Method and apparatus for payouts based on community cards

Abstract

An apparatus for playing a community card poker game and methods of distributing house winnings responsive to a community card outcome of the game are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment the method of distributing house winnings to one or more players of the game may be based on one or more rankings of a community card outcome. In response to a community card outcome, one or more players may receive a portion of the house winnings according to a predetermined payout table. A portion of the house winnings may be distributed to one or more players as a fixed payout or as a progressively building payout. A fixed payout may depend on the ranking of the hand formed from the community cards. A progressive payout may provide a greater house winnings distribution resulting from less frequent payouts by awarding a payout on a higher ranking community card hand.

Description

1. PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/723,080 entitled Method and Apparatus for Payouts Based on Community Cards which was filed on Oct. 3, 2005.

2. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to card games and, more specifically, to games that utilize community cards, and methods of returning house winnings to players based upon the outcome of community cards.

3. RELATED ART

In the past, gaming establishments have offered a variety of table games to players in gaming establishments in those States commonly called Class II jurisdictions such as Oklahoma and Florida. The phrase “commonly called” is used to not denote actual legal status but the terminology used by those persons skilled in the gaming industry. In Class II gaming jurisdictions the operator (otherwise termed the house) of a table wagering game may not keep all of the winnings derived from their position as the dealer or house for the wagering activities associated with table game. Instead, the house often accepts a per hand fee called a commission or ante.

Although fee based gaming, such as a flat fee per hand, is one potential option to facilitate play in Class II jurisdiction, it suffers from numerous disadvantages. Monies won on the game which need to be returned to the player by law are given back to the player not on the game itself. For example, a casino may do drawings for prizes such as clothing or motor vehicles. The casino's revenue on each game is at least substantially based on the time each player stays playing the game (hands per hour of the game multiplied by the commission or ante). This invention is a method which distributes the game winnings on the game which will entice the player to stay on the game longer.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a method of distributing house winnings derived from a card game utilizing community cards is disclosed. One example of a community card poker game comprises Texas Hold'em Bonus™. It is contemplated that during play, of the game the community cards generate at least one community card outcome. In one embodiment the community card outcome is the rank of the hand formed from the community cards.

As often occurs during game play, wagers may be received from players of the game. As game play progresses, the players' hands may be compared to the dealer and in view of the game rules and, based on the comparison, players hand may be determined to be a winning hand or losing hand. In accordance with game rules, winning hands are awarded a payout based upon the wager, while the house collects the wagers associated with losing hands. Wagers collected by the house are referred to herein as house take or simply take.

The house take may accumulate during play of the game, which in Class II jurisdictions must be returned to the players. To overcome the limitations of the prior art in Class II jurisdictions, the house may distribute the house take back to the players based on the outcome of the community cards, such as for example the rank of the hand formed by the community cards. By way of example, the dealer may determine whether the community card outcome merits a distribution of at least a portion of the house take to the players. As discussed below, the house take may be distributed to the players, based on the outcome of the community cards, in any of numerous various ways.

One embodiment disclosed herein is a method for distributing house winnings of a game having community cards. The method comprises presenting a game to one or more players such that the game comprises providing community cards and accepting wagers on a game outcome, such that the community cards generate a community card outcome. During play of the game, wagers are settled with at least one player of the game based on the game outcome and house winnings are accumulated from at least a portion of accepted wagers during play of the game. Then this method of play also inspects at least one community card outcome and determines whether the community card outcome merits a distribution of at least a portion of the accumulated house winning. If the community card outcome merits a distribution, then distributing at least a portion of the house winning to at least one player of the game.

In one embodiment, the game is played in a Class II jurisdiction and the game comprises Texas Hold'em Bonus. It is contemplated that distributing may comprise distributing all of the house winnings to at least one player. Alternatively, the distribution may comprise comparing the community card outcome to a pay table to determine if the rank of the community card outcome warrants a payout. Or, the step of distributing may comprise providing at least a portion of the house winning comprises a progressive payout.

Also disclosed is a method of offering a game in class II type game comprising dealing one or more cards to one or more players, wherein cards dealt to a player are player's cards and also dealing one or more community cards. The dealing may occur in any order. Then one or more wagers are accepted from one or more players and the one or more player hands are reviewed. In this embodiment, the one or more player hands are associated with a player and are created from any combination of one or more player's cards and one or more community cards. Then, this method determines which of the one or more player hands are winning hands and which of the one or more player hands are losing hands and collects wagers associated with losing hands to create accumulated winnings. Then, an award is provided to players associated with winning player hands and a determination is made regarding a community card outcome. Then, this method compares the community cards outcome against a predetermined community card outcome and awards at least a portion of the accumulated winnings to players based on the comparing.

In one embodiment the game comprises Texas Hold'em Bonus, which may be offered for play in a class II jurisdiction. The step of determining a community card outcome may comprise generating a community card hand using community cards. It is contemplated that the step of awarding may comprise providing a progressive payout. The awarding may also comprise providing a payout based on a payout table. Moreover, the step of awarding may occur after each round of play.

Also disclosed herein is a method of distributing house winnings of a game having community cards. This example method comprises accepting one or more wagers from one or more players and presenting a game to said one or more players such that the game includes one or more community cards and the community cards having a community card result. Then, this method of play determines if the outcome of the game is a winning outcome as to each of the one or more players and, if so, awards winnings funded at least partially by the one or more wagers accepted from the one or more players. This in turn generates a house pool funded at least partly by the one or more wagers accepted from the one or more players. If the community card result is a predetermined winning community card result then this method of play involves distributing at least a portion of the house pool to at least one of the or more players.

In one variation, the house pool is generated from the one or more wagers from a single table. In another variation, the house pool is generated from the one or more wagers from multiple tables. It is contemplated that the step of distributing at least a portion of the house pool may comprise distributing on a progressive basis or based on a pay table.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one or ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary gaming table layout according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing a wagering area of the gaming table layout of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method of distributing house winnings to players responsive to an outcome of community cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Without limiting the present disclosure, an example embodiment of a contemplated community card game may be Texas Hold'Em Bonus Poker™. In this disclosure of Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker™, the term ‘cards’ may denote one or more standard decks of 52 playing cards with rankings as is well-known in the art. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the ranking of playing card hands of each player of Texas Hold'Em Bonus Poker™ is similar to the ranking of playing card hands of Texas Hold'Em Poker as commonly played in poker rooms or as may be defined by a casino.

An exemplary embodiment of a gaming table layout 10 for Texas Hold'Em Bonus Poker™ game is shown in FIG. 1. The Texas Hold'Em Bonus Poker™ game is but one possible example of a game utilizing community cards and is presented herein for purposes of discussion. It is contemplated that any game may benefit from the method for house winning distribution as described herein. As such, the term ‘game’ as used herein may denote any game that utilizes community cards.

The gaming table layout 10 may comprise a dealer location 30 (denoted Dealer in FIG. 1), at least one player location 20 (denoted Player 1, Player 2 and so on in FIG. 1) and a wagering region 22 for each player of the game. It is understood that the designations Player 1, Player 2 and so on merely aid readability of this disclosure and not any specific order of player locations 20. A dealer (sometimes referred to as the ‘house’ or the ‘banker’) may be located in the general area of the dealer location 30. Without any limitation, more than one player may play the game. It is contemplated that a player may place a wager at any player location 20 that is not occupied by another player.

In this example embodiment of the game, the wagering region 22 includes at least an ante bet area 50 (see also FIG. 2) provided for a service fee paid to the house. In one embodiment the ante bet comprises an amount provided to the house to play in a hand of the game. It is contemplated that in Class II jurisdictions, the house may keep the ante, but not winnings from the game. The wagering region 22 may further comprise a blind wager area 52 provided for a first wager and a bonus wager area 60 provided for an optional second wager (see also FIG. 2). Furthermore, the wagering region 22 may comprise a flop wager area 54 provided for a mandatory third wager (to continue in the game), a turn wager area 46 provided for an optional fourth wager and a river wager area 46 provided for an optional fifth wager (see also FIG. 2). The flop wager, turn wager, and river wager may be made in anticipation or in response to community cards dealt by the dealer.

The gaming table layout 10 may further comprise a dealer card area 32 and a community card area 40. The community card area 40 may comprise a flop card area 42 for one or more cards dealt from the deck by the dealer. Also part of the community card area 40 is a turn card area 44 where a turn card may be dealt. Finally, for this embodiment a river card area 46 is provided to accept a river card dealt by the dealer. It is understood that the flop card area 42, the turn card area 44 and the river card area 46 may be located anywhere within the community card area 40. In addition, in other embodiments or other games, different community cards may be dealt or a different numbers of cards may be dealt for the flop, turn, and river.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing an enhanced detail of the wagering region 22 of the gaming table layout 10. It is understood that the ante wager area 50, the blind wager area 52, the flop wager area 54, the turn wager area 56, the river wager area 46 and the bonus wager area 60 of the wagering region 22 may be located anywhere within the wagering region 22.

In an exemplary method of play of the game, each player located at each player location 20 may be dealt a two-card hand face down (also known as hole cards) that can be used in combination with the community cards (in area 40 of FIG. 1) to create a poker hand. In one embodiment the two cards dealt to the player are combined with three of the five community cards to create a poker hand. The dealer located at the dealer location 30 may also be dealt a two-card hand face down. If the best possible poker hand proves to be the five community cards dealt in the community card area 40 (also termed the ‘board’), either the players and/or the dealer may elect not to use their two-card hand and instead may play the board by using all five community cards instead. In an exemplary embodiment of the game, a player's face down cards may not be viewable by any other player or the dealer. Similarly a dealer's face down cards may not viewable by any of the players of the game.

In an embodiment of the game, both the players and the dealer may achieve a best (or also termed ‘highest ranking’) five-card poker hand using any combination from their two-card hand and the five community cards (board cards). In a further embodiment of the game, no player-to-player competition occurs. Instead each player's hand may be compared to the dealer's hand. In this respect the game differs from Texas Hold'em as commonly played in poker rooms. The game may be played ‘heads-up’, meaning each player plays against the dealer. The best five-card poker hand comprising the combination of each player's two-card hand and the five community cards versus the combination of the dealer's two-card hand and the five community cards may provide the winning hand. For this reason, all wagers made by each player are made before each player views cards dealt during each step of the game.

In an embodiment of a method of playing the game, the dealer or house receives the ante amount as a service fee. The service fee may be collected by the house for participation in each hand or round of play. The service fee may alternatively be received by the house on a one-time basis. Alternatively the service fee may be received after the deck of cards is shuffled and a new game begins. It is contemplated that an operator may vary the method of receiving the service fee from the players

During play, and to participate in the game, a blind wager may be placed by each player on the blind wager area 52. Additionally, an optional bonus wager may be placed on the bonus wager area 60. The bonus wager entitles the player to compete for a ‘Bonus Jackpot’ wherein players may compare their two-card hand to a posted payout table to enhance their winnings. In one embodiment of the game it is contemplated that the second wager plays solely against the posted payout table and does not depend on the player having the best poker hand as compared to any other player's hand or the dealer's hand. In one exemplary embodiment of the game, a wager of $1 on the bonus wager area 60 may return a $30 jackpot if a player's hand comprises a pair of Aces. Other two-card hand pairings may provide other winnings for a player's bonus wager. It is contemplated that a player may receive winnings for their bonus wager even though they may have lost all other aspect of the hand or round.

In a further step of an exemplary embodiment of this method of play, a player may forfeit any one or all of the service fee (ante), the bonus wager and the blind wager to the dealer by folding the player's two-card hand. The term ‘folding the player's hand’ means returning the player's two-card hand to the dealer. The dealer may discard a player's folded two-card hand. When a player folds the player may be considered out of the game for the remainder of the round or hand.

A flop wager (FLOP wager) may be received from the player on the flop wager area 54. In one embodiment the flop wager received from the player must be twice the size of the blind wager. An operator of the game may predetermine the size of the flop wager. Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment a player may continue to play the game without placing any further wagers.

After receiving flop wagers from each player, the dealer may deal three community cards face up in the flop card area 42. Because the community cards are dealt face up, each player may view the three community cards, which may be used in combination with each player's two-card hand to achieve a five-card poker hand.

In a further step, a player may elect to forgo placing any further wagers, such as for example wagers on the turn card or river card. This action by the player may be termed ‘check’. The player also has the option to place a wager on the turn card, which is dealt to the community card area 40. In one embodiment of the method the amount of the turn wager may be the same as the blind wager, or fixed in amount or in some relation to the flop wager.

After receiving the check or the turn wager from the player, the dealer may deal a fourth community card face up to the community card area 40. In this game the fourth community card is referred to as a turn card. Each player may view the fourth card and combine the fourth card with both the flop cards and the player's two-card hand to achieve a five-card poker hand.

In an exemplary embodiment of the method of play, a player may elect to forgo placing yet further wagers. Alternatively, a river wager may be received from the player in anticipation of the river card, which is the fifth community card. In one embodiment the size of the river wager may be the same as the size of the blind wager, the flop wager or may be set at any fixed value.

After the player checks or places the river wager, the dealer may deal a fifth card face up on the river card area 46 of the community card area 40. Each player may view the fifth card and may combine all viewable community cards and the player's two-card hand to achieve a player's best five-card poker hand.

In one embodiment, the dealer may expose their cards at any time. In the same manner as the players, the dealer may combine all viewable community cards and the dealer's two-card hand to achieve a dealer's (or house) best five-card poker hand.

In an exemplary embodiment of the method, the dealer may sequentially turn each player's two card hand face up. Prior to proceeding to a next player's two-card hand, the dealer may settle the bonus wager with the player. The player may forfeit the bonus wager if the player's two-card hand does not achieve a predetermined ranking based on a payout table or other payout scheme.

In a further step, the dealer may compare the combination of the player's two-card hand and the five community cards with the dealer's best five-card poker hand. In one embodiment, if the player's best five-card poker hand has a lower ranking than the dealer's best five-card poker hand, the player forfeits all of the player's wagers except for the bonus wager as described above. Alternatively if the dealer's best five-card poker hand has a lower ranking than the player's five-card poker hand, the dealer pays or awards the flop wager, the turn wager and the river wager to the winning player according to a predetermined payout schedule.

In one such payout scheme, if the player's best five-card poker hand achieves a ranking of three nines or better and the player beats the dealer, then the dealer may pay the blind wager even money. If the player beats the dealer, then the flop, turn and river wagers may be paid even money regardless of the player's hand.

When a player's best five-card poker hand has the same ranking as the dealer's best five-card poker hand, the dealer may return all wagers to the player. In this case, the service fee may be retained by the dealer. If the dealer's hand beats the player, then the dealer collects the blind, flop, turn and river wagers.

Distribution of House Winnings in Class II Jurisdictions

As described above, in a Class II jurisdiction house winnings from wager of a card game may not be kept by the house at all or only a small percentage like 10% depending on the jurisdiction. The following discussion presents numerous different ways to distribute house winnings to the players participating in the game.

In this application, the term ‘house winnings’ is defined as the total amount of wagers retained by the house after all wagers are settled by paying winning wagers and collecting losing wagers of the game. The distribution of house winnings in compliance with Class II gaming establishment requirements may be varied in a number of ways.

Distribution of House Winnings in Response to a Community Card Outcome

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of returning house winnings to players responsive to an outcome of community cards (see above description of a community cards) as may be dealt during a game. In an exemplary method of distribution of house winnings, a dealer of a game may retain all house winnings from the game until a particular community card outcome occurs. Upon occurrence of one or more particular community card outcomes, the house winnings may be distributed to one or more players of the game.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step 300 a dealer may deal and optionally participate in play during one or more rounds of the game with one or more players (see also the above description of the game). In step 310, the dealer may receive house winnings from each losing wager during one or more rounds of the game. For example, in certain hands the player hand may win and be awarded a payout, while in other hands, the dealer or house hand may win. When the dealer or house hand wins, the dealer or house collects and keeps the losing wagers. Of importance in step 310 is that the house receives winnings from the players and a Class II jurisdiction may not permit the house to retain at least most of these winnings.

In step 320, dealer may inspect the community cards of a round of the game. This may comprise forming the best possible poker hand based on the community cards. Regardless of the number of community cards, the community cards may be arranged in any manner as specified by the house to generate an outcome that is based on the community cards. Poker hand rankings are well known in the art and as a result are not discussed herein.

In decision step 330 the dealer may inspect a predetermined hand ranking list with associated payout table and compare the outcome of the community cards to the hand ranking list of the payout table. The comparison occurs to decide if the community card outcome merits a distribution of house winnings to one or more players. In one embodiment, if the community cards form a poker hand with a certain rank, or better than a certain rank, then the pay table may grant an award to the players. The award to the players based on the outcome of the community cards provide a means to return house winnings to the players, thereby allowing for play in a Class II jurisdiction.

Accordingly, if at step 330 the community cards form a hand having a rank sufficient to warrant a payout, then the operation advances to step 340. Alternatively, if the dealer determines that the outcome of the community cards, such as hand rank of the community cards, does not achieve a hand of sufficiently high rank, then the operation returns to step 300.

In step 340 the dealer may distribute either a portion or the entire accumulated house winnings from previous rounds of the game to one or more players of the game. Numerous methods or ways of distributing house winnings to the players may be utilized and several of which are discussed below.

Progressive Based Distribution

In one embodiment of the game house winnings may be distributed after the house accumulates the house winnings based on a progressive type payout system. House winnings would be pooled, either on a per table basis, or a group of tables basis. Over time the total amount of house winnings would build into a jackpot until a particular community card outcome occurred. When a predetermined community outcome is achieved, the dealer may award, to each player at the table at which the community card outcome occurred, a divided share of the total amount in the progressive jackpot.

The dealer may distribute the progressive jackpot house winnings to one or more players responsive to the ranking of the community cards irrespective of whether a player has a winning five-card poker hand. For example, if the community card outcome comprises a straight flush or better, all players of the game may be paid all accumulated house winnings irrespective of whether a player has a winning five-card poker hand. In an alternative embodiment, the dealer may only pay accumulated house winnings to selected players. It is understood that for a distribution of house winnings on a progressive basis, those community card outcomes that are deemed to generate a player award may be predetermined by the house. It is contemplated that either a portion or the entire accumulated house winnings may be distributed according to the ranking of the community card outcome in the predetermined payout table.

In one example embodiment, the house winning progressive jackpot accumulates until the community cards outcome is a straight flush or better. Because this is a relatively rare event outcome, the jackpot may be quite large before this event is realized. Thus, one advantage of a distribution of house winnings on a progressive basis is that players are more likely to continue playing the game in anticipation of a substantial house winnings distribution. As a result, a gaming establishment may increase revenues when players continue to play the game in an effort to secure the large progressive jackpot payout. Consequently, gaming establishment revenues from the game are increased due to increased collection of the ante service fee described above.

It is understood that one or more players may leave the game and may be replaced by one or more new players of the game. The one or more new players of the game may participate in the distribution of house winnings, which encourage new players to enter existing games thereby becoming eligible to win a portion of the progressively building jackpot.

Payout Table Based Distribution

In an alternative embodiment, the distribution of house winnings to one or more players of the game may be a fixed payout or a predetermined but variable payout amount. It is understood that the distribution of house winnings may be to one or more selected players and may be made regardless of whether the player had a winning hand or a losing hand. For example, in one exemplary embodiment if the community card outcome achieves a predetermined rank or better, then the players of the game may be paid an award. In one embodiment the amount of the award is based on a pay table such that the higher the rank of the outcome, the larger the payout. For example, a flush may have a higher payout than a pair of Aces. Hence, the payout table may be adjusted to provide a distribution of house winnings for higher or lower rankings of the community cards.

It is contemplated that the players of the game may achieve a house winning distribution in response to a community card outcome of the game at any time of the game. Consequently, player interest in the community game may be maintained because even though a player may sustain losses during individual rounds of the community game, they may still be eligible for an award if the community cards generate an outcome that generates an award. It is further contemplated that a gaming establishment may maintain and increase player excitement in the game by selecting only certain players that may receive a house distribution according to any method decided by the gaming establishment.

Distribution of House Winnings After Each Round of Play

In an alternative and exemplary method of the distribution of house winnings, the house winnings may be distributed after each round of play of the game irrespective of the community card outcome. In this method of distribution, one or more winning players of a round of play of the game may receive a distribution of house winnings in addition to their winnings from their wagers during the round of play of the game as described above.

In a contemplated distribution of house winnings, the dealer may distribute house profits equally to one or more winning players only. For example, in the game described above, suppose each player located at Player 1 position and at Player 6 position (see FIG. 1) has a winning five-card poker hand versus the dealer's five-card poker hand. Each winning player would be awarded a payout for their wager according to any method described above. Losing players located at Player 2 position to Player 5 position (see FIG. 1) would forfeit their wagers to the dealer. In addition, the dealer may distribute the house winnings of the round of play equally to both winning players located at Player 1 position and at Player 6 position irrespective of which winning player has a higher ranking five-card poker hand.

In another contemplated method for distribution of house winnings, the dealer may distribute player's losses according to a payout table based on the ranking of one or more winning players' five-card poker hands. For example, suppose again each player located at Player 1 position and at Player 6 position (see FIG. 1) have a winning five-card poker hand versus the dealer's five-card poker hand as described above. Instead of distributing house winnings equally to the winning players located at Player 1 position and at Player 6 position, the dealer may distribute house winnings from the round of play responsive to which winning player has a higher five-card poker hand ranking. In this embodiment the winning player with the highest ranking cards wins all the house winnings of the round of play of the game.

Alternatively, the dealer may distribute all house winnings from losing players according to a payout table responsive to a ranking of a winning player's five-card poker hand. In this embodiment, each winning player would receive a portion of all the house winnings from the game according to the rankings of the players' five card poker hand. For example, the player located at Player 1 (see FIG. 1) may have a flush, while the player located at Player 6 may have a straight. According to the payout table, the player located at Player 1 may receive 60 percent of the house winnings while the player at Player 6 may receive the balance of 40 percent of the house winnings.

In yet another embodiment of house winning distribution the payout of house winnings to players of the game may be less than all the house winnings of the round of play of the game. In this way, during one or more subsequent rounds of play of the game, one or more winning players may anticipate receiving an enhanced house winning distribution on completion of the round of the game.

In yet another contemplated distribution of house winnings, the house winnings may be distributed to both the winning and the losing players of the round of play of the game. For example, suppose players located at Player 1 position and Player 6 position are winning players and players located at Player 2 position to Player 5 position (see FIG. 1) are losing players. House winnings may be distributed to both the winning and the losing players. Both the winning and the losing players may be paid out equal amounts or unequal amounts according to a payout table.

If no players win in a round of play, the house may accumulate the house winnings. House winnings may be distributed to players in one or more subsequent rounds of play of the game according to each contemplated method of distribution of house winnings as set forth above. Player interest in each round of play may be enhanced since each player may have some return of their wagers, even in the event the hand they are dealt is not a winning hand.

It is further contemplated that accumulated house winnings from two or more tables may be distributed to players at a particular table upon the occurrence of a particular community card outcome. Consequently, player excitement and interest in the games may be substantially enhanced when a distribution of house winnings is announced to a particular table and when the awarded jackpots are substantial.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodiments described herein may be claimed or combined in any combination or arrangement.

Claims

1. A method of distributing house winnings accumulated during play of a game having community cards, the method comprising:

presenting a game to one or more players, wherein presenting the game comprises providing community cards and accepting wagers on a game outcome, such that the community cards generate a community card outcome;

settling wagers with at least one player of the game based on the game outcome;

accumulating house winnings from at least a portion of accepted wagers during play of the game;

inspecting at least one community card outcome;

determining whether the community card outcome merits a distribution of at least a portion of the accumulated house winnings accumulated during play of the game; and

if the community card outcome merits a distribution, then distributing at least a portion of the house winning to at least one player of the game.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the game is played in a Class II jurisdiction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game comprises Texas Hold'em Bonus.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein distributing comprises distributing all of the house winnings to at least one player and the one or more players do not need to place a wager on the game to be eligible for the distribution based on the community card outcome.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the community card outcome merits a distribution comprises comparing the community card outcome to a pay table to determine if the rank of the community card outcome warrants a payout.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein distributing at least a portion of the house winning comprises a progressive payout.

7. A method of offering a game in class II type game comprising:

dealing one or more cards to one or more players, wherein cards dealt to a player are player's cards;

dealing one or more community cards;

accepting one or more wagers from one or more players on players respective player hands;

reviewing one or more player hands, wherein the one or more player hands are associated with a player and are created from any combination of one or more player's cards and one or more community cards;

determining which of the one or more player hands are winning hands and which of the one or more player hands are losing hands;

collecting wagers associated with losing hands to create accumulated winnings from the wagers based on player hands;

providing an payout to players associated with winning player hands;

determining a community card outcome;

comparing the community cards outcome against a predetermined community card outcome; and

awarding at least a portion of the accumulated winnings from wager to players based on the comparing to thereby return at least a portion of accumulated winnings from wager to players.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the game comprises Texas Hold'em Bonus.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein determining a community card outcome comprises generating a community card hand using community cards.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein awarding comprises providing a progressive payout.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein awarding comprises providing a payout based on a payout table.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein awarding occurs after each round of play.

13. A method of distributing house winnings of a game having community cards, the method comprising:

accepting one or more wagers from one or more players;

presenting a game to the one or more players, the game including one or more community cards and the game having an outcome and the community cards having a community card result;

determining if the outcome of the game is a winning outcome as to each of the one or more players and, if so, awarding winnings funded at least partially by the one or more wagers accepted from the one or more players;

generating a house pool funded by the one or more wagers accepted from the one or more players on the game;

determining if the community card result is a predetermined winning community card result and, if so, distributing at least a portion of the house pool to at least one of the or more players.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the game is played in a class II jurisdiction and players do not wager on the community card result.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the house pool is generated from the one or more wagers from a single table.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the house pool is generated from the one or more wagers from multiple tables.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the distributing at least a portion of the house pool is distributed on a progressive basis.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the distributing at least a portion of the house pool is distributed based on a pay table.