No Flop Poker Game

Abstract

This is a poker type casino table game. It is played with one to seven players against a dealer. Each player makes an initial wager and an optional side bet wager. Each player and the dealer receive three personal cards. Each player gets rid of one card. One community card is revealed for the dealer and all players to use. After seeing the first community card, the player must make an additional wager to remain in the game. A second community card is revealed. Then the dealer will expose his personal cards and get rid of one of his three cards. Dealer will pay winning hands even money. The dealer will also pay players a high hand bonus according to a posted pay scale, calculated on the initial wager. If a player's two personal cards are a pair, the dealer will pay any wagers on the side bet according to a posted pay scale. If the player's pair matches either or both community cards, the side bet payout is multiplied by a posted amount.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The current application is the Non-Provisional application of the Provisional application No. 61/050215 filed May 3, 2008

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to casino card games, more particularly to a variant of Texas Hold'em called Pineapple Hold'em. United States Patent Class 273 “Amusement Devices: Games”, Sub Class 292 “Card of Tile Games, Cards of Tiles Therefor”.

2. Art of the Invention

In Texas and Pineapple Hold'em, a player is playing against all the other players. This intimidates some players that don't want to play against everyone at the table. They feel outnumbered or alone with everyone against them. In the present invention the player plays against the house. This way they feel like they are on a team, everyone against the house.

The difference between Texas Hold'em and Pineapple Hold'em is the amount of cards dealt to each player to start the game. In Texas Hold'em two cards are dealt to each player, and in Pineapple Hold'em three cards are dealt to each player with each player being required to get rid of one of the three cards before the flop. The rest of the game is the same with a three card flop, a turn card, and a river card being dealt, all as community cards for every player to use as part of this hand. There is a betting round before the flop, after the flop, after the turn card, and after the river card. The players' wager on each betting round is added to a pot for the winning player to collect. The present invention has no flop, only the turn and river community cards.

In a casino poker room, the house provides the dealer that doesn't participate in the game. The house makes its profit by taking a small percentage from each pot “the rake”, or by charging a player an hourly fee to play.

By requiring the player to get rid of a card before seeing any community cards and the dealer getting rid of a card after seeing all community cards, and by requiring the player to raise after seeing the first community card but before seeing the last community card gives the house the advantage that it needs to offer the game for play. It also gives enough advantage to the house so that the house can offer bonus payouts for high hands, and still make a profit without requiring the player to make a separate bet to get the bonus. In Texas and Pineapple Hold'em the winning player gets nothing extra for having a high hand, only what is in the pot.

There are several other ways to create a house advantage in a poker game. One of them is to require the dealer to qualify with a predetermined minimum hand for the player to get paid on a second wager, as in Caribbean Stud and Three Card Poker. This frustrates players when they have a good hand and don't get paid on their second wager. In Caribbean Stud the bonus is only paid on the second wager if the dealer qualifies.

Another way for the house to make a profit is to charge a commission on winning hands, as in Pia Gow Poker. The house takes five percent commission out of every winning payout. This shorts the payout for the player, creates extra work for the dealer and increases the likelihood for errors.

Another way to create a house advantage is to give the dealer more cards then the player, as in Four Card Poker. In Four Card Poker the dealer receives six cards and the player receives five cards to make a four card hand. This looks to the player as unfair for the dealer to get an extra card.

In the present invention the dealer and players receive the same number of cards, the player is not charged a commission and the dealer doesn't have to qualify for the player to get paid.

After fourteen years as a casino dealer and nine years to develop this game, I have heard the complaints about all the games and have learned what players want. The present invention was a result of that knowledge. The result being a successful field test and installation in a casino. The game is currently in use in a casino in New Mexico.

The individual components of this game are not unique in themselves, but the combination and order of them put together into one game is unique and original.

The object of the present invention is to provide a game of chance that is fun and easy to play, a game that gives the player a reasonable chance to win while still maintaining enough advantage for the house to make a profit, to provide for high hand bonuses without having to make a separate bet to get them, and to have a side bet that adds anticipation and excitement to the game.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a poker type casino table game played against a dealer, having bonus payouts for high hands, and a side bet for pocket pairs.

Each player makes a blind bet wager and an optional pocket pairs wager. Three cards are dealt face down to each player and to the dealer. Once the player views his cards, he gets rid of one of the three. Then a community card is dealt. The player must now make an additional raise wager or fold his hand. Then a final community card is dealt. The dealer will now turn his cards face up and get rid of one of his three cards. The best 4 card hand wins.

The dealer pays winning hands even money on both the blind bet and raise wagers. If the player has a flush or higher hand he will be paid a bonus on his blind bet. This is unlike in Texas Hold'em and other poker games in which the winning player gets the same amount regardless of how high his hand is. The player does not have to place an additional wager at the start of the game in order to get the bonus, as is with some house banked table games.

If the player has a pair in his two personal cards, he is paid on his pocket pairs wager according to a posted pay scale. The higher the pair the more the player gets paid. If his pocket pair matches one of the two community card the pay scale is doubled. If his pocket pair matches both community cards the pay scale is multiplied by twenty. This adds anticipation and excitement to the game.

This invention eliminates the need for a commission to be paid, the dealer getting more cards then the player, or the dealer needing a qualifying hand for the player to get paid. The player only needs to have a better hand then the dealer to get paid, and does not have to make an additional wager to get paid a bonus for high hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

There is only one drawing. [FIG. 1.]

FIG. 1. is of the table cover layout. It is to be installed on top of a standard size Black Jack table approx. 6′×4′

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a poker type casino table game that is played with community cards against a dealer's hand. The following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The game is played on a standard size blackjack table with a specially designed cloth layout covering it [FIG. 1. F]. The game uses a standard 52 card deck of playing cards and casino chips for wagering. It is played with one to seven players and a dealer. Players play against the dealer and not against the other players.

To start each player must make an initial “Blind Bet” wager to play the game [FIG. 1. A]. They also have the option to make an additional wager on the “Pocket Pairs” side bet [FIG. 1. C]. Each player and the dealer receive three personal cards face down in front of them. The player will pick up his cards and decides which two cards to keep as part of his hand. Each player is then required to get rid of one of his three cards by placing it face down on his pineapple [FIG. 1. D]. The dealer will then pick up the cards that were place on the pineapples and place them in a card rack to the right of the dealer. One community card “The Turn Card” is revealed for all players and the dealer to use as part of their hand [FIG. 1 H]. After seeing the Turn card, the player must make an additional “Raise” wager to remain in the game [FIG. 1. B]. If the player decides to not make the additional wager, he will “Fold” his hand, forfeiting his Pocket Pairs and Blind bet wagers [FIG. 1. A&C]. If one or more players make the additional wage, then a second community card “The River Card” will be revealed and used as part of everyone's hand [FIG. 1. E]. Then the dealer will expose his three personal cards and get rid of one of the three [FIG. 1 G]. Using both community cards and both personal cards, the dealer will compare his hand with each of the players' hands. The best 4 card poker hand wins.

The rank of hands is as follows from the highest down; four of a kind, straight flush, straight, flush, three of a kind, two pair, pair, and high card. The dealer will pay players even money on both the blind bet and raise wager for hands that are better then his, and collect loosing wagers from players that do not have a better hand then his. If the hands are equal in value, the hand is a “Push”, and the player neither loose nor gets paid on his blind bet or raise wager.

The dealer will also pay a bonus to any player that has a Flush or higher poker hand according to the pay scale posted on the game. The bonus is paid on the Blind bet wager only. The players hand does not have to be better than the dealers hand to receive the high hand bonus. The high hand bonus is as follows; four of a kind pays 40 to 1, straight flush pays 20 to 1, straight pays 3 to 1, and a flush pays 2 to 1. Any wager on the “Pocket Pairs” side bet [FIG. 1. C] will be paid according to a set pay scale if the player's two personal cards are a pair; otherwise the player loses his wager. The pay scale is as follows; a pair of aces pays 16 to 1, a pair of kings pay 11 to 1, a pair of queens pay 7 to 1, a pair of jacks pay 4 to 1, and all other pairs pay 2 to 1.

If one of the two community cards [FIG. 1. E,H] match the players pocket pair to make a three of a kind, the payout is doubled. If both of the community cards [FIG. 1. E,H] match the players pocket pair to make a four of a kind, the payout is multiplied by 20. The three and four of a kind multipliers add anticipation, excitement and a chance for higher payouts to the game.

The pay scales can be changed to adjust the house advantage.

Claims

1. A method of playing a poker type card game comprising the steps of:

a. each player placing at least one wager to participate in the game;

b. dealing three personal cards face down to each player and to the dealer;

c. requiring each player to get rid of one of his three cards after viewing them;

d. dealing one community card for all to see and use;

e. requiring each player to make an additional “Raise” wager to continue in the game, or fold forfeiting any wagers already made and ending the game for that player;

f. dealing a second community card for all to see and use;

g. requiring the dealer to get rid of one of his three personal cards;

h. forming the dealer's poker hand by using the dealer's two personal cards and the two community cards;

i. forming each individual player's poker hand by using each player's two personal cards and the two community cards;

j. comparing the dealer's poker hand to each player's poker hand to determine a winner;

k. dealer paying a “High Hand Bonus” for any hand that has a predetermined value according to a posted pay scale;

l. dealer paying wagers on winning hands and collecting wagers on loosing hands;

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each player makes a required “Blind Bet” and an optional “Pocket Pairs” side bet before the game starts.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a standard deck of 52 playing cards is used.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the winning hands are determined on the ranking of hands from highest to lowest is as follows:

a. Four of a Kind, “four cards of the same value”;

b. Straight Flush, “four sequential cards of all the same suit”;

c. Straight, “four sequential cards”;

d. Flush, “four cards of all the suit”;

e. Three of a Kind, “three cards of the same value and one card of a different value”;

f. Two Pair, “first two cards of the same value and second two cards of the same value but not the same value as the first two cards”;

g. Pair, “two cards of the same value and two cards of different values”;

h. High Card, “four cards of all different values”;

5. The method of claim 1 wherein winning hands are paid even money on the Blind Bet and Raise Bets.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the “High Hand Bonus” pay scale is as follows:

a. A poker hand of 4 cards with the same value “4 of a Kind” pays 40 times the amount of the players Blind Bet;

b. A poker hand of sequential cards of all the same suit “Straight Flush” pays 20 times the amount of the players Blind Bet;

c. A poker hand of sequential cards “Straight” pays 2 or 3 times the amount of the players Blind Bet;

d. A poker hand of all the same suit “Flush” pays 1 or 2 times the amount of the players Blind Bet;

7. A method of playing a side bet on a card game comprising the steps of:

a. each player placing an additional “Pocket Pairs” wager to participate in the side bet;

b. each player being dealt two or more personal cards;

c. having two community cards dealt;

d. requiring the player's personal cards to have a pair to win the side bet;

e. dealer paying wagers on all winning hands as per a predetermined pay scale and collecting wagers on all loosing hands;

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the pay scale is as follows:

a. Pair of Aces pay 15 or 16 to 1;

b. Pair of Kings pay 10 or 11 to 1;

c. Pair of Queens pay 7 to 1;

d. Pair of Jacks pay 4 to 1;

e. Pair of 2s through 10s pay 2 to 1;

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the pay scale is doubled if one of the community cards matches the player's pair to form a three of a kind.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the pay scale is multiplied by ten to thirty times, if both community cards match the player's pair to form a four of a kind.