U.S. patent application number 11/487713 was filed with the patent office on 2008-01-17 for method of playing a poker game.
Invention is credited to Jeffrey Alan Starzec.
Application Number | 20080012222 11/487713 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38948470 |
Filed Date | 2008-01-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080012222 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Starzec; Jeffrey Alan |
January 17, 2008 |
Method of playing a poker game
Abstract
A method of playing an improved version of Texas Hold'em poker
is disclosed which includes providing any player the opportunity
prior to the exposure of the fifth community or river card to
declare that such player is ahead in the hand (has the best poker
hand) among the other players still in the hand at the time of
declaration and guaranteeing any player who correctly makes such a
declaration a portion of the pot regardless of whether the player
has the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand. This
improved method allows players to protect themselves against and
reduce the magnitude and frequency of bad beats inflicted by the
extremely large number of inexperienced players that dominate Texas
Hold'em poker.
Inventors: |
Starzec; Jeffrey Alan;
(Sugar Land, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jeffrey Alan Starzec
1414 Forest Bend Drive
Sugar Land
TX
77479
US
|
Family ID: |
38948470 |
Appl. No.: |
11/487713 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/292 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2001/005 20130101;
A63F 3/00157 20130101; A63F 1/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/292 |
International
Class: |
A63F 1/00 20060101
A63F001/00 |
Claims
1. A method of playing Texas Hold'em poker comprising the steps of:
a) providing any Texas Hold'em poker player an option to declare
that said player's hand is the best poker hand at the time of the
declaration; b) making a first determination as to whether said
declaring player did in fact have the best poker hand among a
predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration; c)
making a second determination as to whether said declaring player
has the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand; and d)
paying said declaring player a predetermined portion of the pot
based on said determinations.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined set of players
is all the players still remaining in the hand at the exact time of
said declaration.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined set of players
is all the players still remaining in the hand at the end of the
betting round in which a declaration has been made.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did have the best poker hand among said
predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration and
the second determination is made that said declaring player does
not have the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand, wherein
said predetermined portion of the pot is equal to one divided by
the number of players in the hand at its conclusion.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did have the best poker hand among said
predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration and
the second determination is made that said declaring player does
have the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand, wherein
said predetermined portion of the pot is 100%, unless at least one
other remaining player also correctly declared having the best
poker hand, wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is 100%
minus any predetermined portions of the pot payable to other said
remaining players who made correct declarations.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein payment of said predetermined
portion of the pot is additionally conditioned on said declaring
player remaining in the hand until its conclusion.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration,
wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is zero.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration,
wherein said declaring player automatically loses 100% of the pot
even if said declaring player had the best poker hand at the
conclusion of the hand.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration,
wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is zero, unless all
other players folded to said declaring player, wherein said
predetermined portion of the pot is 100%.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration
and all remaining players have incorrectly made a declaration that
they had the best hands at the time of their declaration, wherein
said predetermined portion of the pot is split equally among all
remaining players.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration
and further comprising splitting the pot equally among the players
that were in the hand at the time of the declaration but
subsequently folded, if all said players folded on the same round
of betting that the declaration occurred.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the best poker hand among
said predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration,
wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is zero and further
comprising penalizing said declaring player if all players folded
their hand on the same betting round as the declaration.
13. A method of playing Texas Hold'em poker comprising the steps
of: a) providing any Texas Hold'em poker player an option to
declare that said player's hand is the best poker hand at the time
of the declaration; b) making a determination as to whether said
declaring player did in fact have the best poker hand among a
predetermined set of players at the time of said declaration; and
c) paying said declaring player a predetermined portion of the pot
based on said determination.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said declaring player ceases to
participate in the hand such that said declaring player's hand is
not included for purposes of deciding which player has the best
poker hand at the conclusion of the hand but if the determination
is made that said declaring player did have the best poker hand
among said predetermined set of players at the time of said
declaration then said declaring player is entitled to the
predetermined portion of the pot.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein said predetermined portion of
the pot is one divided by the number of players remaining in the
hand at the conclusion of the betting round in which the
declaration was made and said portion relates only to the pot as it
exists at the end of the betting round in which the declaration was
made.
16. A method of playing Texas Hold'em poker comprising the steps
of: a) providing any Texas Hold'em poker player an option to
declare that said player's hand has the best chance of becoming the
best poker hand when the hand is completed; b) making a first
determination as to whether said declaring player did in fact have
the hand that had the best chance of becoming the best poker hand
at the conclusion of the hand among a predetermined set of players
at the time of said declaration; c) making a second determination
as to whether said declaring player has the best poker hand at the
conclusion of the hand; and d) paying said declaring player a
predetermined portion of the pot based on said determinations.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein said predetermined set of
players is all the players still remaining in the hand at the exact
time of said declaration.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein said predetermined set of
players is all the players still remaining in the hand at the end
of the betting round in which a declaration has been made.
19. The method of claim 16 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did have the hand that had the best
chance of becoming the best poker hand at the conclusion of the
hand among said predetermined set of players at the time of said
declaration and the second determination is made that said
declaring player does not have the best poker hand at the
conclusion of the hand, wherein said predetermined portion of the
pot is equal to one divided by the number of players in the hand at
its conclusion.
20. The method of claim 16 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did have the hand that had the best
chance of becoming the best poker hand at the conclusion of the
hand among said predetermined set of players at the time of said
declaration and the second determination is made that said
declaring player does have the best poker hand at the conclusion of
the hand, wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is 100%,
unless at least one other remaining player also correctly declared
having the best chance of having the best poker hand, wherein said
predetermined portion of the pot is 100% minus any predetermined
portions of the pot payable to other said remaining players who
made correct declarations.
21. The method of claim 16 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the hand that had the best
chance of becoming the best poker hand at the conclusion of the
hand among said predetermined set of players at the time of said
declaration, wherein said predetermined portion of the pot is
zero.
22. The method of claim 16 wherein the first determination is made
that said declaring player did not have the hand that had the best
chance of becoming the best poker hand at the conclusion of the
hand among said predetermined set of players at the time of said
declaration, wherein said declaring player automatically loses 100%
of the pot even if said declaring player had the best poker hand at
the conclusion of the hand.
23. A method of playing Texas Hold'em poker comprising the steps
of: a) providing any Texas Hold'em poker player an option to
declare that said player's hand has the best chance of becoming the
best poker hand when the hand is completed; b) making a
determination as to whether said declaring player did in fact have
the hand that had the best chance of becoming the best poker hand
at the conclusion of the hand among a predetermined set of players
at the time of said declaration; and c) paying said declaring
player a predetermined portion of the pot based on said
determination.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein said declaring player ceases to
participate in the hand such that said declaring player's hand is
not included for purposes of deciding which player has the best
poker hand at the conclusion of the hand but if the determination
is made that said declaring player did have the hand that had the
best chance of becoming the best poker hand at the conclusion of
the hand among said predetermined set of players at the time of
said declaration then said declaring player is entitled to said
predetermined portion of the pot.
25. The method of claim 23 wherein said predetermined portion of
the pot is one divided by the number of players remaining in the
hand at the conclusion of the betting round in which the
declaration was made and said portion relates only to the pot as
exists at the end of the betting round in which the declaration was
made.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to poker games and methods,
and more particularly to a method for playing a poker game that is
an improvement and variation to the "Texas Hold'em" poker game.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Numerous poker games currently exist. Each poker game has
different rules and variations thereof and numerous patents have
been granted in the field of methods for playing poker games. Some
examples of poker games include: Texas Hold'em poker, five card
draw poker, five card stud poker, seven card stud poker, Caribbean
stud poker and Omaha poker. Poker games can differ in many ways,
including whether a player plays against other players or against a
dealer, whether community cards are available for all players to
use, whether some of a player's cards are exposed to the player's
opponents, the number of cards given to each player, whether a
player may exchange received cards for new cards and when and how
betting occurs. Although there are many poker games, one poker game
in particular, "Texas Hold'em" or just "Hold'em" for short, has
seen its popularity rise tremendously in recent years.
[0003] Texas Hold'em is a community card poker game played with a
standard 52-card deck. It is generally played with between 2 and 10
people. Like most other poker games, the objective of Texas Hold'em
is to win the pot of money bet by the players by either forming the
best poker hand out of the seven cards available or by betting to
cause other players to fold and abandon their hands. Play begins
with each player being dealt two cards face down, which are called
the player's "hole" or "pocket cards." These are the only cards
each player will receive individually. A round of "pre-flop"
betting then occurs. Then the dealer discards or "burns" one card
and exposes three face-up community cards called "the flop."
Another round of betting ensues, another card is burned and one
card is exposed face-up as a community card called "fourth street"
or "the turn." Yet another round of betting takes place, a final
card is burned and one final card is exposed face-up as a community
card called "fifth street" or "the river." A final round of betting
takes place.
[0004] Normally a Texas Hold'em hand starts with the player
immediately to the left of the designated dealer posting a "small
blind" and the player immediately to the left of that player
posting a "big blind." These are forced bets to induce action or
play in the hand. The amounts of the small and big blind vary
depending on the stakes of the game, but the big blind is usually
twice that of the small blind. The pre-flop round of betting then
starts with the person to the left of the big blind. That person
has to decide whether to "call" or match the big blind, raise the
big blind or fold the hand. Betting continues clockwise around the
table with each subsequent player deciding to call the big blind
or, if a prior player had raised the big blind, call such raise,
raise or fold. The betting round ends once each player has either
folded or called the big blind and any raises. Subsequent betting
rounds start immediately to the left of the dealer and proceed
clockwise in the same manner, except that since the blinds are now
part of the pot, players are allowed to "check" (remain in the hand
without betting) if no bet has previously occurred. If all players
check on a betting round it is called "checking around."
[0005] The type of Texas Hold'em being played dictates the amount
of any raise. The three most common types of Texas Hold'em are
"Limit Texas Hold'em" (any raise in the first two betting rounds
must equal the big blind and normally two times the big blind in
the last two betting rounds), "Pot-Limit Texas Hold'em" (maximum
raise is the size of the pot) and "No-Limit Texas Hold'em" (player
may raise up to all of the chips or money the player has left at
the table, which is called going "all-in").
[0006] If a player bets and all remaining players fold, then the
player wins the pot and is not required to show his hole cards. If
two or more players remain after the final betting round, each
player forms the best hand possible using the player's hole cards
and the five community cards. Players are not required to use their
hole cards (such players are said to be "playing the board"). The
remaining player with the best poker hand wins the pot. If multiple
remaining players share the best poker hand then they split the
pot. Texas Hold'em poker hands are ranked in the following order
(highest to lowest) like most poker games:
[0007] 1. Royal flush (ace through 10, all of the same suit)
[0008] 2. Straight flush (five cards in a row, all of the same
suit)
[0009] 3. Four of kind (all four of a card, like four sevens)
[0010] 4. Full house (three of a kind and two of a kind in one
hand)
[0011] 5. Flush (five of a suit)
[0012] 6. Straight (five cards in a row)
[0013] 7. Three of a kind (three of a card, like three sevens)
[0014] 8. Two pair (two of a kind twice in one hand)
[0015] 9. One pair (two of a card, like two sevens)
[0016] 10. Highest cards (Ace is the highest card in the deck)
[0017] The spike in popularity of Texas Hold'em is traced in part
to the improbable victory in 2003 of an unknown amateur player,
Chris Moneymaker, at Texas Hold'em's most prestigious event, the
Main Event of the World Series of Poker. The excitement generated
by Moneymaker's historic victory encouraged hundreds of thousands
of people to take up the game with the general attitude being "if
he can do it so can I." One indication of Texas Hold'em's increased
popularity has been attendance at the Main Event of the World
Series of Poker itself: in 2003, 838 people participated in the
Main Event; in 2004, 2,576 people participated; in 2005, 5,619
people participated; in 2006, event planners are predicting 8,000
participants.
[0018] Another leading generator of growth of Texas Hold'em has
been its increasing availability on the internet. Although fifteen
years ago one could not play Texas Hold'em on the internet, today
there are numerous internet sites such as www.partvpoker.com and
www.pokerstars.com, where players can learn the game and play
against other people on the internet for free or for real money.
Because of the relative ease of playing on the internet as opposed
to finding and traveling to traditional venues for playing poker,
like brick and mortar casinos and poker rooms, Texas Hold'em play
has exploded on the internet. The remarkable rise of internet poker
is illustrated in Party Gaming's 2005 Annual Report (Party Gaming
is the parent company of PartyPoker, the operator of
www.partvpoker.com) where reported revenues of PartyPoker increased
from $153 million in 2003 to $977 million in 2005: "On average,
PartyPoker handles around 32 hands of real money poker per second,
every hour, every day, every month. Over $45 billion was wagered on
the site in 2005, or $1,454 per second."
[0019] While there have been many positive effects of Texas
Hold'em's increased popularity, notably greater coverage of the
game in both print and televison and increased opportunities to
play, there have been negative effects as well. In short, the
phenomenal growth of Texas Hold'em has ushered into the game (both
live and internet games) large numbers of inexperienced players who
now dominate the poker landscape. Their presence and resulting poor
play have led to countless frustrations and "bad beats" among more
experienced and sophisticated players, fundamentally altering the
nature of the game for the worse. The problem is particulary acute
online where the faceless nature of playing on the internet has
reduced the normal reputational costs of poor play and immature
behavior present in live play.
[0020] Examples of typical types of poor play include: [0021] 1.
Chasing Cards. Inexperienced players like to chase cards. For
example, if a flop includes two cards of the same suit and an
inexperienced player's hole cards are both of that suit, then such
player often "chases" a final card of the that suit to make a
flush, typically calling large bets after the flop and after fourth
street to do so. Experienced players usually do not call large bets
(especially large bets into small pots) to chase cards because the
odds (often called the pot odds) of being successful do not warrant
the play. Similarly, inexperienced players often chase cards to
make a straight. [0022] 2. Playing Too Many Hands. Inexperienced
players like to play too many hands. That is, inexperienced players
call or raise pre-flop with weak or "garbage" hole cards. Although
experienced players sometimes play weak hole cards to keep their
opponents off-balanced, they usually do not play weak hole cards
often and they normally try not to play too many hands generally.
This is because as poker professional Phil Hellmuth stated "the
plain fact is that if you play too many hands in a pro-level poker
game, you just cannot win, certainly not in the long run and
probably not even on just one given night, no matter how lucky you
are." [0023] 3. Excessive Bluffing and Going All-in-All-the-Time.
Inexperienced players like to bluff (calling or raising large
amounts with poor hands) too many times, often going "all-in" in
doing so. While strategic bluffing is undoubtedly part of Texas
Hold'em, experienced players do not bluff or move all-in
excessively because it diminishes the power of their future bluffs
and "all-in" moves and increases the likelihood that their
opponents will call on future hands.
[0024] The fundamental problem with these and other poor Texas
Hold'em plays is that poor play is rewarded too frequently in Texas
Hold'em. That is, while the odds of a poor move paying off are low,
they are not low enough to discourage the ubiquitous inexperienced
player from making them. For example, even if a player can only be
helped by one card left in the deck on the river (say the ace of
spades for instance), that player still has a 2.2% of getting the
card (calculation: 1 divided by (52 cards in the deck minus 2 known
hole cards minus 3 known flop cards minus 1 known fourth street
card)). Similarly, if a player attempts to chase a flush on the
river with two hole cards of the same suit and two cards of that
suit on the board, the odds the player will be successful in making
a flush are 19.6%. If an inexperienced player plays hole cards of 7
and 2 of different suits against a player with pocket aces (not of
the same suits of either the 7 or the 2) (pocket aces are the best
starting hand in Texas Hold'em), the pre-flop odds on the
inexperienced player winning are 12.4%.
[0025] In the long run over hundreds of hands against hundreds of
different opponents, such poor and inexperienced play is not
profitable. However, in the short run on any particular hand
against any particular opponent such poor play does in fact pay off
2.2%, 19.6% and 12.4% of the time in the examples above. In such
cases, the player beaten by a poor play is said to have had a "bad
beat" or have been unlucky. Given the sheer magnitude of
inexperienced players playing today bad beats are all too familiar
when playing Texas Hold'em. Such bad beats are particularly
problematic in No-Limit Texas Hold'em because a player's entire
chip stack or money can and often is at risk, and many experienced
players have lost all of their chips or money because of such "bad
beats." Thus while poor play is not profitable for the
inexperienced player over the long run to the benefit of the entire
field of players, it can and does result in disaster to individual
players who receive bad beats. The plight of individual players
subjected to bad beats has resulted in the creation of several
colorful and derogatory names for their inexperienced but lucky
opponents: "fish," "donkey," and "suckout." Although occasional bad
beats have historically been part of the game, the domination of
the game by the inexperienced, making poor play after poor play,
has altered the nature of the game: bad beats are too common and
some players fearing bad beats elect not to follow usually optimal
strategies.
[0026] The only attempts at reducing the negative effects of the
large number of inexperienced players on Texas Hold'em and poor
play have related to the size of the stakes. That is, buy-in
amounts (the amount required to play to enter a Texas Hold'em
tournament) and stakes (typical betting levels when not playing a
tournament) have sometimes been raised so as to price out the mass
of inexperienced players who simply do not have the money to play
at higher levels. In fact, serious debate is taking place as to
whether to increase the buy-in amount for the Main Event at the
World Series of Poker, Texas Hold'em's most prestigious event,
because of the effects of too many inexperienced players in the
event. This is not a solution for players that do not want to play
for high amounts.
[0027] Thus, a need exists to provide an improved Texas Hold'em
poker game that allows players to protect themselves against and
reduce their exposure to inexperienced or poor play and bad luck,
thereby reducing the magnitude and frequency of bad beats inflicted
by the extremely large number of inexperienced players that
dominate Texas Hold'em poker.
SUMMARY
[0028] The present invention is directed to an improved method of
playing a poker game that is better than the present Texas Hold'em
poker game.
[0029] The present invention is further directed to an improved
version of Texas Hold'em poker that allows players to protect
themselves and reduce their exposure to inexperienced or poor play
and bad luck, thereby reducing the magnitude and frequency of bad
beats inflicted by the large number of inexperienced players that
dominate Texas Hold'em poker, by providing players the option,
prior to the exposure of the river card, of declaring that their
hand is "ahead" (is the best poker hand (or, in the alternative, is
the hand that has the best chance to become the best poker hand at
the conclusion of the hand)) among the hands of other players
remaining in the hand at the exact time of declaration (or, in the
alternative, among the hands of the other players remaining in the
hand at the end of the betting round in which a declaration was
made) and by guaranteeing any player who correctly makes such a
declaration a predetermined portion of the pot regardless of
whether the player has the best poker hand at the conclusion of the
hand.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the
principles of the invention, reference will now be made to
preferred embodiments and specific language will be used to
describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no
limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.
Alterations and further modifications of the invention, and such
further applications of the principles of the invention as
illustrated herein, as would normally occur to one skilled in the
art to which the invention relates are further contemplated
herein.
[0031] The present invention is directed to a method for improving
Texas Hold'em poker comprising the steps of: [0032] a) providing
any player during any betting round prior to the exposure of the
river card, when it is such player's turn to check, call, raise or
fold such player's hand, the option, so long as such player does
not check or fold, of declaring that such player is "ahead" in the
hand (i.e., has the best poker hand (or, in the alternative, has
the hand that has the best chance to become the best poker hand at
the conclusion of the hand)) (e.g., "I'm ahead" or "I have the best
hand now") (each player may exercise this option only once per
hand); [0033] b) determining whether a player did or did not in
fact have the best poker hand at the time and among the players
still remaining in the hand at the exact time such player made the
declaration (or, in the alternative, among the other players
remaining in the hand at the end of the betting round in which a
declaration was made) by requiring players to retain and keep
separate their hole cards even if they subsequently decide not
remain in the hand (i.e., they fold their hand) so that once such a
contested hand is concluded all players in the hand at the time of
any declaration have the option of showing their hole cards to
determine whether such declaration was correct; [0034] c) paying
such declaring player a predetermined and guaranteed portion of the
final pot at the end of the hand, if such player did in fact have
the best poker hand at the time and among the players still
remaining in the hand at the exact time such player made the
declaration and if such player remained in the hand until it was
concluded; [0035] d) not paying such declaring player the
guaranteed portion of the final pot, if such player did in fact
have the best poker hand at the time and among the players still
remaining in the hand at the exact time such player made the
declaration but such player subsequently folded such player's hand;
[0036] e) not paying such declaring player any portion of the final
pot, if such player did NOT in fact have the best poker hand at the
time and among the players still remaining in the hand at the exact
time such player made the declaration, even if such player has the
best final poker hand and regardless of whether such player put
additional money into the pot after the declaration, in which case
100% of the pot goes to the remaining non-declaring player with the
best hand (subject to the rights of other players who correctly
made their own declaration), unless all other players subsequently
fold their hands to the declaring player, in which case the
declaring player receives 100% the final pot, and unless all
players remaining in the hand at its conclusion have incorrectly
declared being ahead, in which case the pot is split equally among
them (alternatively, an additional penalty may be assessed to such
declaring player making an incorrect declaration such as requiring
such player to pay all or some players a big blind or other
predetermined amounts); [0037] f) making such guaranteed portion of
the final pot equal to: [0038] i) one divided by the number of
players in the hand at its conclusion, if, after making a second
determination, the declaring player does not have the final best
poker hand (e.g., if one other player finishes the hand and has a
better hand than the declaring player, but the declaring player had
the best poker hand at the time when such player made the
declaration, then the declaring player is guaranteed 50% of the
final pot; if two other players finish the hand and one of them has
a better hand than the declaring player, the declaring player is
guaranteed 331/3% of the final pot); [0039] ii) 100%, if the
declaring player has the best final poker hand and no other player
correctly declared being ahead; or [0040] iii) 100% minus any
guaranteed portions payable to other remaining players, if any
other remaining player correctly declared having the best poker
hand.
[0041] The present invention uses some steps and features of the
traditional Texas Hold'em poker game including Texas Hold'em's
general object, structure and betting features.
[0042] However, the present invention provides for a novel
improvement to the method of playing traditional Texas Hold'em
poker in that a player has the option, during any betting round
prior to the exposure of the river card when it is such player's
turn to check, call, raise or fold such player's hand, to also
declare, so long as such player is not checking or folding such
player's hand, that such player is ahead in the hand. That is, the
player has the option of declaring that the player has the best
poker hand among the player's hole cards and any community cards
present, if any, at the exact time the declaration is made among
the players remaining in the hand at the time of the
declaration.
[0043] If the declaring player is correct and does in fact possess
the best current poker hand among the players in the hand at such
time, the player is guaranteed at least a portion of the final pot
should the player remain in the hand until its conclusion. If the
declaring player is correct and also has the best final poker hand,
the player is awarded 100% of the final pot, assuming no other
player correctly declared being ahead in that hand. If the
declaring player is correct but does not have the best final poker
hand, the player is awarded a portion of the pot equal to one
divided by the number of players in the hand at its conclusion.
Thus, if the declaring player was correct and two other players
finish the hand with one of them having the best final poker hand,
then the declaring player receives 331/3% of the final pot and the
player with the best final poker hand receives 662/3% of the final
pot.
[0044] If the declaring player is wrong and does not in fact
possess the best current poker hand among the players in the hand
at such time, the player automatically loses the hand (and may be
subject to further penalties), even if such player ends up with the
final best hand and even if such player subsequently adds to the
pot, unless all other players fold to the declaring player. If the
declaring player automatically loses the hand and others players
remain in the hand, the pot goes to the non-declaring player with
the best hand (subject to the rights of any other players who have
correctly made their own declaration). If all remaining players
have incorrectly declared being ahead, the pot is split equally
among them.
[0045] To determine whether a player in fact had the best poker
hand among the players in the hand at the time of a declaration,
all players are required to retain and keep separate their hole
cards once a declaration is made, even if a player decides to fold
such player's hole cards and is out of the hand. Once a contested
hand is finished the dealer will determine if a player made a
correct declaration by asking each player who was in the hand at
the exact time a declaration was made to show such player's cards.
When so asked a player may but is not required to so show his hole
cards. The dealer is charged with recalling and only taking into
account which, if any, flop or fourth street cards were exposed at
the time of the declaration when determining if the declaration was
correct.
[0046] Although a player may only declare being ahead once per
hand, multiple players may declare being ahead in the same hand.
For example if Players 1 and 2 each declare being ahead after the
flop (Player 1 was correct and Player 2 was incorrect) and Player 3
declares being ahead after fourth street (Player 3 was correct) and
Players 1, 2 and 3 finish the hand with Player 3 winning the hand,
then Player 1 would receive 331/3% of the final pot for being
correct, Player 2 would receive no portion of the final pot for
incorrectly declaring being ahead and Player 3 would receive 662/3%
of the pot for being correct and having the best final hand.
[0047] The ability to declare being ahead and the ramifications to
the distribution of the final pot on the correctness of such
declarations is a significant difference from traditional Texas
Hold'em poker. This major difference allows players to play certain
hands more conservatively when faced with inexperienced and poor
players and allows players the opportunity to reduce the pain of
any bad beats that might be inflicted by inexperienced or bad play
or bad luck.
[0048] For example, if a player with pocket aces and a pre-river
board showing another ace (making three aces for such player) but
two cards of the same suit, and such player suspects, from the
betting in this hand and from prior erratic and poor play by a
particular opponent, that such opponent will literally call any bet
to chase a flush, the player may bet and declare "I'm ahead." If
such player is correct and has the better hand when making the
declaration, then even if the opponent poorly calls and wins the
hand by hitting a flush, the declaring player is guaranteed 50% of
the pot. Thus, the ability to protect one's hand against poor play
by others reduces the effects of bad beats and other players' poor
play (e.g., this player at least received 50% of the pot).
[0049] Note that declaring being ahead is by nature a conservative
play because if taken seriously (see below regarding bluffing) it
reduces the chance that players, both experienced and
inexperienced, would stay in the hand. Players are less likely to
stay in the hand because after a correct declaration is made they
can only win part of the final pot instead of the entire pot (of
course, they will not know this for sure until the hand is over and
cards are revealed), thus reducing the "pot odds" of making any
call to stay in the hand. Because players are less likely to remain
in the hand and call future bets, the declaring player potentially
loses the upside when such player's strong hands hold up (not being
bad beat). This is the ultimate tradeoff presented by declaring one
is ahead: one is less likely to win bigger pots because other
players are less likely to put more money in the pot once a player
makes a declaration, but one is at least guaranteed a portion of an
albeit smaller pot if a bad beat occurs. Essentially, one can use
the declaration to protect against a poker disaster (a huge loss on
a bad beat) but will probably win less money than if a declaration
had not been made.
[0050] Note too that the method of this invention also reduces the
negative effects of inexperienced players excessively bluffing at
pots (making or calling large raises often by going all-in) by
raising the likelihood that other players will call a suspected
bluff (or not worry about making a large raise in anticipation of
another player calling on a bluff). It raises the likelihood of
other players calling a suspected bluff because such players can
declare being ahead when calling a suspect bluff and thus guarantee
themselves at least a portion of the final pot should the suspicion
be confirmed.
[0051] Because declaring being ahead carries with it penalties for
being wrong, its excessive use by inexperienced players is
unlikely. As stated above, if a player incorrectly declares being
ahead, then that player automatically loses the hand (unless all
other players fold after such declaration), even if the player has
the final best hand and even if a player adds money to the pot.
This significant penalty, along with other player's ability to
declare themselves ahead, reduces the chances that players will
excessively use declaring being ahead as a method of bluffing at
the pot. Simply put, the penalty is too large and too likely for
players to excessively use the declaration. That said,
sophisticated players are able to use the declaration as a bluffing
method, adding another layer of skill and complexity to poker.
[0052] While the invention has been particularly described with
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that the following and other
changes in form and details may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, and
without limitation, the present invention includes alterations to
the preferred embodiment such as which rounds of betting a player
may make the declaration, how many times a person may make the
declaration during a hand, a period of time or over a number of
hands, whether a predetermined number of players must or cannot
remain in the hand for a player to be allowed to make a
declaration, the size of the pot guaranteed to the declaring
player, whether to restrict the size of the pot guaranteed to the
declaring player by the size of the pot at the time of the
declaration, additional or different penalties of incorrectly
declaring being ahead (e.g., distributing the existing pot to the
players that were in the hand at the time of the declaration but
subsequently folded if all such players folded and if the
declaration was incorrect), whether a declaring player must
continue to play the pot until its conclusion (e.g., guaranteeing
the declaring player a portion of the current pot if such player is
correct but removing the player from future rounds of betting and
any accretions to the pot), whether the declaration should be for
the best current poker hand or the hand with the best of odds of
producing the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand,
whether payment of a guaranteed pot is made to a declaring player
if such player is in fact tied with (and therefore not ahead of)
other players, whether players are required to show their hole
cards when determining if another declaring player was correct in
making a declaration and whether a player must raise or call a
raise to be able to make the declaration.
CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE
[0053] Accordingly, the reader will see that, according to the
invention, the inventor has disclosed an improved method of playing
Texas Hold'em poker that allows players to protect themselves
against and reduce their exposure to inexperienced or poor play and
bad luck, thereby reducing the magnitude and frequency of bad beats
inflicted by the extremely large number of inexperienced players
that dominate Texas Hold'em poker, by providing players the
opportunity, prior to the exposure of the river card, the option of
declaring that their hand is "ahead" (is the best poker hand) among
the other hands of other players still in the hand at the time of
declaration and by guaranteeing any player who correctly makes such
a declaration a portion of the pot regardless of whether the player
has the best poker hand at the conclusion of the hand. In addition
to allowing players to protect and win a portion of the pot, it
also allows players an additional method of bluffing, which itself
adds another layer of skill and complexity when used sparingly by
more experienced players.
[0054] While the above description contains many specificities,
these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred
embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are
possible with the teachings of the invention, some of which are
discussed as alternative embodiments above. Accordingly, the scope
of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments
discussed herein but by the appended claims and their legal
equivalents.
[0055] All references cited herein are indicative of the level of
skill in the art and are hereby incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
* * * * *
References