Patent Application
20070194533
This invention relates to games of chance, and more specifically to a card game wherein a player is awarded a payout for a hand which matches any of a predetermined list of card combinations.
Many casino games offer a player the opportunity to make a side bet, with the ultimate goal being to increase player participation and excitement while encouraging players to maximize their wager. Successful casino games provide a balance between the desire of a player and the desire of a casino or other game operator to maximize profits. A hit frequency can be determined for various casino games, with the hit frequency being the probability of a win given the rules of the game. Conversely, a house edge may also be determined, with the house edge being the ratio of expected player loss to the initial amount bet. Thus the goal is to provide a game having a hit frequency high enough to encourage player participation while maintaining a house edge high enough to ensure the game operator will realize a profit.
The present invention provides a game for play by a player using a plurality of cards. Each of the cards has a card value associated therewith. The game includes a wager posted by the player and at least two cards provided to the player. The game further includes a paytable listing a plurality of card combinations. The player receives a payout based on the wager if the player's at least two cards form any of the card combinations listed in the paytable. The paytable has a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent. The paytable includes two cards with cards values summing to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair in order to provide the necessary hit frequency and house edge.
The present invention further provides a method of playing a game according to the present invention. A player wagers a wager. Two cards are then provided to the player. The two cards are compared to a paytable including a plurality of two-card combinations. The player is awarded a payout based on the wager if the two cards match any of the two-card combinations. The two-card combinations include two cards with card values summing to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair. In one aspect of the present invention, the two-card combinations give the paytable a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent. In another aspect of the invention, the two-card combinations give the paytable a house edge of between five and ten percent. The game may be an auxiliary game for use with a main game, such that the wager is a side wager for use with the auxiliary game. The main game may be a poker game, with the two cards provided to the player being the player's hole cards for the poker game. The player may wager an ante separate from the side wager to be eligible to play the main game.
The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:
Referring to the drawings,
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In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the card combinations listed in the paytable 12 are all two-card hands. As such, the game according to the present invention may be played as an auxiliary game with any traditional casino game wherein the player 14 receives at least two cards. As one example, the game may be used as a side bet in a blackjack game, with the wager 16 being a side wager that the first two cards received, or that any two cards received, will match at least one of the card combinations listed in the paytable 12. Preferably, the player 14 is required to post an ante for play of the main game, with the side wager 16 entitling the player 14 to play the game according to the present invention. As another example, the game may be used as a side bet in a Texas Hold'Em poker game, with the player cards 18 doubling as hole cards for the poker game. In pai gow poker, wherein a player receives seven cards, the game could be utilized as a side bet on any two of the seven cards, or on just the two-card low hand. It matters only that a player 14 receive at least two cards, with the two-card player hand 18 being compared to the paytable 12 to resolve the game. While the inventive concept has been described in terms of live play, it should be noted that the game according to the present invention can be played on a video display without changing the inventive concept. All that matters is that any two of a player's cards 18 are compared to either a paytable 12 having a hit frequency of at least seventeen percent and a house edge of between five and ten percent, or a paytable 12 including two cards having card values which sum to twenty, a blackjack, and a pair.
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While the best modes for carrying out the invention have been described in detail, it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words and description rather than of limitation. Those familiar with the art to which this invention relates will recognize that many modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced in a substantially equivalent way other than as specifically described herein.
