Poker game

Abstract

The method of the present invention involves a new multi-handed poker game. In the poker game the player selects a number of hands greater than one to be played. The player is then dealt an initial hand and selects cards to be held. Additional hands are then created by creating additional cards that are based upon the held cards but that may differ in either the rank or suit. Preferably the created cards follow a natural progression of increasing rank. The initial hand and all created hands are then completed and the resulting poker hands evaluated. Preferably the player receives payouts based on a pay table for each poker hand.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an improved card game primarily relating to video poker games. In standard video poker games the player is dealt a starting hand and is allowed to discard and replace unwanted cards with replacement cards in an effort to improve the starting hand. The resulting hand is compared to a pay table of poker hand rankings where each poker hand has a defined payout. Recently, new versions of video poker games have become popular with players where the player can play multiple identical starting hands at once or where the pay table provides players with challenging and interesting strategic decisions to make. The present invention allows players to play multiple hands at once, although the starting hands are not identical. By providing multiple different starting hands, the present invention also may provide the player with new and interesting strategic decisions and pay tables that may vary from hand to hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves a card game in which at least two hands, and preferably more hands, are played with each wagering opportunity. Initially, the player preferably makes a wager for each hand. In the first hand, preferably one row of five cards is dealt all face up. Each card preferably has a suit (i.e., Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts or Spades) and a rank (i.e., Two through Ten, and Jack, Queen, King or Ace) as in a standard fifty-two card playing deck. The player preferably selects none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held. A second hand is also formed (preferably from a second standard deck) that preferably contains cards that are chosen based at least upon the cards selected to be held by the player in the first hand. Generally speaking, the ranks and/or suits of the cards chosen for the second hand will be incremented by one unit (for instance, if a Jack of Clubs was held in hand one, a Queen of Diamonds would appear in hand two). Once the player has made his hold selections, replacement cards for the discarded (i.e., non-selected) cards are dealt into the first hand and additional cards are also dealt to all hands so that each hand preferably contains five cards. The poker hand ranking of each five card hand is determined. The pay table used for each hand may be identical to all other hands or may differ. The player is then paid for any winning poker hands preferably based on the pay table applicable to each hand and the amount of the player's wager for each hand.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Electronic gaming machines, also generally referred to as slot machines, have long been a mainstay of the gaming industry. One of the most popular types of such machines is by far the game of video poker. It is believed that video poker appeals to a number of players because it is more intellectually stimulating than other slot machines that merely present the player with a random display of symbols using physical or video reels or the like. This is because with video poker, a player is given the opportunity to make strategic decisions based upon mathematical principles in the form of selecting which cards to be held that affect the outcome of each game. It is believed that this provides the player with a sense of control that is reassuring. Also, a player well versed in the strategy of a particular video poker game will, over the long run, fair better than a player who does not fully understand the strategy involved for a particular video poker game.

Another reason that video poker is popular among players is because these machines typically will have a much better payback percentage than the reel-type slot machine. For instance reel-type slot machines typically have a payback percentage (or expected value) of between 80% and 90%. However, video poker games are often made available to players with theoretical payback percentages of 99%. In fact, gaming establishments frequently provide video poker games that have theoretical payback percentages greater than 100%. The reason gaming establishments can profitably offer such games, and the reason the payback percentage is “theoretical,” is because it is based upon a theoretical player who uses perfect strategy with every play of every hand. In reality, very few players can play perfectly all of the time.

Unlike a reel-type slot machine, the payback percentage for any game of video poker can be determined by looking at the game's pay table. The pay table will also dictate what the best strategy is for any given hand. Typically, as the payback percentages get closer to, or even exceed 100%, the complexity of the pay table increases as does the difficulty of determining what the best strategy is for a given hand. As a result, players and gaming establishments alike are constantly looking for new and exciting pay tables that offer the player the opportunity to play a high-return game but that also consistently provide strong earnings to the gaming establishment.

In addition to new pay tables, another recent development has sparked player interest in video poker and also continued to provide high earnings to casinos. This is the development of multi-hand poker games such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,873 and 6,007,066, the substance of which is incorporated herein by reference. These patents describe a video poker game that has been commercially developed and known as Triple Play Poker™. In Triple Play Poker™, the player is dealt a first hand and whatever cards are selected to be held in the first hand are also duplicated into a second and third hand. Each hand is then completed with independently drawn replacement cards. Thus, once the player makes his initial strategy decision with respect to which cards to hold in the first hand, this decision is repeated in the second and third hand. Triple Play Poker™ is available in nearly all of the pay table variations as other single-handed video poker games, but it continues to be a marked favorite over single-handed video poker by players and casinos alike. It is believed that there are at least two primary reasons for the success of Triple Play Poker™. First (from the player's perspective) it is rare for the player to lose on all three hands at the same time. Even with the worst of starting hands, a player will often complete at least one winning draw on one of the three hands played. Therefore, the player may feel like Triple Play Poker™ is a better value than single-handed video poker. Second (from the casino's perspective) the player is playing approximately three times as fast, and thus losing three times as fast as he would be using a single-handed game. Because of this accelerated rate of play, Triple Play Poker™ is much more profitable for casinos to operate than single-handed games.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new type of multi-hand poker game that accelerates the rate at which player's play compared to single-handed poker. It is a further object of the invention to provide a new type of multi-hand poker game that allows for new and exciting pay table combinations and holding strategies. And it is still a further object of the invention to provide a new video poker game that players will believe is a better value because there are more ways to win.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an electronic gaming machine for playing a game according to the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the electronic configuration of an embodiment of the gaming terminal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the general steps according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a possible screen display for the present invention after the initial deal of the cards.

FIG. 5 shows a possible screen display for a first version of the present invention after the hold selections have been made.

FIG. 6 shows a possible result that could occur during the play of the first version of the present invention after the draw indicated by FIG. 5 has been completed.

FIG. 7 shows a possible screen display for a second version of the present invention after the hold selections have been made.

FIG. 8 shows a possible result that could occur during the play of the second version of the present invention after the draw indicated by FIG. 7 has been completed.

FIG. 9 shows a possible screen display for a third version of the present invention after the hold selections have been made.

FIG. 10 shows a possible result that could occur during the play of the third version of the present invention after the draw indicated by FIG. 9 has been completed.

FIG. 11 shows a possible screen display for a fourth version of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards has been made and the initial hold selections have been made.

FIG. 12 shows a possible result that could occur during the play of the fourth version of the present invention after the draw indicated by FIG. 11 has been completed.

FIG. 13 shows a possible screen display for a fifth version of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards has been made and the initial hold selections have been made.

FIG. 14 shows a possible result that could occur during the play of the fifth version of the present invention after the draw indicated by FIG. 13 has been completed.

FIG. 15 shows a possible screen display for a sixth version of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards has been made.

FIG. 16 shows a possible screen display for the sixth version of the present invention after the hold selections in the initial hand have been made and the corresponding cards in the additional hands have been created.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the present invention may be deployed on a gaming device 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Gaming device 100 has the features of a conventional slot machine. The gaming device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is what is commonly referred to as an upright slot machine and the player can operate it while standing or sitting. Most often the gaming device 100 is preferably mounted on a stand. (Not shown.) Although an up-right slot machine 100 is shown in FIG. 1, it can be appreciated that the gaming device 100 can be any other style of gaming machine known in the art including, but not limited to a pub-style table-top or slant-top game which a player can operate while sitting. The gaming device 100 can be constructed with varying cabinet and display designs.

Gaming device 100 can incorporate any primary game including, but not limited to reel slots, video poker, blackjack, keno or bingo. Further, there can be many types of bonus games associated with these primary games. The symbols and indicia used on and in gaming device 100 may be in mechanical, electrical, electronic or video form. Gaming device 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a video display 105 for displaying symbols.

It should be appreciated that the display devices may display any visual representation or exhibition, including but not limited to video images or movement of physical objects. The display devices can be a video monitor or screen, a liquid crystal display or any other display mechanism. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that these display devices may preferably include touch screens.

As shown in FIG. 1, gaming device 100 preferably includes one or more wager accepting mechanisms. The primary wager accepting mechanism on the gaming device 100 shown in FIG. 1 may be a bill validator 110. The bill validator 110 may also accept other forms of payment including, but not limited to tickets, smart cards, debit cards and credit cards. Alternatively, some of these forms of payment may be accepted through a card reader 130. The card reader 130 may include any type of card reading device, such as a magnetic card reader or an optical card reader. The player will insert a card, such as a player tracking card or a credit card into the card reader 130 which will then read data from the card. The card reader 130 may be used to read and/or write from and/or to the inserted card. There may also be a coin slot 120 on the gaming device 100 in which a player can insert coins or tokens.

After a player inserts money in the gaming device 100, either via the coin slot 120, the bill validator 110 or the card reader 130, a number of credits corresponding to the amount deposited is shown in a credit display 140. After money is credited to the machine 100 and shown on the credit display 140, the player then determines the wager amount. The machine 100 may have any number of mechanisms known in the art for allowing a player to determine his wager. As the player is selecting the wager amount, this wager amount is displayed on a bet display 160. As the bet display 160 amount is incrementing, the credit meter 140 amount is decreasing by the corresponding amount.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the general electronic configuration that may be incorporated in gaming device 100. The configuration preferably includes a processor 200. The processor 200 is preferably a microcontroller-based platform or microprocessor which is capable of displaying images, symbols and other indicia such as images of people, characters, places, things and faces of cards. One or more secondary processors may also be employed in conjunction with the primary processor to control certain aspects of the game function.

The gaming device 100 also includes a memory device 210 for storing program code or other data. This memory device 210 can include both read only memory (ROM) 205 and random access memory (RAM) 207. One of the functions performed by a program or sub-program in the processor 200 may be a random number generator (RNG) using any of several methods known to those skilled in the art. In addition to the memory device 210, the electronic configuration of the gaming device 100 may also include one or more input devices 220, one or more display devices 230, a sound card 240, and one or more speakers 250.

The input devices 220 may include but are not limited to a deal/draw button 145, a bet one credit button 170, a max bet button 150 and a cash out button 180. Initiating cash out button 180 may result in the player's balance from the credit meter 140 being deposited into a tray 190 in the form of coin, cash, a ticket or any other suitable media. Additional hold buttons 171, 172, 173, 174 and 175 may be provided for selecting a card to be held. In situations where a touch screen 260 is used, a touch screen controller 265 and touch screen 260 are connected to a video controller 270 and the processor 200.

Although FIG. 2 shows the processor 200 and memory device 210 residing on the gaming device 100, it should be appreciated that it is possible for both the processor 200 and memory device 210 or a portion thereof to reside at a central location instead of at the gaming device 100. In such a situation, a network server may be used to communicate to the gaming device over an Internet connection, local area network (LAN), or wide area network (WAN). The processor 200 and memory device 210 are generally referred to herein as the controller.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the general logic of a game according to the present invention will now be described. It should be understood that although the inventor has placed these steps in a logical order, the steps of the present invention can be performed in nearly any order desired. At step 310 the player places his wager for the game. At step 315 the processor 200 determines the total number of hands to be played. Preferably, this determination is based in part on the previous step 310 of wagering. For example, if the player wagers five credits per hand and makes a total wager of twenty credits, the total number of hands to be played will be four. The logic of the game may naturally limit the total number of possible hands, for instance to five. At step 320 the processor 200 randomly deals a first starting hand to the player. Preferably this is accomplished using a computer representation of a standard fifty-two card deck. In the present examples, the starting hand is a five-card hand as is typically used in video poker. At step 330 the player selects which cards to hold in the first starting hand. This selection may be accomplished using the touch screen or the hold buttons 171, 172, 173, 174 and 175.

At step 340 the processor 200 creates the necessary additional starting hands. In the preferred embodiment each additional starting hand is created using a simple algorithm that creates a starting hand based at least upon the cards selected to be held in the previous starting hand. Thus, the second starting hand will preferably be based upon the cards selected to be held in the first starting hand. And the third starting hand will preferably be based either upon the cards used to create the second starting hand, the cards selected to be held in the first starting hand or a combination thereof. The algorithm used to create the additional hands is preferably quite simple so that the average player can understand and anticipate the results of the algorithm. In the preferred algorithm each playing card's attributes are defined by a rank number and a suit number.

The rank number is between two and fourteen and corresponds to the card's rank according to the following Table 1:

TABLE 1
Card Rank Rank Number
2         2
3         3
4         4
5         5
6         6
7         7
8         8
9         9
10        10
Jack      11
Queen     12
King      13
Ace       14

Similarly each card's suit number is between one and four and corresponds to the card's suit according suit according to Table 2:

TABLE 2
Card Suit Suit Number
Clubs     1
Diamonds  2
Hearts    3
Spades    4

These suit numbers and rank numbers have been arbitrarily assigned. In the preferred embodiment, the algorithm used to create a subsequent card increases both the suit and rank numbers of the previous corresponding card by one, however it would be possible to use any algorithm. For the remainder of the examples discussed herein, it will be this algorithm, also called a progression, is being used unless specified

In addition to increasing the rank and suit numbers by one, in order to create a subsequent starting hand it may be necessary for the processor 200 to resolve the situation where this increase will exceed the set boundary. For instance, if the previous hand involved an Ace, with a rank of fourteen, the next hand would presumably have a corresponding card with a rank of fifteen. However, because fifteen exceeds the set boundary the processor 200 would employ the predetermined algorithm to establish a new rank number. The preferred embodiments of the present invention resolve this boundary condition in three distinct ways. In the first alternative, when a rank or suit number would exceed the boundary, the number is revolved to a predetermined lower rank. This may be the minimum rank number or another number chosen by the operator. In the example with the Ace, where the algorithm revolves to the minimum rank number, the subsequent card would be a Two with a rank number of two. In the second alternative, once a number reaches the upper boundary limit, it is maintained there for all subsequent cards created in subsequent hands. Thus when using this second alternative, an Ace in a previous hand will result in a corresponding Ace in each subsequent hand. Finally, in a third embodiment, once the upper limit of a boundary is reached, the progressive algorithm reverses the direction of its progression, for at least one subsequent hand. Thus, an Ace would result in a King in the next subsequent hand. This reversal may last for only one hand, or may be permanent for the remainder of the game for the particular card sequence, or may last for some other number of subsequent hands. For instance, where a pair of Queens or better is the minimum hand for a player to receive a payout, the reversal in direction may only last until the subsequent card created would be lower than a Queen. The following table shows how a number of possible subsequent cards could occur in subsequent hands based on the foregoing alternatives in a game that requires a player to make a pair of Queens or better in order to receive a payout.

	TABLE 3
	1st Hand	2nd Hand	3rd Hand	4th Hand	5th Hand
Revolved	King	Ace	Two	Three	Four
Maintain	King	Ace	Ace	Ace	Ace
Reverse	King	Ace	King	Queen	Jack
Reverse	King	Ace	King	Ace	King
Once
Reverse	King	Ace	King	Queen	King
3×

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each of these variations will result in a unique game profile that will present differing strategic choices to the player. For instance, in a game like Jacks or Better, the revolving method will often penalize a player for holding a high card like a King, because in one or more subsequent hands the card will be of a rank that is insufficient to earn the player a payout if he happens to pair that card. Conversely, the alternative where a card's rank is maintained as an Ace, may likely benefit a player by increasing the probability of the player having two or more Aces in several of his five individual hands once each hand is completed. For instance, if a player is dealt an Ace, a King and a Queen of three different suits in the first hand, he may well decide to hold all three, although this would not be the optimum choice in a single-handed 9/6 Jacks or Better game (holding just the King and Queen has an expected value of approximately 0.483, while holding the Ace, King and Queen has an expected value of approximately 0.456). However, this “error” in the first hand would be more than covered by the increased value of the second hand where the player would have Ace, Ace, King (an expected value of 1.416) and the third, fourth and fifth hands where the player would draw to three Aces (an expected value of 4.303). Similarly, the Reversing options may prompt a player to make hold selections in the first hand that differ from optimum “standard” strategy for a single handed game. In each of these preferred embodiments, the problem of a subsequent card's rank or suit numbers exceeding a boundary is dealt with on an individual card basis. However, it would be possible to apply these rules to a group of cards. For instance, if a player held a King and a Jack and the processor 200 was programmed to reverse the progression of all cards once the boundary for any one card was exceeded, the rank of the cards used to create the second hand would be Ace and Queen, and in the third hand would be King and Jack and in the fourth hand would be Queen and Ten.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that when the pay table used is one of the popular video poker pay tables used today in other video poker games, the resolution of these boundary conditions is of primary importance to determining the rank of a subsequently created card. The suit of the card is of much less importance. But it would be a simple matter to modify a pay table such that a flush could pay an amount that is dependent on the suit of the cards. For instance, a Spade flush may pay six credits while all other flushes may pay five credits.

In addition to resolving issues where the boundary conditions may be exceeded, where that resolution involves altering the progression, for instance by maintaining a card's rank or reversing the direction of progression in a series, the processor 200 at step 340 may need to implement an algorithm to resolve a possible conflict in a subsequent hand where the algorithm initially indicates that two cards in the same hand would have the same rank and suit. For instance, where the suit and rank number of each previous card is increased by one to create a new card for a subsequent hand and where the cards' rank progression is reversed once it reaches the rank of Ace, if a player holds the Ace and Queen of Clubs in the starting hand, the algorithm would indicate that the second hand would have a King of Diamonds (created as a result of holding the Ace of Clubs, where the new rank number is the result of a decreasing progression and the suit number is increased by one) and a second King of Diamonds (created as a result of holding the Queen of Clubs, where the rank number and suit number have both been increased by one).

One way to resolve this conflict is to simply allow it to occur. This would provide certain advantages to the player, for instance by allowing the player to make a five-of-a-kind hand that is currently impossible to make with a standard fifty-two card deck. An alternative would be to award the player a joker or wild card any time an identity conflict occurs. Still another related alternative would be to change the suit of the card from one of the four standard suits to a non-suit or multi-suit card. This card may have the suit properties of all four suits (a multi-suit card), such that it can be used to complete flushes, or it may have the opposite effect (a non-suit card) and prevent a flush from being completed. Each of these possibilities, however, involve using cards not found in a standard fifty-two card deck and may therefore be less desirable to the operator and/or it's patrons.

If this is the case, the conflict may be resolved by advancing the progression of the suit and/or the rank number of one of the cards in conflict an additional progression. For instance, in the previous example, the conflict may be resolved by changing the suit of one of the two King of Diamonds to the next suit (i.e., a King of Hearts). Alternatively, the conflict may be resolved by changing the rank number (i.e, the King of Diamonds created based on the Ace of Clubs may become a Queen of Diamonds or the King of Diamonds created based on the Queen of Clubs may become an Ace of Diamonds).

Regardless of the method used to resolve the conflict, the change may be temporary—applying only to the cards created for the particular hand after which, the progression will resume it's normal, anticipated pattern. Alternatively the change may be permanent and apply to any remaining hands yet to be created. For example, if the processor 200 is programmed to resolve the hypothetical identity conflict by designating the second King of Diamonds as a multi-suit King, the subsequent hand may contain an Ace of Hearts based on the multi-suit King (where the conflict resolution was temporary) or may contain a multi-suit Ace (where the conflict resolution was permanent).

At step 350 the processor 200 completes each of the poker hands for the player. For the first hand, this will involve replacing the cards that were not selected to be held with some of the forty-seven cards remaining from the original standard deck. With the subsequent hands that were created based upon the first hand, the cards drawn to complete the subsequent hands may come from a variety of sources. It would of course be possible to complete the subsequent hands using the same remaining cards from the original deck. However, it is more preferable to complete the subsequent hands using a different deck for each subsequent hand. Typically, each deck used to complete a subsequent hand will have the same number of cards. However, the make up of the individual cards in each deck used to complete a subsequent hand will preferably be different. In the preferred embodiments, the deck used to complete any subsequent hand is formed by starting with a standard fifty-two card deck and then removing the cards that have already been created in the subsequent hand. Additionally, it is preferable to remove additional cards from the deck used to complete a subsequent hand. These cards may be the cards in the original hand that the player chose not hold, or more preferably, the cards that would have been created in the subsequent hand based upon the cards that were not held (preferably once all the relevant progression—boundary and conflict identity algorithm rules—have been applied to the creation of those cards). As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the deletion of the cards that were created, but not held, from the drawing deck could be communicated to the player by displaying these cards in the subsequent hands.

At step 370 on FIG. 3, each hand is evaluated after it has been completed. And if the completed hand is determined to be a winning hand according to the pay table, the processor 200 will cause a payout to be made to the player at step 380.

Referring now to the remaining figures, several versions of the game employing the present invention with a variety of the previously discussed alternative features will now be described. Referring now to FIG. 4, an initial starting hand of cards is dealt into a first row 400 from a standard fifty-two card deck of playing cards. This row includes an Ace of Diamonds 401, a Two of Diamonds 402, a Queen of Diamonds 403, an Ace of Hearts 404 and a Three of Spades 405. This starting hand will be used for the later versions represented on FIGS. 5 through 10. And for all of the versions discussed hereafter, the rank and suit number of each card created in a subsequent hand will be increased by one compared to the corresponding card's rank and suit number in the prior hand, unless otherwise noted. FIG. 5 also indicates that the player has chosen to wager on five hands of poker. For the ease of reference and illustration, each game will use the following pay table, based upon the standard 9/6 Jacks or Better pay table:

TABLE 4
Hand                             Payout
Royal Flush                      800
5 of a Kind                      160
Straight Flush                   50
4 of a Kind                      25
Full House                       9
Flush - Hearts, Diamonds or Clubs 6
Spade Flush                      5
Straight                         4
3 of a Kind                      3
Two Pair                         2
Jacks or Better                  1

It will be appreciated that for some of the versions disclosed that the above pay table may result in an expected return significantly greater than 100%, and that the pay table would therefore need to be modified. Furthermore, it is to be understood that a great many other pay tables could be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a version of the present invention will now be described where the rank of each subsequently created card is maintained as an Ace once that level is reached and the suit of each subsequently created card is maintained as a Spade once that level is reached. With regard to identity conflicts, when such a conflict occurs the second (or third, etc.) card will receive a non-suit designation. Looking at FIG. 5 it is evident that the player has selected to hold the Ace of Diamonds 401, the Queen of Diamonds 403 and the Ace of Hearts 404. These decisions are indicated by a “HELD” message 420a, 420b and 420c, respectively. A second row 410, forming a second drawing hand has been created based upon the hold selections made by the player in the first row 400. The second row comprises an Ace of Hearts (created based upon the Ace of Diamonds 401) a King of Hearts (created based upon the Queen of Diamonds 403) and an Ace of Spades (created based upon the Ace of Hearts 404). A third row 411 is also created. Again this row 411 contains an Ace of Spades in the fourth position as a result of the Ace of Hearts 404 being held. However, according to the progression algorithm, the first position and the third position in the third row 411 should also contain an Ace of Spades. This identity conflict is resolved however by placing a non-suited Ace in each of these two positions. The same logic results in non-suited Aces being placed in the first and third positions of a fourth row 412 and a fifth row 413, in addition to an Ace of Spades in the fourth position of both rows 412 and 413.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the process of completing the hands in each row and evaluating them will now be discussed. In the first row 400 the Two of Diamonds 402 and the Three of Spades 405 are discarded and replacement cards are drawn from the forty-seven cards remaining out of the fifty-two card deck. The replacement cards are the Five of Diamonds and the Five of Spades respectively. This results in a hand ranking of Two Pair and a payout of two times the amount wagered by the player on the first row 400. For the remain rows, each row will draw from a fresh deck that has the standard fifty-two cards in it, less the cards already created in the row, less the cards that would have been created in the row had the Two of Diamonds 402 and Three of Spades 405 been held in the first row 400. Thus, in the second row 410 two additional cards are drawn from a fresh deck of forty-seven cards. This deck is a standard fifty-two card deck that has had the Ace of Hearts, King of Hearts and Ace of Spades removed because these cards have already been created in the hand. Additionally, the Three of Hearts and Four of Spades have been removed because those cards would have been created in the second row 410, if the Two of Diamonds 402 and Three of Spades 405 had been selected as held cards in the first row 400. The result of this draw is a Nine of Diamonds and a Six of Clubs, making a pair of Aces in the second row 410. The third row is completed using a forty-nine card deck. This deck is created by removing the Ace, Four and Five of Spades from a standard fifty-two card deck. Notice that because only one Ace has been removed from the deck—leaving three more—the player's odds of making four Aces or five Aces is greatly increased. In the example provided, the player has in deed made four of kind in the third row 411. The fourth row 412 and fifth row 413 are completed in the same manner. Also, although in a single hand version of draw video poker a rational player would never hold a Queen with a pair of dealt Aces, in this particular game it is the correct strategy because it guarantees the player at least three of a kind in the third, fourth and fifth rows 411, 412 and 413. This is true even though the player experiences a reduced expected value for holding the Queen of Diamonds 403 in the first row 400 and the King of Hearts in the second row 410.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an alternative embodiment based on the initial draw and hold decisions shown in FIG. 5 will now be described. In this version, the progression in rank number of an individual series of cards will be reversed once the top rank (i.e., an Ace) is reached. The progression for suits will revolve indefinitely. Further, any identity conflicts will be ignored such that one hand may have two cards of the same rank and suit. Again the Ace of Diamonds 401, Queen of Diamonds 403 and Ace of Hearts 404 are selected in the first row as held cards. Holding the Ace of Diamonds 401 in the first row 400 results in a second row 410 with a King of Hearts in the first position because the progression is immediately reversed. After the progression is reversed, the third row 411 is created with a Queens of Spades in the first position, the fourth row 412 is created with a Jack of Clubs in the first position and the fifth row 413 is created with a Ten of Diamonds in the first position. Holding the Ace of Hearts 404 results in a. similar creation of cards in the fourth position of the second row 410, third row 411, fourth row 412 and fifth row 413. Respectively, these rows have a King of Spades, Queen of Clubs, Jack of Diamonds and Ten of Hearts created in the fourth position. With respect to the series of cards created in the third position of each row as a result of holding the Queen of Diamonds 403 in the first row 400, the second row 410 has a King of Hearts. The third row 411 has an Ace of Spades. In the fourth row 412, the rank progression reverses, creating a King of Clubs and in the fifth row 413, a Queen of Diamonds is created.

Referring now to. FIG. 8, the completed draw for each row is now considered. As in the previous example, each row is completed using a standard deck of fifty-two cards, less any cards already created in the row, or that would have been created if the card in the blank position had been held in the first row 400. Thus in the first row 400, a Five of Diamonds and a Five of Spades is drawn from the remaining forty-seven card deck. The first row 400 resulting hand is two pair. In the second row 410, a King of Clubs and a Nine of Diamonds are drawn from a forty-eight card deck, resulting in four Kings. In the third row 411, an Ace of Diamonds and a Four of Hearts is drawn from a forty-seven card deck, resulting in two pair. In the fourth row 412, a Queen of Diamonds and a Seven of Spades is drawn from a forty-seven card deck resulting in a pair of Jacks. And in the fifth row 413, an Ace of Diamonds and an Ace of Hearts is drawn from a forty-seven card deck resulting in two pair. Similar to the previous example, the correct play in this example was to hold the Queen of Diamonds 403 in the first row 400, so that the player is guaranteed three of a kind in the second row 410, with a possibility of drawing to four or even five of a kind. This more than makes up for the lowered expected values for the drawing hands in the first row 400, the third row 411, the fourth row 412 and the fifth row 413.

Referring now to FIG. 9, yet another embodiment will now be described. This embodiment is generally like the embodiment discussed with respect to FIG. 7, with the exception that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, when an identity conflict occurs one of the cards will progress to the next suit, and if that can not resolve the, conflict, one of the cards will progress to the next rank. In the embodiment shown, this deviation from the standard progression is temporary (only affecting the row where the conflict occurred) and the sequence of cards created in subsequent rows is unchanged. Therefore, the cards created in the third, fourth and fifth rows 411, 412 and 413 are identical to the corresponding rows shown in FIG. 7. But in the second row 410, the identity conflict algorithm dictates that a King of Spades be created in the third position rather than a King of Hearts, because the King of Hearts has already been created in the first position. Similarly, the fourth position is a King of Clubs, because the King of Spades is unavailable. Thus, although the player has three Kings in the second row 410, he will complete that row from a deck with forty-seven cards, of which only one card is a King—the King of Diamonds. This reduces the player's chance of making four of a kind in the second row 410, by almost half as compared to the prior example and completely eliminates the possibility of making five of a kind. Thus, the decision to hold the Queen of Diamonds 403, is a much closer decision, mathematically, in this version than in the prior version. The results of the completed hands are shown on FIG. 10. And whereas on FIG. 8 the player drew a King of Clubs on the second row to make four of a kind, for the draw on FIG. 10, the King of Clubs was unavailable and the player drew a Seven of Spades instead.

Referring now to FIG. 11, yet another embodiment will be described. In this embodiment the progression algorithm only increases the rank of the subsequently created cards and the suit of the previous card is maintained. When a card's rank exceeds the maximum (i.e., Ace) the progression reverses. Identity conflicts are resolved by increasing the rank of the forward progressing card. Any conflict resolution will have an ongoing effect in subsequent hands. For illustrative purposes, the initial draw of cards in the first row 400 has been altered slightly from the previous examples. Specifically, the Ace of Hearts 404 has been replaced by a Seven of Hearts 406. Again, as indicated by the “HELD” logos 420a and 420b under the Ace of Diamonds 401 and the Queen of Diamonds 403, these two cards have been held. As a result a King of Diamonds has been created in the first position and an Ace of Diamonds has been created in the third position of the second row 410. The creation of the Ace of Diamonds is a result of the identity conflict algorithm—but for the identity conflict both the first, position and the third position in the second row 410 would be occupied by the King of Diamonds. Because the effect of the conflict resolution is ongoing, the third row 411 has a King of Diamonds in the third position and a Queen of Diamonds in the first position. Referring now to FIG. 12, each row of cards has been completed from a fresh forty-seven card deck.

Referring now to FIG. 13, another embodiment will now be discussed. In the embodiment, once any card to be created in any row would exceed the maximum rank, all of the cards created in, that row or in subsequent rows will progress their rank in reverse. Under this scheme, there: is no possibility for an, identity conflict in a subsequent row, so no conflict resolution is defined. For the purposes of illustration the Ace of Diamonds 401 in the first row 400 has been changed to a King of Diamonds 407. The remaining cards drawn in the first row 400 are unchanged from the previous example. Again, as indicated by the “HELD” logos 420a and 420b under the King of Diamonds 407 and the Queen of Diamonds 403, these two cards have been held. As a result the second row 410 has an Ace of Hearts and a King of Hearts in the corresponding first and third positions. Because of the Ace of Hearts in the second row 410, the cards in the third row 411 will be created using a reverse rank progression. Thus, the third row 411 has a King of Spades and a Queen of Spades in the first and third positions respectively. The fourth row 412 has a Queen of Clubs and a Jack of Clubs in the first and third positions respectively and the fifth row 413 has a Jack of Diamonds and a Ten of Diamonds in the first and third positions respectively. Referring now to FIG. 14, each hand in each row has been completed by discarding the unused cards and drawing additional cards to complete each hand.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a final version of the present invention will now be discussed. In this version when a subsequently created card's rank would exceed the maximum, the card is reassigned a new rank. This rank may be random or predetermined. And in the version discussed it is predetermined to be the minimum rank. According to this method the rank of the cards, much like the card's suit in several of the previous examples, continues to revolve in a cyclic pattern for however many cards are created. Due to the nature of this algorithm there is again no need for identity conflict resolution between cards. Therefore, for this version, all of the cards that will be created in the subsequent hands can be shown before any cards are selected to be held. And therefore, all the cards in all of the rows can be shown face up as indicated on FIG. 15. As seen in FIG. 16, the player has opted to hold the Nine of Hearts 408 and the Ten of Hearts 409 in the first row 400. The corresponding cards in the fourth and fifth positions of the second row 410, the third row 411, the fourth row 412 and the fifth row 413 are also held and the remaining cards are discarded. As in the previous examples, additional cards are then drawn for each row to complete each poker hand.

It should be understood that the various methods for creating a new card with a progressively increase rank or its suit, as well as the methods for dealing with cards at the boundary limit of an increase, as well as the methods for resolving conflicts when two cards in the same hand have the same rank and suit, as well as the methods for completing each hand can be combined in a number of ways not disclosed in this invention, but each such combination is to be understood as being within the scope of invention. Thus, the foregoing should be considered illustrative rather than limiting the invention, which is defined only by the following claims, the steps of which may be performed in nearly any order acceptable to the game operator.

Claims

1. A method of playing a game of poker comprising:

(a) accepting a wager from a player;

(b) dealing a first poker hand to the player consisting of at least a plurality of first cards, wherein each card has a rank and a suit;

(c) selecting a number of the first cards as cards to be held;

(d) discarding the first cards that were not selected to be held;

(e) completing the first hand by drawing additional cards;

(f) creating an additional hand of cards, said additional hand at least having one card corresponding to each card selected to be held in the first hand, wherein each of said cards in the additional hand has a rank or a suit that was selected based, at least in part on the rank and suit of a corresponding card in a previous hand according to a predefined progression;

(g) completing the second hand by drawing additional cards;

(h) evaluating the poker hand rankings of all completed hands;

(i) making a payout to the player based on the evaluated poker hand rankings, a pay table and the wager.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the wager determines a number of additional hands to be created and steps (f) and (g) are repeated until the determined number of additional hands is created and completed, such that a series of cards are created based on each corresponding card in the first hand selected to be held.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the predefined progression includes increasing the rank of each card created in any additional hand by one increment over the rank of the corresponding card in the previous hand until a maximum rank is reached.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the predefined progression includes maintaining the rank of any card created in any additional hand at the maximum rank if any of the cards corresponding to the created card had the maximum rank in any previous hand.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the predefined progression includes reversing the direction of progression for the series of cards created based on the corresponding card in the first hand once one card in the series reaches the maximum rank.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the maximum rank is an Ace.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the predefined progression includes resetting the rank of a card created in an additional hand at a predetermined rank if the corresponding card in the previous hand was of the maximum rank.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the maximum rank is an Ace and the predetermined rank is a Two.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein the predefined progression includes reversing the direction of progression for all cards created after either a card selected to be held in the first hand or created in an additional hand reaches the rank of Ace.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein the predefined progression includes changing either the rank or suit of at least one created card in an additional hand if two or more created cards in the additional hand have the same rank and suit.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined progression includes changing the suit of the at least one created card to a non-suit card.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined progression includes changing the suit of the at least one created card to a multi-suit card.

13. The method of claim 6 wherein the predefined progression includes changing either the rank or suit of at least one created card in an additional hand if two or more created cards in the additional hand have the same rank and suit.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the predefined progression includes changing the suit of the at least one created card to a non-suit card.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the predefined progression includes changing the suit of the at least one created card to a multi-suit card.