Abstract: A card game is described in which a player makes a total wager prior to the initial starting hand being dealt. One hand of five cards is displayed to the player with all of the initial cards being dealt face up. The player then determines how many times the player wishes to play the initial starting hand and the total wager is divided into multiple parts, each part being allocated to a different play of the initial starting hand. The player then plays the starting hand for a FIRST PLAY and the player then selects none, one or more of the face up cards as cards to be held. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt into the hand and the poker hand ranking of the FIRST PLAY is determined. The initial deal of the starting cards is then re-used and becomes a SECOND PLAY. The player again selects none, one or more of the face up cards as cards to be held. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt and the poker hand ranking of the SECOND PLAY is determined.

Abstract: A starting hand of five cards is dealt and the player then plays this hand with a first pay table. If the player's starting hand of cards has a poker hand ranking of any preselected combination of cards, such as a Pair of Jacks, a Pair of Queens, a Pair of Kings or a Pair of Aces, the player is given the option of exchanging his starting hand for one or more different new partial hands, such as Three to a Royal Flush or multiple hands of a Pair of Aces. If the player accepts the offer to make the exchange, the different partial hand is displayed and then additional cards are dealt to complete a five card hand. If the final five card hand is one of the predetermined winning poker hand combinations, the player receives an award.

Abstract: A card game is described in which the player plays multiple hands of cards. At the beginning of each round of the game, the player determines how many times the player wishes to play the initial deal of the cards and makes an appropriate wager to cover those multiple plays of the initial hand of cards. One hand of five cards is dealt, all five cards face up. The player selects none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt into the first hand and the poker hand ranking of the first hand is determined. The initial deal of cards is then re-used and becomes a second hand. The player again selects none, one or more of the face up cards from the second hand as cards to be held. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt into the second hand and the poker hand ranking of the second hand is determined.

Abstract: A game method and device are set forth wherein pairs of hands are exposed to the player. If one of the pairs has a qualifying holding, the game method provides for the exchange of indicia between the hands to increase the reward to be received by the player. Where the game is based upon the use of playing cards, two hands of five cards each are exposed to the player. If one of the hands has a qualifying holding such as a pair of 7s or better, the player can exchange cards between the hands to increase the poker ranking of one or both of the hands. The reward is based upon the ranking of the hands. The device for practicing the game may provide for automatic transformation to obtain the best possible outcome.

Abstract: A player makes a wager and a starting video poker hand is displayed to the player. The gaming machine calculates the highest expected value for the five card hand displayed. The gaming machine then calculates the expected value of the hand as played by the player. The difference between the highest expected value and the player expected value is also calculated and multiplied by the amount of the player's wager. The resultant amount is the error made by the player. The resultant amount may be returned to the player in a variety of ways, either directly or indirectly.

Abstract: A starting hand of five cards is dealt and the player then plays this hand with a first pay table. If the player's starting hand of cards has a poker hand ranking of any preselected combination of cards, such as a Three-of-a-Kind, the player is given the option of choosing to play the rest of the hand with a second pay table which has higher awards to the player than the first pay table. In another variation, the player is dealt a starting hand of cards, such as five cards, and the player would play this hand with a pay table. If the player's starting hand of cards has a poker hand ranking of a preselected combination of cards, such as a Three-of-a-Kind, the player is given a second hand of cards identical to the first hand of cards and the player plays out both the first hand and the second hand by discarding and drawing replacement cards.

Abstract: During the play of a session of a video poker game that uses only a player's hand to determine winning or losing outcomes, the player accrues points for each hand played. The points can be allocated based on the ending hand achieved by the player. Alternatively, the points can be allocated based on the starting hand dealt to the player. After a predetermined number of hands of video poker, say one hundred hands, the player=s accrued point total is compared to a pay table and the player receives an award based on the point total.

Abstract: A card game in which the player makes a wager, preferably a five credit wager, and the player is then dealt an initial five card hand. The player may then stand on his initial five cards or the player may discard unwanted cards and receive a replacement cards for each card that is discarded. In order to discard unwanted cards, the player must make an additional wager, preferably in the amount of one additional credit, for each card that the player wishes to discard. The final five card is analyzed for poker hand ranking and if the player has achieved a winning poker hand, the player is paid in accordance with a pay table based on the total number of credits wagered by the player.

Abstract: During the play of a session of video poker, one or more playing cards, either as simply a group of cards or as recognizable poker hands, are designated and shown to the player on the video screen of the gaming machine. As the playing cards are dealt to the player during the play of the regular video poker game, each dealt card that corresponds to one of the designated cards results in a match of the designated card. The designated card that has been matched is shown by highlighting the matched card on the video screen. When the player has matched all of the designated cards, the player receives a bonus award. The amount of the bonus award is based on the number of deals of video poker that it took to match all of the designated cards.

Abstract: A player makes a wager and a starting five card video poker hand is displayed to the player. The computer controls of the gaming machine calculate the highest expected value (highest TEVi) for the five card hand displayed. The player selects which cards, if any, the player wishes to hold. The computer controls then calculate the expected value of the hand as played by the player (player TEVi). The difference between the highest TEVi and the player TEVi is also calculated (highest TEVi—player TEVi). This difference is multiplied by the amount of the player's wager and the resultant amount is the error made by the player. The error is accumulated over one or more rounds of play and the accumulated error amount may be returned to the player in a variety of ways, either directly or indirectly.

Abstract: The player is dealt an initial hand of five cards, all face up. If four of these first five cards are of the same suit, the player is offered the opportunity to proceed to a second video screen in which the remaining nine cards of that suit are displayed to the player. One of these nine cards is randomly selected and added to the player's initial five card hand. The player is assured of achieving at least a Flush with the possibility of improving his hand to a Straight Flush or a Royal Flush depending on the first four cards and the fifth card selected. After this random selection of the fifth card, the player's hand is evaluated to determine what poker hand ranking the player has achieved and the player is paid an award based on the amount wagered by the player in accordance with a pay table.

Abstract: A keno game method includes initially randomly selecting a predetermined number of keno numbers after the player has selected two or more keno numbered spots that the player hopes to match. For each numbered spot matched or “Hit” by the player during the base game, an additional keno number is randomly selected during the extra ball portion of the game. In one version, the quantity of additional keno numbers to be drawn is determined by the amount of “Hits” during only the initial draw of keno numbers. In another version, the quantity of additional keno numbers to be drawn is cumulative from the “Hits” achieved over both the initial draw of keno numbers and during any additional draws. An award is made to the player for the total number of “Hits” achieved during the round of the game and based on the amount wagered by the player.

Abstract: Using an electronic video poker gaming machine, an initial five card hand is dealt and displayed to a player. The player selects which cards to hold and the unheld cards are discarded. Replacement cards are dealt to the player and the poker hand ranking of the final five card hand is determined. If the player has achieved a losing hand, the player is offered the opportunity to replay the initial five card hand. The player may hold the same or different cards when he replays the initial five card hand. The remaining cards are reshuffled and new replacement cards are dealt to the player. Winning hands are paid. The player must make a separate wager each time the player wishes to replay the initial five card hand. In one version, the player is only offered the opportunity to replay the initial five card hand if the player has a losing hand on the first play of the hand.

Abstract: A method is set forth for playing a game wherein an initial holding of five playing cards is provided for the player, the player assembling the initial holding into one or more sub-hands of one card each. Play is completed by completing each sub-hand to final hands of five cards each. For each completed sub-hand which corresponds to a winning combination, payoffs are provided according to a pay table. For losing sub-hand combinations, the wager is lost. Wagers are allocated on a pro-rata basis to each sub-hand based upon the number of cards in the arranged sub-hands. Payoffs are based upon the allocated amounts of the wager for each sub-hand.

Abstract: The player is dealt an initial hand of five cards. The player is offered the opportunity to swap certain of the first five initially dealt cards for a different card if two conditions exist: 1) the player must have a pair or three-of-a-kind of Deuces through Tens; and 2) two of the remaining cards of the player's first five initially dealt cards must add up numerically to the same rank as the cards forming the pair or three-of-a-kind. If both those conditions exist, the player is offered the opportunity to swap the two cards which add up to the rank of the player's pair or three-of-a-kind for another card of that rank. If the player chooses to accept the swap, the player's hand will then be improved from a pair to three-of-a-kind or from three-of-a-kind to four-of-a-kind prior to the draw step of the method of play.

Abstract: Five decks of playing cards are shuffled together and used to deal five initial cards to a player. From these five initial cards, the player selects which cards to hold and which to discard. Replacement cards are then provided from the same five decks used to deal the initial five cards hand. A final five card hand is analyzed to determine the card combinations and, if the player has achieved one of the preselected winning combinations, the player receives an award. Because of the unique combination of five decks of playing cards, very high awards can be paid of certain winning combinations, such as five of a kind of the same card such as five Aces of Spades. Each of the five decks consists of a standard fifty-two card deck of cards having an Ace through Deuce of each suit of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs resulting in a combined deck of 260 cards.

Abstract: A system is adaptable to any game where a player sequentially receives a number of elements having identifying characteristics, with certain combinations of elements defined to be winning combinations. After all or part of an initial set of elements is obtained, the system offers the player an award to stop play prior to receiving a final set of elements. The amount of the offer is preferably based, at least in part, upon the probabilities of obtaining a winning combination using the initial set of elements received by the player. In accepting the "stop play" offer, the play of the game may cease, with the player forfeiting the right to win an award based on the final winning combinations, or, in an alternate embodiment, play can continue with an award, if any, based upon a modified pay schedule.

Abstract: A modified video poker game where the game initially assigns five cards to the player and the player can then select one of thirty two possible discard strategies to replace any number of the five cards. The video poker game computes the expected value of each discard strategy and then determines which discard strategy is the optimum strategy. If the player selects a discard strategy other than the optimum discard strategy, the award values for winning combinations of cards are adjusted from their default values so that when the expected value of the selected discard strategy is calculated using the adjusted awards, it is substantially equal to the expected value of the optimum strategy calculated using the default awards.