
coins played (depending on the state of activation of the BET ONE
and BET MAX icons (46) and (48) in FIG. 1).
[0094] At step (308), the client software determines the number of
played hands. For example, in a ten-hand game such as shown in
FIGS. 1-4 the number is 10.
[0095] At step (310), the client software computes the total wager
as the product of number of coins multiplied by the coin size
multiplied by the number of played hands, plus the bonus feature
wager.
[0096] At step (312), the client software determines if the account
balance is greater than or equal to the total wager. If the answer
is no, then processing proceeds to step (314) and display of an
error message and the processing stops (316).
[0097] If the answer is yes, at step (318) the client software
constructs a datagram containing the coin size, number of coins and
number of hands played and a flag that the player has enabled the
bonus feature.
[0098] At step (320), the encryption engine (236) in the client
software encrypts the datagram and the communication utilities
module (228) transmits the datagram generated at step (318) to the
gaming server over the Internet (206). The processing (300)
proceeds with the flow chart shown in FIG. 15.
[0099] At step (322), the datagram generated at step (318) is
received at the router module (210) in the gaming server (202) and
passed to the game service (212).
[0100] At step (324), the game service (212) computes the total
wager.
[0101] At step (326), the game server debits the player account
balance by the total wager amount.
[0102] At step (328), the game server "deals" five cards of a pool
hand (12). In practice, this step may take the form of random
selection of five cards from a standard deck of playing cards
(i.e., the digital equivalent of this action) and storage of data
indicating the selection of cards in memory.
[0103] At step (330), the game service (212) constructs a datagram
containing the updated account balance and the five cards dealt in
the pool hand (12).
[0104] At step (332), the datagram generated in step (330) is sent
to the router module (210) and transmitted over the Internet (206)
to the client computer (200). The processing flow (300) continues
with FIG. 16.
[0105] At step (334), the datagram generated at step (330) is
received at the client computer (200).
[0106] At step (336), the display of the cards in the pool hand
(12) face up occurs (see FIG. 2). The deal icon toggles to DRAW as
shown in FIG. 2.
[0107] At step (338) the client software enables the user to select
cards to be held and the player uses the mouse to click on the
displayed pool hand card to select it.
[0108] At step (340), the processing determines whether the
selection is completed. If not, the selection process at step (338)
continues.
[0109] At step (342), the selection is completed and the user
activates the DRAW icon (20).
[0110] At step (344), the client software constructs a datagram
containing data signifying the held cards in the pool hand (12),
the number of playing hands (10 in the example of FIG. 2), and the
position of the held cards in the pool hand (12).
[0111] At step (346), the datagram is transmitted to the gaming
server (202). The processing flow (300) continues with FIG. 17.
[0112] At step (348), the router (210) receives the datagram
constructed at step (344) and forwards it to the service module
(212).
[0113] At step (350), the service module (212) determines the held
cards from the datagram.
[0114] At step (352), the service module (212) creates a first
playing hand by adding to the held cards additional cards selected
at random from a deck of playing cards, with the held cards
removed, to make up a complete poker hand.
[0115] At step (354), the poker hand "dealt" at step (352) is
ranked.
[0116] At step (356) the ranking is analyzed to determine whether
it is a "winning hand", i.e., has a minimum poker hand ranking
(Jacks or better in the game of FIGS. 1 and 7).
[0117] If the hand is a winning hand, the processing proceeds to
step (358) and the service module (212) determines the payout and
updates the player balance at step (360).
[0118] If the hand is not a winning hand (and after step (360) is
performed), the processing proceeds to step (362), where a check is
made to determine whether the hand just processed in steps
(352)-(360) is the last hand.
[0119] If not, a count is incremented at step (364) and the
processing loops back to step (352). Steps (352)-(362) repeat until
all the hands in the game are created and processed.
[0120] At step (366), after the last hand has been created and
processed, the service module (212) determines the total win for
all played hands by summing up the payouts calculated at step
(358).
[0121] At step (380), the rankings of all the playing hands are
collated and compared to the bonus pay table (160) to determine
whether conditions for a bonus win are present.
[0122] If a bonus win has occurred, the processing proceeds to step
(382) and the service module (212) determines the size of the bonus
win and updates the player balance at step (384).
[0123] At step (368), the service module (212) constructs a
datagram containing the updated account balance, the cards in each
played hand, the rank of each played hand, the payout of each
played hand, the total win or payout for all the played hands, and
the bonus win.
[0124] At step (370), the datagram generated at step (368) is sent
from the router (210) to the client computer (200) over the
Internet (206). The processing continues with the flow chart shown
in FIG. 18.
[0125] At step (372), the datagram generated at step (368) is
received at the client computer (200).
[0126] At step (374), the display of FIG. 10 is generated, and in
particular the display on the computer includes the display of the
played hands (70), the ranking indicia (100) including the payout
for each played hand, the total win (item (90) in FIG. 10), and the
bonus payout (155) of FIG. 10. The deal icon toggles to DEAL as
shown in the lower right of FIG. 10.
[0127] If the player then activates the DEAL icon the process (300)
of FIGS. 14-18 repeats. If the player activates the DOUBLE icon
(50) (FIG. 4, FIG. 10), the double side wager is played as
explained previously in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6 and the
client computer (200) and gaming server (202) conduct additional
processing and exchange messages to play the side wager, as
indicated at (378). These details of this processing are omitted
from the present discussion but can be readily developed by persons
skilled in the art.
[0128] The processing of FIGS. 14-18 is performed in parallel for a
multitude of remotely located gaming clients (computers) connected
to the gaming server.
[0129] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that we have
described a gaming server (202) adapted for communication with a
remote gaming device (100) over a network (206). The network (206)
could be a local area network in an embodiment where the remote
gaming device (100) and the gaming server (202) are in the same
building (e.g., in a casino environment). The gaming server (202)
comprises a computing platform (e.g., Windows Server 2003) and a
game service module 212 implemented in software executable by the
computing platform. The gaming server module includes instructions
(a) for receiving a datagram from the remote gaming device
representing (1) a wager on a plurality of hands in a multi-play
poker game, and (2) a wager on a bonus feature, wherein, in the
bonus feature, an additional payout is determined according to a
bonus pay table, the bonus payout occurring when a minimum number
of hands (M) have a predetermined minimum poker hand ranking or
better, where M is an integer and 2.ltoreq.M .ltoreq.N, and N is an
integer representing the number of hands played in the plurality of
hands;
[0130] (b) responsively generating a plurality of playing hands,
and
[0131] (c) transmitting a datagram containing data representing the
playing hands to the remote gaming device, the playing hands to be
displayed on the remote gaming device in a multi-play poker game,
the datagram further indicating the results of the wagers (1) and
(2) on the plurality of playing hands.
[0132] From the foregoing it will also be appreciated that we have
described a client computer 200 for playing a multi-play poker game
with a pool hand 12 and bonus feature, comprising a general purpose
computing platform (e.g., PC with Windows operating system), and a
memory storing gaming software comprising a set of machine-readable
instructions. The instructions include communications utilities 228
(FIG. 13) for enabling the client computer to communicate with a
remotely located gaming server and a file (232, FIG. 13) containing
logic required for the multi-play poker game, and for controlling
the presentation of the game to the player, and wherein the logic
includes code wherein the player may make a bonus wager that a
minimum number of hands (M) will have a predetermined minimum poker
hand ranking or better, where M is an integer and
2.ltoreq.M.ltoreq.N, wherein N is an integer representing the
number of hands played in the multi-play poker game.
[0133] While presently preferred embodiments have been described in
some detail, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that
variation can be made from the specifics of the disclosed
embodiments without departure from the scope of the invention. For
example, the bonus feature wager may be made mandatory and not
discretionary as described in these embodiments. This variation can
be achieved by eliminating the previously described bonus feature
check box (150) with an automatic bonus feature wager on each turn
of the game without requiring an explicit action by the player.
Further, the multi-hand game may not require the player to make,
either explicitly or implicitly, an additional wager on the bonus
feature of the game. In other words, the bonus feature involving
the second pay table may apply unconditionally requiring the player
to only make the wager on the multiple playing hands, thus making
the bonus feature a "free bet".
[0134] Still further, while the bonus feature has been described in
conjunction with one specific embodiment of multi-play poker with a
pool hand, the concept of the bonus feature of FIGS. 7-10 is
generally applicable to multi-play poker games.
[0135] Still further, the detailed processing shown in FIGS. 14-18
is offered by way of example and not limitation as to particular
processing sequence and communication flow between the client and
server. Other processing steps or message flow sequence can occur.
Yet further, the multi-play poker game may not involve a separate
pool hand (12) that is not played and is not completed as described
above. The invention is directly applicable to a multi-play poker
game where a player selects none, one or more cards to be held from
one of the playing hands, which is a played hand and which is
completed by removing and replacing the card therein that are not
designated as held cards. All questions regarding the scope of the
invention are to be determined by reference to the appended
claims.
* * * * *