Abstract: Wagering game methods and apparatus for playing a Draw Poker type live casino and/or electronic game against a dealer and/or a pay table. Players place an ante wager to participate in the game. Each player and the dealer are dealt initial hands. Each player may discard any portion including all of his or her cards. The dealer discards according to predetermined criteria. Discarded cards are replaced by community draw cards in a specified order to complete final hands. Alternatively, each player and the dealer may be dealt their initial hands and replacement cards from their own associated decks. The ante wager is paid if the player's final hand outranks the dealer's final hand. An optional ante wager is paid according to a paytable if the player's final hand achieves at least a minimum bonus qualifying rank.

Abstract: A card game with an optional side bet and methods for playing this game. The method comprises the player placing an ante bet and a blind bet to enter the game and optionally placing the optional side bet. The dealer deals a plurality of Hole cards to the players, and the players are then given the option to place a first play bet or check. The dealer deals a plurality of community cards, turning at least one of the community cards face up, and the players are given the option to place a second play bet or check. The dealer turns the remaining community cards face up, and the players are then given the option to place a third play bet or check. The dealer receives a plurality of dealer Hole cards. After the dealer Hole cards are revealed, the hands are determined by combining two dealer Hole cards with the community cards to form a dealer's hand. The ante, blind, play and optional bets are then resolved, the optional side bet resolved according to a predetermined criteria.

Abstract: A playing card wagering game has a player hand compete against a dealer hand according to rank or count of the player hand and dealer hand. At least one player places a first wager on the card wagering game and a second wager on at least one side bet event. The player hand and dealer hand are completed with playing cards. Relative rank or relative count of the player hand and dealer hand are determined. The first wager is resolved based upon the determined relative rank or relative count by determining if the dealer hand wins or the player hand wins, thereby also determining a losing hand. The second wager is resolved according to rules that comprise comparing rank or count of the losing hand to a paytable, preferably only the losing rank of either the player or dealer hand.

Abstract: The invention provides a system and method for updating network appliances using urgent update notifications. The network appliances periodically initiates connection to “poll” updates from the update server and the update server collects IP addresses from the connections and updates an IP address log. The update server obtains updates for the network appliances and determines whether a particular update is urgent. When an urgent update is available, the server delivers an urgent update notification (UUN) to each known network appliance through an existing port used for messaging. Each network appliance receives the UUN and distinguishes it from other messages. In response to the UUN, each network appliance automatically connects to the server, obtains the urgent update and installs the urgent update.