A monitor screen is provided on which card symbols may be provided for use in a video poker game. In the video poker game, the player makes a wager to play an underlying poker game consisting of at least one single hand of poker consisting of a predetermined number of cards. A predetermined number of initial cards is randomly dealt from a standard deck or decks of 52 cards (or up to 54 cards including jokers or specialty cards) to form an initial array of cards, displayed separately from a final hand display area. The cards are randomly dealt either face up or face down according a predetermined probability, i.e., if the probability is 50%, then each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up; if the probability is 30%, then each card has a 30% chance of being dealt face up. The cards are preferably arranged in at least two groups of at least one card each, and may be arranged in groups of varying number of cards. The player selects one group of cards to hold, presses the draw button to lock in the choice, and the card(s) from said group are displayed face up into the final hand area. If the number of cards in the final card area has not equaled a predetermined number of cards, the player then selects at least a second group of cards from the initial array, presses the draw button to lock in the choice, and those said cards are then added to and displayed face up in the final hand area. As soon as the predetermined number of cards is reached, the final hand may be considered complete, or may completed by cards drawn from the remainder of the deck. The remainder of the deck may or may not contain cards in the unselected groups. The outcome for this final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are then provided to the player.
A first preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 5-card video poker game. An area for the 5-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 10 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards are displayed in five groups of two cards each. The player selects one group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first two cards in the player hand. These first two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player then selects a second group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards are added face up to the player hand. The remaining six cards in the three unselected groups are added to the remainder of the deck (for a total of 48 cards) and a single card is then randomly dealt from this depleted deck to complete the 5-card player hand. This final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.
A second preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 5-card video poker game. An area for the 5-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 15 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards appear in three groups of three cards each, and three groups of two cards each. The player selects one group of either two or three cards each, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first cards in the player hand. These first cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. If the player first selected a group of three cards, the player then selects one of the groups of two cards; if the player first selected a group of two cards, the player then selects one of the groups of three cards. The player makes this second selection, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are added face up to complete the player hand. This final hand is evaluated according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.
A third preferred embodiment of the present invention requires a wager to play a 6-card video poker game. An area for the 6-card player hand is shown on the monitor, with no actual cards as yet being displayed. After the wagering is completed, the machine initiates the deal, wherein 10 cards are each randomly dealt either face up or face down from a standard 52-card deck to a separate area on the screen. Each card has a 50% chance of being dealt face up. The cards appear in five groups of two cards each. The player selects one group, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those cards are displayed face up as the first two cards in the player hand. These first two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player then selects a second group from the remaining groups, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards are added face up to the player hand. These additional two cards are locked in, and may not be altered or eliminated. The player makes a final selection from the remaining groups, presses the draw button to lock in the selection, and those two cards complete the player hand. This final hand is evaluated as the best 5-out-of-6 cards according to a predetermined paytable and any wins are provided to the player.
An additional feature may be added to the previous embodiments. Before the player has placed a wager to play the game, the player may be prompted to select (using physical buttons or touchscreen buttons) one of a plurality of available percentages. These percentages may range from 0% to 100%, and reflect the chances that any initially dealt card has to be dealt face up. For instance, if the player chooses “30%”, each initially dealt card has a 30% chance that it will be dealt face up. Relative to a 50% chance and its associated predetermined paytable, the choice of 30% would offer a higher paytable, and the choice of 70%, for example, would offer a lower paytable.
An alternate feature offers an “Auto-Lock” button (physical or touchscreen) that would allow for faster play. In any of the above embodiments, upon the “Auto-Lock” selection by the player (the selection occurring before the wager), the player's selection of a particular group would automatically appear in the player hand without having to press the draw button. This would facilitate a faster gameplay, but negates any chance that the player has to change his choice.
Reference to the Figures will assist in further understanding of the practice of the present invention.
The play of the technology may be extended to other steps, such as if specific cards or specific card ranks are disclosed in at least one of dealer's hands and players' hands, players or dealers must turn additional cards over for view at the table. For example, if there are wild cards or jokers in the set of playing cards, when the dealer displays a wild card, the dealer may have to reveal at least one additional card to provide more information to a player.
Although specific examples and specific images have been provided in this discussion, these specifics are intended to be only support for the generic concepts of the invention and are not intended to be absolute limits in the scope of the technology discussed.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60849095 | Oct 2006 | US |