U.S. patent application number 12/772052 was filed with the patent office on 2010-11-04 for poker game with variable payouts based on probabilities of winning.
Invention is credited to Stacy Friedman.
Application Number | 20100279756 12/772052 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39871423 |
Filed Date | 2010-11-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100279756 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Friedman; Stacy |
November 4, 2010 |
POKER GAME WITH VARIABLE PAYOUTS BASED ON PROBABILITIES OF
WINNING
Abstract
A poker game wherein conditions for a player's hand(s) and a
dealer's hand(s) are different such that the player may have
different probabilities of winning than the dealer. Payouts are
adjusted such that the player's hands are disadvantaged compared to
the dealer (e.g., the dealer can have more cards in the dealer's
hand) so that the player's payouts may be more than even money to
compensate for long odds.
Inventors: |
Friedman; Stacy; (Beaverton,
OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MUSKIN & CUSICK LLC
100 West Main Street, SUITE 205
Lansdale
PA
19446
US
|
Family ID: |
39871423 |
Appl. No.: |
12/772052 |
Filed: |
April 30, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11737753 |
Apr 20, 2007 |
7708280 |
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12772052 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3293 20130101;
A63F 2001/005 20130101; G07F 17/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/13 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method to play a wagering game, the method comprising:
providing a physical deck of cards; receiving a wager from a
player; revealing, from the physical deck of cards, a player's hand
and a dealer's hand; continuing to add revealed cards to the
dealer's hand until the dealer outranks the player's hand; and
resolving the wager based on a number of cards in the dealer's
hand.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the continuing stops
adding revealed cards to the dealer's hand after the dealer's hand
comprises a predetermined number of dealer's cards.
3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein whether the dealer
outranks the player's hand is determined by taking a best X card
hand out of all cards in the dealer's hand and comparing this to a
best Y card hand out of all cards in the player's hand.
4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein x=5.
5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein y=2, and the player's
hand comprises two cards.
6. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein a dealer's initial
hand comprises two cards.
7. An electronic device to play a wagering game, the device
comprising: an input device; an output device; a processing unit
configured to operate with the input device and the output device,
the processing unit configured to perform the following
instructions: receiving a wager from a player; revealing, from the
physical deck of cards, a player's hand and a dealer's hand;
continuing to add revealed cards to the dealer's hand until the
dealer outranks the player's hand; and resolving the wager based on
a number of cards in the dealer's hand.
8. The device as recited in claim 7, wherein the continuing stops
adding revealed cards to the dealer's hand after the dealer's hand
comprises a predetermined number of dealer's cards.
9. The device as recited in claim 7, wherein whether the dealer
outranks the player's hand is determined by taking a best X card
hand out of all cards in the dealer's hand and comparing this to a
best Y card hand out of all cards in the player's hand.
10. The device as recited in claim 9, wherein x=5.
11. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein y=2, and the
player's hand comprises two cards.
12. The device as recited in claim 9, wherein a dealer's initial
hand comprises two cards.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present general inventive concept is directed to a
method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium directed to
a wagering game based on poker hands.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Poker games are a very popular form of table games in a
casino. Several poker-like table games have been recently
successful in casinos. These include games such as 3 Card Poker and
Caribbean Stud Poker. A disadvantage of these games is that there
is only one way for the player to beat the dealer, that is if the
player gets a higher ranked poker hand than the dealer, wherein the
player wins a payout.
[0005] It would be desirable for a poker-like game to permit
players to make wagers on different propositions with different
chances of winning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an aspect of the present invention to provide exciting
variations of card games that can be played in casinos.
[0007] The above aspects can be obtained by a method that includes
(a) providing a player with an opportunity to wager on at least one
hand out of a first hand and a second hand, wherein the second hand
has a characteristic which gives the second hand a higher
probability of outranking a third hand upon revealing of all cards
in the first hand and the second hand and the third hand than a
probability of the first hand outranking the third hand; (b)
receiving at least one wager from the player; (c) determining if
the first hand is wagered on by the player, and if so, then
revealing the first hand; (d) determining if the second hand is
wagered on by the player, and if so, then revealing the second
hand; (e) revealing the third hand; (f) determining if the first
hand is wagered on by the player, and if so, then evaluating if the
first hand outranks the third hand, and if so, then paying any
wagers on the first hand at a first payout rate; and (g)
determining if the second hand is wagered on by the player, and if
so, then evaluating if the second hand outranks the third hand, and
if so, then paying any wagers on the second hand at a second payout
rate, (h) wherein the first payout rate is higher than the second
payout rate.
[0008] The above aspects can also be obtained by a method that
includes (a) receiving a wager from a player; (b) revealing a
player's hand and a dealer's hand; (c) continuing to add revealed
cards to the dealer's hand until the dealer's outranks the player's
hand; and (d) resolving the wager based on a number of cards in the
dealer's hand.
[0009] These together with other aspects and advantages which will
be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and
operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part
hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Further features and advantages of the present invention, as
well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the
present invention, will become apparent and more readily
appreciated from the following description of the preferred
embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of
which:
[0011] FIG. 1A is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering
on multiple card hands versus a dealer hand, according to an
embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 1B is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering
on separate multiple card hands versus a dealer hand, according to
an embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method to
implement a wagering game involving multiple hands, according to an
embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 3 is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering on
a number of cards required by a dealer to beat a player's hand(s),
according to an embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method of
wagering on a number of cards required by a dealer to beat a
player's hand(s), according to an embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 5 is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering on
multiple player hands with predetermined cards, according to an
embodiment; and
[0017] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of
hardware used to implement an electronic gaming device (EGD),
according to an embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Reference will now be made in detail to the presently
preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to like elements throughout.
[0019] The present general inventive concept relates to a method,
system, and computer readable storage which allows a casino to
offer to player(s) a poker type game which can provide a player one
or more wagers which can pay varying payouts based on probabilities
of winning conditions for the respective wagers.
[0020] Embodiments described herein generally involve ranking poker
hands and comparing competing ranked hands to each other to
determined a higher ranked poker hand, which is typically the
winner. Table I below represents just one example of how poker
hands can be ranked, although of course any other methodology of
ranking poker hands can be used as well. The lower number, the
better, thus according to Table I, a Royal flush (number one) would
beat a straight flush (number 2).
Table I
Rank Hand
[0021] 1 Royal flush 2 Straight flush 3 Four of a kind
4 Full House
5 Flush
6 Straight
[0022] 7 Three of a kind 8 Two pair
9 Pair
[0023] 9 High card
[0024] It is noted that in Table I, there can be ranks with ranks
as well. For example, if hand A is a pair of 9's and hand B is a
pair of 2's, since 9 is a higher rank than 2, hand A would have a
higher rank than hand B. As known in poker, after reviewing all
cards available to a particular hand, a hand is ranked by using the
cards out of the available hand that can create the highest X card
poker hand (X is typically 5, although it can be any other number
of cards as well). Thus, if hand A comprises the following seven
cards: ace of spades, ace of clubs, ace of diamonds, three of
spades, four of spades, nine of clubs, and ten of hearts, the best
five card poker hand would be ace spades/ace clubs/ace diamonds/ten
hearts/nine of clubs, which would have a rank of three of a kind.
The ten hearts and nine of clubs are used because these are the
highest cards out of the bunch, so in case of a tie (e.g., another
competing hand also has a rank of three aces {technically
impossible if using a single standard 52 card deck}) then the
highest card not in the three of a kind is used to break a tie (ten
hearts). If that card also ties with the competing hand (extremely
unlikely), then the last card is used (nine of clubs) to break a
tie.
[0025] Certain ranks may not be active. For example, straights and
flushes may not be allowed on any of the variations described
herein. This may be necessary because of a hand is comprises of
less than five cards, making a straight (consecutive cards) or a
flush (cards of a same suit) may be too easy.
[0026] How to evaluate and rank poker hands is well known in the
art, and such known methodology can be applied to any of the
embodiments described herein. In a further embodiment, a lower
ranked hand would beat a higher ranked hand (as opposed to the
standard higher ranked hand beating a lower ranked hand).
[0027] Embodiments described herein relate to providing a player
with various wagering opportunities to beat a dealer's hand (e.g.,
the player hopes his or her hand(s) will have a higher poker rank
than the dealer's hand). The player can be presented with multiple
hands to play against a dealer, who can also play a single or
multiple hands as well.
[0028] FIG. 1A is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering
on multiple card hands versus a dealer hand, according to an
embodiment.
[0029] A casino table 100 is used to deal a dealer's hand
comprising a dealer's first card 102, a dealer's second card 104, a
dealer's third card 106, a dealer's fourth card 108, and a dealer's
fifth card 110, all combined to form the dealer's hand. The cards
can be dealt initially face down and revealed after wagers are
placed or they can be dealt face up after the wagers are
placed.
[0030] A first player's card 112 and a second player's card 114
combine to form a player's two card hand. The first player's card
112 and the second player's card 114 and the third player's card
116 combine to form a player's three card hand. The first player's
card 112 and the second player's card 114 and the third player's
card 116 and the fourth player's card 118 combine to form a
player's four card hand. Typically, all of the player's cards are
not dealt (or dealt but not revealed) until the player has placed
all of the player's wager(s).
[0031] A two card hand betting circle 130 can be used by the player
to place a two card wager to bet on the player's two card hand. A
three card hand betting circle 132 can be used by the player to
place a three card wager to bet on the player's three card hand. A
four card hand betting circle 134 can be used by the player to
place a four card wager to bet on the player's four card hand.
[0032] The player may be required to bet on all the available bets
(e.g., the two card betting circle 130, the three card betting
circle 132, and the four card betting circle 134), or the player
may place any combination of these wagers at the player's
discretion.
[0033] A paytable 140 displays payouts for when the player wins
each of the different hands (e.g., two card hand, three card hand,
four card hand).
[0034] After the player places his or her wager(s), then all of the
player's cards and the dealer's cards can be revealed. If the
player's two card hand beats the dealer's hand then the player wins
the two card wager using a payout shown on the paytable 140. If the
player's three card hand beats the dealer's hand then the player
then the player wins the three card wager using a payout shown on
the paytable 140. If the player's four card hand beats the dealer's
hand then the player wins the four card wager using a payout shown
on the paytable 140.
[0035] Since in this example the dealer has five cards and the
player can have two, three, or four cards, the dealer is more
likely to have the higher hand. Since the player is more likely the
beat the dealer using four cards than three, the payout for beating
the dealer using three cards is higher than the payout for beating
the dealer using four cards. The payouts used can reflect the
probabilities of a player winning based on the conditions of the
wager (e.g., number of cards the dealer has, number of cards the
player has, any predetermined cards, etc.)
[0036] An example of how this game can be played is as follows. In
this example, the only poker ranks (in order from best to worst)
allowed are: four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair, pair, high
card. Joe (the player) bets $1 on the two card wager, $2 on the
three card wager, and $3 on the four card wager. Five cards are
dealt to the dealer (3 spades/4 clubs/10 spades/9 hearts/3 clubs).
Four cards are dealt to the player (9 diamonds/3 hearts/10 hearts/9
clubs). Joe's two card hand is: 9 diamonds/3 hearts which has a
rank of 9 high. The dealer's hand rank (using all of the dealer's
cards) is a pair of 3's. Thus, the dealer's hand beats the player's
two card hand and Joe loses his two card wager. The player's three
card hand is: 9 diamonds/3 hearts/10 hearts, for a rank of 10 high.
The dealer's pair of 3's beats the player's three card hand and Joe
loses his three card wager. The player's four card hand is: 9
diamonds/3 hearts/10 hearts/9 clubs, for a rank of a pair of 9's.
The pair of 9's ranks higher than the dealer's pair of 3's, and
thus Joe wins the four card wager. Since the payout on the four
card wager is 2:1, Joe wins 2.times. his original bet of $3 or
$6.
[0037] It is noted that of course any number of cards can be used
for the player's and/or dealer's hand, any number of wagers can be
provided to the player for any number of respective cards. It is
also noted that some cards (either at least one player's card
and/or at least one dealer's card) may be revealed to the player
before wager(s) are placed or after an initial wager(s) is placed
but before further wager(s) is placed. Further, instead if dealing
all cards, any of the card values may be predetermined (e.g., a
particular card must have a value of, for example, 8 hearts, and
this value can even be printed on the game felt).
[0038] FIG. 1B is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering
on separate multiple card hands versus a dealer hand, according to
an embodiment.
[0039] A casino table 150 is used to deal a dealer's hand
comprising a dealer's first card 152, a dealer's second card 154, a
dealer's third card 156, a dealer's fourth card 158, and a dealer's
fifth card 160, all combined to form the dealer's hand. The cards
can be dealt initially face down and revealed after wagers are
placed or they can be dealt face up after the wagers are
placed.
[0040] A player's two card hand 162, the player's three card hand
164, and the player's four card hand 166, are dealt. Typically, all
of the player's cards are not dealt (or dealt but not revealed)
until the player has placed all of the player's wager(s).
[0041] A two card hand betting circle 168 can be used by the player
to place a two card wager to bet on the player's two card hand. A
three card hand betting circle 170 can be used by the player to
place a three card wager to bet on the player's three card hand. A
four card hand betting circle 172 can be used by the player to
place a four card wager to bet on the player's four card hand. A
paytable 180 is used to display payouts (also known as payout
rates), that is, what multiple of a wager is paid on a winning
wager.
[0042] The same game rules as described with respect to FIG. 1A can
be applied to FIG. 1B. The main difference is that in FIG. 1B,
separate hands are dealt for each of the player's hands as opposed
to using common cards to form the different player hand as in FIG.
1A. The expected player returns should remain the same for each
version, but the win rates for each of the individual wagers in the
same game in the FIG. 1A version would typically have a higher
correlation (because hands share common cards) and thus an overall
net win for multiple wagers would have a higher variance, than the
FIG. 1B version, where it is more likely that one hand may win but
another may lose.
[0043] FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method to
implement a wagering game involving multiple hands, according to an
embodiment.
[0044] The method can begin with operation 200, which receives
wager(s) from the player(s). The player(s) can place chips in
respective betting circles at appropriate times, as known in the
art.
[0045] From operation 200, the method can proceed to operation 202,
wherein all player's cards and all dealer's cards are revealed. In
a further embodiment, at least one dealer's card(s) and/or at least
one player's card(s) can be revealed and then wager(s) can be
accepted from the player(s), upon which all cards can then be
revealed.
[0046] From operation 202, the method can proceed to operation 204,
which compares a player's hand to the dealer's hand and determined
which hand is a winner based on winning criteria or criterion
(e.g., which hand has the highest standard poker rank value). If
the dealer's hand has a poker rank that is higher than a poker rank
of the player, then the player typically loses, while if the
player's hand has the higher rank, then the player typically wins
and the player's respective wager for that hand is paid
accordingly.
[0047] From operation 204, the method proceeds to operation 206,
which determines if all wagers have been resolved. Since multiple
wagers/hands (either player or dealer) can be resolved using
methods described herein, each wager must be evaluated individually
and paid accordingly. If there are more wagers to resolve, then the
method can proceed to operation 204 (and proceed to a next wager)
so operation 204 can be applied to it.
[0048] If in operation 206 it is determined that all wagers have
been resolved, then the method can proceed to operation 208, which
ends the game. All winning wagers should be paid accordingly
(according to their respective value according to a paytable, while
all losing wagers are collected by the house). All of the cards can
be collected and a new game can begin.
[0049] In a further embodiment, a player can wager on a number of
cards a dealer will have to use before the dealer's best poker hand
rank beats the player's best poker hand.
[0050] FIG. 3 is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering on
a number of cards required by a dealer to beat a player's hand(s),
according to an embodiment.
[0051] A table 300 is used to deal a dealer's hand comprising a
first dealer's card 302, a second dealer's card 304, a third
dealer's card 306, a fourth dealer's card 308, a fifth dealer's
card 310, a sixth dealer's card 312, and a seventh dealer's card
314.
[0052] A player's hand comprises a first player's card 301 and a
second player's card 303.
[0053] The player can place a wager in betting circle 309 that pays
based on how many cards a dealer would have to use to beat the
player. Paytable 320 can be used to determine how much the player's
wager will pay based on how many cards the dealer had to use.
[0054] FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method of
wagering on a number of cards required by a dealer to beat a
player's hand(s), according to an embodiment.
[0055] The method can begin with operation 400, which receives
wager(s) from a player. For example, a single wager can be placed
by the player. Alternatively, an ante wager can be placed by the
player followed by an additional wager (or wagers) at a later point
in the game
[0056] From operation 400, the method can proceed to operation 402,
which reveals player's card(s) and dealer's card(s). This can be
considered the player's initial hand and the dealer's initial hand.
For example, the player's initial hand can comprise two cards
(although any number of cards can be used) which are revealed, and
the dealer's initial hand can be revealed (for example, two cards,
although any number of cards can be used).
[0057] From operation 402, the method can proceed to operation 404,
which determines whether the player's hand beats (e.g., has a
higher poker rank than) the dealer's hand. If the dealer currently
has X cards, the dealer's best hand may be formed by taking the
best hand which comprises Y cards from all of the X cards. For
example, if the dealer has seven cards, the best dealers hand may
be formed by taking the five cards out of the seven that will form
the best five card hand. This five card hand is then compared to
the player's hand. In an embodiment, certain ranks, such as (but
not limited to) a straight and/or flush may only be used by the
player and/or dealer if the hand has a minimum number of cards
(e.g., 5), or alternatively certain ranks are not used at all
(e.g., in an embodiment, straights and flushes do not count at
all).
[0058] If the player's hand beats the dealer's hand then the method
can proceed to operation 406, which determines whether a maximum
number of dealer cards have been used. The casino may set a limit
on the number of cards the dealer can use before the games ends
(e.g., 7, etc.) Also, there may be a theoretical limit on a number
of cards that can be dealt before it must beat a different N card
hand.
[0059] If the determination in operation 406 determines that the
dealer's hasn't yet used the maximum number of allowed cards, then
the method can proceed to operation 408, which deals and reveals an
additional card to the dealer. With each new card used by the
dealer, the probability that the player's hand will still beat the
dealer's hand will go down. The method can then return to operation
404.
[0060] If the determination in operation 404 determines that the
player's hand does not beat the dealer's hand, or the determination
in operation 406 determines that the maximum number of dealer cards
have been used, then the method can proceed to operation 410 which
counts a number of cards used in the dealer's hand. The player
would typically want the number of cards in the dealer's hand to be
as high as possible. There is an inverse correlation between the
number of cards in the dealer's hand and the probability of this
occurrence, and thus the more cards in the dealer's hand the higher
the payout on the wager should typically be.
[0061] From operation 410, the method can proceed to operation 412,
which resolves wager(s) based on the number of cards used by the
dealer. A paytable can be used to determine the respective payouts.
For example, if the player's initial hand does not beat the
dealer's initial hand (e.g., operation 410 is reached when the
dealer has only two cards), then no extra dealer cards need be
dealt and this can be a losing wager for the player. If operation
410 is reached when the dealer has, for example, three cards, then
the player may win a payout on his or her wager (e.g., 1:1, etc.)
Of course, it can be appreciated that any number of cards can be
used for any stage of the game. For example, the player's initial
hand can be comprised of any number of cards, and the dealer's
initial hand can be comprised of any number of cards.
[0062] An example of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4
will now be presented. Bob places a $1 wager. Bob is then dealt a
two card hand (Ace spades/Ace hearts). Bob is happy, as this is an
excellent starting two card hand since it has the highest poker
rank a two card hand can have (a pair of aces). The dealer's
initial hand is now revealed: two clubs/three spades (which has a
poker rank of 3 high). The dealer then deals himself another card,
a ten of clubs. Now the dealer's poker hand rank is a 10 high,
which still does not beat the player's rank of a pair of aces. The
dealer then deals himself another card, a five of hearts. The
dealer's poker hand rank is a 10 high, which still does not beat
the player's rank of a pair of aces. The dealer then deals himself
a five of clubs. The dealer's poker hand rank is a pair of 5's
which does not beat the player's rank of a pair of aces. The dealer
then deals himself a five of diamonds. The dealer's poker hand rank
is three of a kind (5's) which beats the player's rank of a pair of
aces. It is noted that the dealer now has six cards, and the poker
rank of the dealer's hand can be determined by first taking the 5
cards out of the six that will give the dealer the best poker
ranking, and then taking the rank of that hand. Thus, the dealer
does not need to deal any additional cards and the wager can be
resolved. The dealer has six cards and thus using a paytable (e.g.,
paytable 320 from FIG. 3), the player gets paid 4:1 on his wager,
and thus Bob is paid $4.
[0063] If Bob's initial hand did not beat the dealer's initial
hand, then the game could end and Bob would have lost his wager. In
a further embodiment, a raise wager can be implemented as well,
that is, after the player has viewed one or more dealer card(s)
and/or one or more player card(s), the player can place a raise
wager. Both wagers can then be resolved as described above, that is
based on a number of dealer cards needed. If the player does not
place the raise wager, then either the initial wager the player
places will be resolved or the player will lose (or push) the
initial wager if the player decides not to raise. The player may be
required to place an ante wager for each of the individual player's
hands and a corresponding raise wager for each of the individual
player's hands, where the ante wager may be paid at even money (or
using a different paytable than the raise wager); or,
vice-versa.
[0064] In a variation of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and
4 (and the accompanying description), the player may wager on
different hands of the same size, but with different award
schedules based on the number of dealer cards needed to determine
the outcome. For example, in a game where the dealer will draw five
cards, the player may wager on a two-card hand that wins awards if
(a) it outranks all 5 dealer cards, (b) it outranks the first 4
dealer cards, or (c) it outranks the first 3 dealer cards. The
player may also wager on a separate two-card hand that wins only if
(a) it outranks all 5 dealer cards or (b) it outranks the first 4
dealer cards. In the latter case, the awards would typically be
higher, though the chances of winning are smaller.
[0065] In a further embodiment, poker wagers can be placed as well,
on the player's hand and/or the dealer's hand. The poker wagers can
be separate wagers which simply pay according to a paytable based
on a rank of the respective hand. Thus, a player can place a
separate wager on what the best rank of the dealer's best five card
hand will be when the game is over.
[0066] In a further embodiment, cards can be predetermined. For
example, a particular card used by a player and/or a dealer can be
fixed. For example, the first player's card can always be a king of
clubs. The king of clubs may even be printed on the table felt to
indicate this is a predetermined card. The deck of cards used may
be a standard 52 card deck or it may have any predetermined card(s)
removed (so it is not possibly to have two identical cards in play
at the same time).
[0067] FIG. 5 is an exemplary table layout illustrating wagering on
multiple player hands with predetermined cards, according to an
embodiment.
[0068] A table 500 is used to deal a dealer's hand comprising a
first dealer's card 502, a second dealer's card 504, a third
dealer's card 506, a fourth dealer's card 508, and a fifth dealer's
card 510.
[0069] A player's first hand comprises a player's first hand first
card 512 and a player's first hand second card 514. Note that both
of these cards are predetermined (in other words, they are not
dealt from the deck). A first hand wager betting circle 528 is used
to receive a first wager on the player's first hand. A player's
second hand comprises a player's second hand first card 516 and a
player's second hand second card 518 (a pair of 6's). A second hand
wager betting circle 530 is used to receive a second wager on the
second player's hand. A player's third hand comprises a player's
third hand first card 520 and a player's third hand second card 522
and a player's third hand third card 524. It is noted that the
player's third hand first card is predetermined (an ace of
diamonds), while the player's third hand second card 522 and the
player's third hand third card 524 are still dealt randomly from
the deck. A third hand wager betting circle 532 is used to receive
a third wager on the third player's hand.
[0070] It is also noted that in this example, the size of the
different players hand can be different (e.g., the players first
and second hands are two cards while the player's third hand is
three cards). A paytable 526 is used to designate what a winning
payout would be for each of the player's hands. Optional community
cards 534 and 536 (although of course any number of community cards
can be used) may or may not (depending on the embodiment) be used
by either the dealer and/or the player to improve their hand. Also,
some player's hands may have predetermined cards while some may not
(e.g., the player's second hand first card 516 and the player's
second hand second card 518 may be dealt randomly instead of being
predetermined).
[0071] After all cards are revealed (the dealer's cards in the
dealer's hand and player's non-predetermined cards), each player's
hand can be rank and compared to see if it has a higher poker rank
than the dealer's hand. If a player's hand beats the dealer's hand,
then the respective wager on that hand wins a payout according to a
paytable.
[0072] An example of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 will now
be presented. In this example, no community cards are used. Tom
bets $1 on the first player hand, $2 on the second player hand, and
$3 on the third player hand. The dealer then reveals the player's
third hand second card 522 to be an Ace of clubs and reveals the
player's third hand third card 524 to be a three of clubs. The
dealer then reveals the dealer's hand: two diamonds/seven
clubs/seven hearts/10 spades/four hearts (for a rank of a pair of
7's). Tom's first hand has a rank of king high, which does not beat
the dealer's rank of a pair of 7's, thus Tom loses his $1 wager on
the first player hand. Tom's second hand is a pair of 6's which
does not beat the dealer's rank of a pair of 7's, thus Tom loses
his $2 wager on the second player hand. Tom's third hand has a rank
of a pair of aces which does beat the dealer's rank of a pair of
7's (since aces are conventionally ranked higher than sevens), thus
Tom wins a payout on the third wager. According to the paytable
526, the third hand (ace and two additional non-predetermined
cards) pays 1:1, thus Tom wins $3 on the third wager. Thus, Tom has
overall broken even on all three bets.
[0073] In a further embodiment, a single player's hand may be
implemented. For example, all embodiments described herein can be
applied to a game where just a single player's hand is used
(instead of providing the player at least two hands to wager
on).
[0074] Alternatively, hand rankings not based on traditional
five-card poker hand rankings (described in Table I herein) may be
used. Also, the best N cards in a hand may be used instead of all
cards, where N is less than the total number of cards in a hand but
not necessarily five. As an example of both these variations, the
best three-card hand in a four or five-card hand may be used, and
the common three-card poker hand rankings would be used to
determine relative hand strength. Three-card poker hand rankings
are an example of rankings different than those described in Table
I. In such a game, a player holding a four-card hand with four Aces
would thus lose to a dealer's five-card hand with the three of
hearts, four of hearts, five of hearts, nine of clubs, and queen of
clubs, because the three-card straight-flush in the latter hand
outranks the three-of-a-kind when only the best three cards in
these hands are used.
[0075] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of
hardware used to implement an electronic gaming device (EGD),
according to an embodiment.
[0076] A processing unit 600 is connected to input device(s) 602
(which can be any combination of input devices, such as a keyboard,
button(s), touch screen, etc.) The processing unit 600 is also
connected to an output device 604, which can be any combination of
output devices, such as an LCD display, touch screen, etc. The
processing unit 600 is also connected to a network device 606,
which can be used to connect the EGD to any type of network, such
as a LAN and/or the Internet. The processing unit 600 can also be
connected to any other device 608 which is known in the art and can
be used to operate the EGD. The processing unit 600 is also
connected to RAM 610, which can be used by the processing unit 600
in order to execute software which can implement programs used to
play any embodiments described herein. The processing unit 600 is
also connected to a storage device 612, which can be any type of
storage device (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, DVD, EPROM, etc.) which can
store programs needed for implementation. The processing unit 600
can also be connected to a financial device 614 which can be used
to process transactions, such as receiving payments (of cash or
other form of payment) and making payments (cash or other form of
payments).
[0077] Any embodiments described herein can be played with a
standard deck of 52 cards or any type of special deck (e.g. a
Spanish deck, etc.) All cards are dealt randomly. The game can also
be played with a single deck or multiple decks (e.g. 1-8 decks or
more). Further, the order of any of the operations described herein
can be performed in any order and wagers can be placed/resolved in
any order. Any operation can also be optional.
[0078] All embodiments described herein can also be played in
electronic form including over the Internet on an electronic gaming
machine (EGM) and programs and/or data for such can be stored on
any type of computer readable storage medium (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD,
disk, etc.)
[0079] Further cards can be dealt in any order and wagers can be
resolved in any order. Whether a card is dealt face up, or a card
is dealt face down and later on turned face up, is equivalent and
be used herein interchangeably. The identifiers "player hand" and
"dealer hand" are used to identify two different hands, but it can
be appreciated that any two hands dealt in a game can be called by
any other name as well "hand a," "hand 1," and the "player's hand"
is not limited to a player and a "dealer's hand" is not limited to
a dealer. Thus, just because a hand is called a "player's" hand
does not necessarily mean it is to be associated with a player(s),
and just because a hand is called a "dealer's hand" does not
necessarily mean it is to be associated with a dealer. Further, all
of the rules relating to "player hand" and "dealer hand" can also
be reversed, e.g., the "dealer hand" can be played as the described
"player hand" and vice-versa. Additionally, multiple players may
wager on the outcome of a given hand, so that there may not be a
1-to-1 correspondence between the "player hands" dealt and the
actual number of players. The number of cards used in each hand for
the examples illustrated and described herein are merely exemplary,
and it can be appreciated that hands comprising any number of cards
can be used for the embodiments described herein. Wagers can also
be placed at any point in time and after any number of player's
cards and/or dealer's cards have been revealed.
[0080] The many features and advantages of the invention are
apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended
by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of
the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will
readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to
limit the invention to the exact construction and operation
illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable
modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within
the scope of the invention.
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