Odds poker

Abstract

A poker-type card game and apparatus for playing said game wherein a user selectable pay table is generated during each round of play according to the hold cards selected by the player for that round of play and wherein the player can make an additional wager during that round of play that will pay out according to said user selectable pay table.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX

The file vpoker.c (32,676 bytes, created Aug. 21, 2003) is a listing of a program that implements an embodiment of the instant invention on a personal computer and is illustrative of the algorithms that can be used to implement said invention. The file vpoker.exe (61,440 bytes, created Aug. 21, 2003) is a program that implements an embodiment of the instant invention that will run on an IBM PC compatible computer running DOS or Windows XP operating system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel poker style card game which may be played on a gaming apparatus such as an electronic video poker machine. Card games have been a highly popular form of casino play for centuries. Players like card games because they provide both the tension of a wager and the opportunity to make interesting choices that affect the outcome of the game. Casinos like gaming machines because they obviate the need to have a dealer and they speed up the rate at which games are played. Card games have become especially popular with players of gaming machines because they provide more opportunity to make interesting choices that affect the outcome of the game than traditional slot machines. As a result, video poker machines have become ubiquitous in gambling establishments. Typical video poker machines allow a player to make an initial wager, and then to select one or more hold cards. Next, the machine will draw new cards for all of the discarded cards, display the resulting hand, and determine the payout, if any, based upon a predetermined pay table. The pay table of such machines is fixed and is often displayed as artwork on an external surface of the machine.

It is desirable to provide a modified poker game that is very attractive to players because it allows them additional play options and interesting choices that will affect the final payout. It is also desirable to provide a card game in which players have an opportunity to select a payout table that changes through player input, and to increase payout options in terms of a monetary value and total number of possible winning combinations. Furthermore it is desirable to create a modified card game that is attractive to casinos because it entices the players to make multiple bets during a single hand of play.

The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,100, Modified Poker Card/Tournament Game and Interactive Network Computer System for Implementing same, invented by Singer et al.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,821, Card Game, invented by Stone.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,436, Modified Poker Game, invented by Singer et al.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,873, Method of Playing Electronic Video Poker Games, invented by Moody.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,916, Video Poker Game, invented by Moody.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,915, Pick One Poker Method of Play.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,621, Modified Poker Card/Tournament Game and Interactive Network computer system For implementing Same, invented by Marks et al.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,820,460; 5,411,257; 5,251,897; 5,167,413; and 5,100,137 invented by Fulton, show a poker game apparatus that allows player to make an additional wager before all cards are dealt. The player receives a payout if the combination of cards dealt matches at least one of pre-selected plurality of winning combinations. In contrast to the present invention, the Fulton patents fail to reveal a user selectable pay table based upon the selected hold cards.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,022, 2nd Chance Poker Method, invented by Wood, shows an improved method of playing poker where a player can make an additional wager and draw an additional card, provided that with the extra card the hand could possibly result in the player obtaining a straight or better, and where the amount of payback on the second wager varies depending upon the first five cards. In contrast to the present invention, Wood fails to disclose a user selectable pay table based upon a variable number of cards (those that are held). The Wood pay table is based on 5 cards, those of the completed second hand and is not directly selected by player input. Furthermore Wood fails to show the same hand being compared to both pay tables to determine the two payouts. In the Wood invention, one hand is compared to the first pay table and second, potentially different hand, is compared to the second pay table.

The other prior art listed above, but not specifically discussed, further catalog the prior art of which the applicant is aware. Their references diverge even more starkly from the references distinguished above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a poker-type card game and apparatus for playing said game wherein a user selectable pay table is generated during each round of play according to the hold cards selected by the player for that round of play and wherein the player can make an additional wager during that round of play that will pay out according to said user selectable pay table. This user selectable pay table serves two goals. First, it increases player interest in the game by providing additional choices for the player and instant feedback to player actions. Second, it encourages the player to make a second wager during a round of play.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a video game machine with a video display screen which displays indications of playing cards, such as those in a conventional poker deck, and pay tables with winning hands and their associated payouts. The preferred embodiment has a predetermined first pay table that correlates winning hands to corresponding payouts.

The player makes an initial wager to start a round of play. The machine then displays a plurality of playing cards. The player indicates which cards are to be held. Upon indication from the player to generate a pay table, the machine generates and displays a user selectable pay table. This user selectable pay table displays all potential winning hands that are better than the combination of currently selected hold cards and the corresponding payout odds for those winning hands. If the player selects a different set of hold cards and indicates to the machine to generate a pay table the machine will generate and display an updated user selectable pay table based upon the set of currently selected hold cards. When the player has finished selecting the hold cards and corresponding user selectable pay table, he or she can make a second wager or decline to make a second wager. When the player inputs this second wager or affirmatively declines to make said second wager, the machine will generate new cards for any non hold cards and it will display the resulting final hand. The machine will compare the resulting final hand to the predetermined first pay table to generate a payout based on the first wager. The machine will also compare the same resulting hand to the user selectable pay table to generate a payout based on the second wager, if any.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is schematic depiction of the front of a video poker machine that implements the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a round of play according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a portion of the video display and shows a sample hand before the player has made any hold card selections.

FIG. 4 depicts a portion of the video display and shows a sample starting hand with selected hold cards and the corresponding user selected pay table.

FIG. 5 depicts a portion of the video display and shows the same sample starting hand as in FIG. 3 with an alternative set of selected hold cards and the corresponding user selected pay table.

FIG. 6 depicts a portion of the video display and shows a possible conclusion of a round of play where the sample starting hand and set of hold cards are the same as in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 depicts a portion of the video display and shows a possible conclusion of a round of play where the sample starting hand and set of hold cards are the same as in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a video poker machine. The machine consists of a cabinet 10 housing a video display screen 11, and buttons for selecting hold cards 14, dealing/drawing cards 17 (“deal/draw” button), making wagers 18 (“bet” button) and cashing out 19. There is a generate pay table button 20 for the player to indicate to the machine to generate a pay table for the currently selected hold cards. There is an odds bet button 23 for the player to indicate to the machine that he wants to make a wager on the currently displayed user selectable pay table The actual number of buttons on a particular embodiment of the present invention may vary as one skilled in the art could design a machine so that the functions of several buttons would be combined into a single button. For example, the generate pay table button 20 could be combined with the button for dealing/drawing cards 17. Similarly the odds bet button 23 could be combined with the bet button 18. Alternatively a video touch screen can be utilized in place of said buttons.

A coin acceptor or a currency acceptor 12 is provided to allow a player to insert coins, tokens or currency. In addition to using these means, the present invention is intended to also include debit or credit card systems, credit coupons, magnetic or optical storage devices or any other means by which monetary value can be input into the machine by the player. When the player decides to cash out, they are paid the accrued winnings by means of a coin hopper 13 that dispenses coins or tokens or any of the other myriad of devices that are available to pay out monetary value.

The video display screen 11, has space for displaying the cards comprising a poker hand 22, a predetermined first pay table 15 that lists winning hands and the corresponding payouts, and a user selectable pay table 16 that also lists winning hands and their corresponding pay out odds. Alternatively, the predetermined first pay table can also be displayed as artwork on the cabinet 10 instead of or in addition to being displayed on the display screen. The predetermined first pay table is comprised of a preselected plurality of card combinations that are arranged in a hierarchy. In the preferred embodiment this hierarchy is the traditional ranking used in poker games, but one skilled in the art could use alternative hierarchies of different hand combinations. The display screen can include a credit meter which accrues credits available to the player to play the game and which accrues credits won by the player during the play of the game.

Included within the cabinet 10 are appropriate electronics and software that are preprogrammed to effect the playing of the game described in the present invention. The particular electronic elements and programs utilized can be readily constructed and written by one skilled in the art in light of the description provided herein.

The current invention is a poker type card game wherein a user selectable pay table is generated during each round of play according to the hold cards selected by the player for that round of play and wherein the player can make an additional wager during that round of play that will pay out according to said user selectable pay table. The following description of a round of play is illustrated in FIG. 2. The player initiates a round of play by making an initial wager. The machine responds by displaying an initial hand. This initial hand is generated by drawing the cards of the hand from a randomly shuffled deck of cards. In the preferred embodiment, this would be a hand of 5 cards but those skilled in the art could create further embodiments using a different number of cards. The player may then select one or more hold cards. Alternatively the player can decline to select any hold cards. When the player has finished selecting the hold cards he or she indicates to the machine to advance play. In the preferred embodiment, the player indicates to the machine to advance play by pushing the generate pay table button 20. Alternatively, the machine can automatically advance play after a predetermined time with no player input. The machine advances play by generating and displaying a user selected pay table. To generate this pay table, the machine will determine all possible winning hands that are better than the hand represented by the held cards and the probability of achieving each of these winning hands by drawing additional cards from the same randomly shuffled deck of cards used to generate the initial hand. A better hand is a hand that has a higher value in a poker game although those skilled in the art could create an alternative set of winning hands with a different hierarchy of values than poker hands. Next, the machine will also calculate an appropriate payout for each winning hand based upon the probability of achieving said winning hand and the desired payout percentage of the machine. Finally, the machine will display the user selectable pay table that will include the possible winning hands and their corresponding payout odds.

The player can respond to this user selectable pay table in three ways:

1) indicate to the machine that they want to make a bet on the currently displayed second pay table by hitting the odds bet button 23, make the wager using the bet button 18 and then hit the deal/draw button 17 which will deal the draw cards and complete the hand;

2) the player can affirmatively decline to make a second wager by hitting the deal draw button 17 which will deal the draw cards and complete the hand;

3) the player can select a new set of hold cards. This will cause the machine to generate an updated user selectable pay table that corresponds to the newly selected hold cards.

Play advances either after the player makes a second wager or declines to make a second wager. The machine will generate new cards for any non-held cards by drawing them from the same randomly shuffled deck of cards as used to generate the initial hand and display the resulting final hand. The machine will calculate a first payout by comparing the final hand to a first pay table and the first wager. In addition, the machine calculates a second payout by comparing the final hand to the user selectable pay table and the second wager. The machine will then pay out to the player the sum of the first payout and the second payout to end that round of play.

FIG. 3-7 illustrate a sample round of play. FIG. 3 shows a sample hand after the player has made an initial bet of 5 coins. FIG. 4 shows the same hand after the player has selected to hold three cards. The amount of initial wager 80 is displayed on the video display screen. The held cards 50 are clearly marked and the corresponding second pay table 60 is displayed. Each line of the second pay table 60 lists a hand that is a better hand than the one represented by the held cards 50. In this situation the better hands include a Royal Flush 61, Flush 62, Straight 63, Three of a Kind 64, Two Pair 65 and Pair of Jacks or better 66.

FIG. 5 shows the initial hand after the player has selected two different hold cards. The amount of initial wager 80 is displayed on the video display screen. The held cards 50 are clearly marked and the corresponding second pay table 60 is displayed. Each line of the second pay table 60 lists a hand which is better hand than the one represented by the held cards. In this situation the better hands include Four of a Kind 67, Full House 68, Three of a Kind 69, Two Pair 70. Note that because of the player selected hold cards, the second pay table in FIG. 5 is different from the pay table in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a possible conclusion of a round of play after the player has made a second wager of 5 coins and where the sample starting hand and set of hold cards are the same as in FIG. 4. The amount of the second wager 90 is displayed on the user selectable pay table. The machine has drawn cards 51 to replace the non-hold cards. In this example the final hand is a flush. The first pay out 82 has been calculated using the 5 coin initial wager and the first pay table resulting in a first pay out of 30 coins which is displayed on the video display screen. The second pay out 92 has been calculated using the 5 coin second wager and the user selectable pay table resulting in a second pay out of 110 coins which is displayed on the video display screen. The machine will pay out to the player the sum of the first pay out and the second payout, 140 coins, as indicated by the Total Win message 100.

FIG. 7 shows a possible conclusion of a round of play after the player has made a second wager of 3 coins and where the sample starting hand and set of hold cards are the same as in FIG. 5. The amount of the second wager 90 is displayed on the video display screen. The machine has drawn cards 51 to replace the non-hold cards. In this example the final hand is a three of a kind. The first pay out 82 has been calculated using the 5 coin initial wager and the first pay table resulting in a first pay out of 15 coins which is displayed on the video display screen. The second pay out 92 has been calculated using the 3 coin second wager and the user selectable pay table resulting in a second pay out of 21 coins which is displayed on the video display screen. The machine will pay out to the player the sum of the first pay out and the second payout, 36 coins, as indicated by the Total Win message 100.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that the use of the term “cards” herein is not intended to be limited to a physical playing card but also includes any representation of a card from a conventional poker-type deck. It is also within the scope of the present invention that the term “cards” include different indicia which may be considered in combination to match at least one of a pre-selected plurality of winning combinations resulting in different winning payouts to the player. Furthermore, while a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a video display screen, alternative display devices such as a plurality of rotatable reels and which are well known in the art may be utilized. Though the illustrated embodiment of the present invention has been described as automatically drawing a card from a randomly shuffled deck of cards, controls well known in the art may also be provided to stop a changing display, such as rapidly rotating reels, in order to give the player some sense of control over the card selection.

It is intended that present invention include the following embodiments:

• • 1. An embodiment where the user selectable pay table and second wager are only enabled during any round of play if the player is holding certain preselected hands. For example, one embodiment only enables the second wager and user selected pay table if the player holds at least a pair, or three cards to a straight, flush or straight flush.
  • 2. An embodiment where the second wager is limited by the amount of the first. For example, one embodiment limits the second wager to be less than or equal to the first wager.
  • 3. An embodiment where the second wager could be a multiple of the first. For example, one embodiment could allow a player to make a second wager 5×, 10×, or 100× the first wager.
  • 4. An embodiment where wild cards are part of the deck.
  • 5. An embodiment where jokers are part of the deck.

Claims

1. An electronic poker-type game comprising:

a first pay table that contains a preselected plurality of winning card combinations and corresponding payouts;

means for receiving a first wager;

means for generating an initial hand comprised of a fixed number of cards (T);

means for displaying said initial hand;

means for selecting a variable number of hold cards (h) from said initial hand wherein

h can vary between zero and T;

means for calculating a second pay table wherein

the winning card combinations in said second pay table are higher ranked hands than said hold cards;

means for displaying said second pay table;

means for receiving a second wager;

means for generating a final hand wherein said final hand consists of said hold cards and T-h additional cards;

means for displaying said final hand;

means for calculating and providing a first payout based upon said first wager and said first pay table if said final hand matches at least one of the winning card combinations in said first pay table;

and

means for calculating and providing a second payout based upon said second wager and said second pay table if said final hand matches at least one of the winning card combinations in said second pay table;

2. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 1 wherein said initial hand displaying means comprises a video screen.

3. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 1 wherein said initial hand displaying means comprises a plurality of rotatable reels.

4. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 1 further comprising a visible indicia of said first pay table.

5. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 4 wherein said visible indicia is electronically displayed.

6. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 4 wherein said visible indicia comprises a sign affixed to said game.

7. An electronic poker-type game according to claim 1 wherein said fixed number of cards (T) is 5.

8. An electronic poker-type game according to claim 1 wherein said fixed number of cards (T) is greater than 5.

9. An electronic poker-type game comprising:

means for displaying an initial hand of (T) cards;

means for selecting a variable number of hold cards (h) wherein h can vary between zero and T;

means for calculating a user selectable pay table based upon a variable number of hold cards (h) wherein

the winning combinations in said user selectable pay table are higher ranked hands than said hold cards (h);

means for calculating and providing a winning payout wherein at least a portion of said winning payout is based upon said user selectable payout table and a wager made after said user selectable payout table is selected.

10. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 9 wherein said means for displaying an initial hand comprises a video screen.

11. An electronic, poker-type game according to claim 9 wherein said means for displaying an initial hand comprises a plurality of rotatable reels.

12. An electronic poker-type game according to claim 9 wherein said fixed number of cards (T) is 5.

13. An electronic poker-type game according to claim 9 wherein said fixed number of cards (T) is greater than 5.