Patent Application
20210005060
This invention relates in general to games, and more particularly to systems, apparatuses and methods for providing additional payout opportunities in card games.
Card games such as poker have long been enjoyed as a means of entertainment. The popularity of casino gambling with wagering continues to increase, as does recreational gaming such as non-wagering computer-based competition and gambling. While live table games remain very popular, electronic forms of participating in poker games are on the rise. Electronic forms include, for example, online gaming, casino “slot machines” and other gaming kiosks.
While the underlying poker games provided by electronic poker/gaming machines may be highly enjoyable, they lack the social interaction of live table games. Without this external aspect, continued play of the same poker or other card game, however enjoyable it may be, can become mundane over long periods of time. Nevertheless, electronic games have additional capabilities over live table games, as hardware and software can often provide features that are impossible or otherwise impractical in live table games. It is desirable to provide such additional capabilities in an effort to hold players' interest in games such as poker games.
One shortcoming of many live and electronic poker/card games is that they provide only static opportunities to win. In other words, play of the game remains the same for each hand or other gaming event in which the player participates. As indicated above, this can become routine and repetitive, or in the worst case monotonous.
The shortcomings of the prior art are also applicable to other gaming activities. Accordingly, there is a need in the gaming industry for manners of providing dynamic aspects to such games that will hold players' interest, and provide for a greater degree of anticipation and excitement. The present invention addresses these and other shortcomings of the prior art by providing, among other things, otherwise unexpected opportunities and/or additional opportunities. Thus, the present invention offers advantages and provides solutions to the shortcomings of the prior art.
To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses systems, apparatuses and methods for augmenting payout opportunities in gaming activities.
Generally, the present invention provides systems, apparatuses and methods for enabling payout consideration for multiple resulting hands, at least some of which are the result of randomly presenting multiple card indicia that provides a greater number of useable card indicia than the number of cards of the resulting hands.
In accordance with one embodiment, a method is provided which involves determining whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand are to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards. The plurality of cards of the draw poker hand are presented, which includes any of the cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia. This particular method enables an identification of which of the cards to hold, and replacement of the cards that were not held. This representative method further involves identifying a plurality of resulting hands, each of the plurality of resulting hands including a different subset of a total of the indicia of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any cards provided with multiple card indicia. In other embodiments, a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which are executable by a computer system is provided to perform such features.
In accordance with a variation of such a method, a payout may further be provided for any of the plurality of resulting hands that matches one of a plurality of winning poker rank thresholds.
In another example, a payout may be provided for any of the plurality of resulting hands that comply with a payout rule. In a more particular example, providing a payout for any of the plurality of resulting hands that complies with a payout rule may involve providing a payout for at most one resulting hand that matches each winning poker rank threshold. In another particular example, providing a payout for any of the plurality of resulting hands that complies with a payout rule may involve providing a payout for a predetermined number of the resulting hands that match each winning poker rank threshold.
In still other variations of such a method, presenting the one or more of the includes, for each of the one or more cards determined to be randomly provided, presenting the multiple card indicia representing the multiple cards substantially in place of what would otherwise be a respective single card of the draw poker hand.
In another variation of such a method, identifying a plurality of resulting hands involves identifying each five-card subset of the six or more indicia presented by way of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any of the held and replacement cards provided with the multiple card indicia.
In another variation, determining whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand is to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards involves utilizing a random number generator to facilitate the determination of whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand is to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards.
In still another variation of such a method, facilitating user identification of which of the plurality of cards to hold involves providing the user with a user interface capable of enabling identification of any of the plurality of cards in which to hold.
Another embodiment of such a method includes holding each of the multiple card indicia for the one or more cards held by the user that are provided with the multiple card indicia.
In another embodiment of such a method, presenting the cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia involves presenting the cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia as single cards each having a plurality of different card indicia thereon.
In yet another embodiment, presenting the cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia comprises presenting the cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia as multiple overlapping cards each having a plurality of different card indicia thereon.
In one embodiment, replacing the cards that are not held involves replacing the cards that were not held with cards that each include only one card indicium.
In still another variation of this method, replacing the cards that are not held involves replacing the cards that were not held with one or more first cards that each include only one card indicium, and with one or more second cards that each include a plurality of indicia. In yet another embodiment, replacing the cards that are not held involves replacing the cards that were not held with cards each include a plurality of indicia.
According to another method for use in a card game, a plurality of first cards are presented, such as dealt in a live table game or by way of a virtual deal in an electronic embodiment. Multiple card indicia representing multiple cards are randomly presented, such as randomly in a deck(s) of cards or by way of a processor and/or random number generation module in an electronic embodiment. In an embodiment, whether any multiple card indicia is presented is randomly determined; where in other embodiments this random presentation and/or how many multiple card indicia are presented is randomly determined. In the exemplary embodiment, if/when multiple card indicia representing multiple cards is presented, it is presented in place of what would otherwise be one or more respective single cards of that card game. The exemplary method further involves determining at least one resulting hand, each of the at least one resulting hands using a subset of the total of the one or more first cards and the multiple cards represented by the multiple card indicia.
In one variation of such a method, determining at least one resulting hand involves determining all winning resulting hand based on poker rank from all possible combinations of the total of the one or more first cards and the multiple cards represented by the multiple card indicia. In another embodiment, determining at least one resulting hand involves determining a best five-card resulting hand based on poker rank from all possible combinations of the total of the one or more first cards and the multiple cards represented by the multiple card indicia.
Another variation of such a method involves presenting multiple card indicia by presenting a single card having the multiple card indicia, such as a split card. In another embodiment, the multi-indicia card relates to the presentation of multiple cards at a position otherwise occupied by one of the first cards.
Any number of the multiple card indicia may be used in lieu of respective single card indicia. For example, in one embodiment, such a method further involves presenting additional multiple card indicia representing additional multiple cards in place of what would otherwise be one or more of the single cards of the card game. Determining a resulting hand may, in such an embodiment, be accomplished by determining a resulting hand using less than all of a total of the one or more first cards, the multiple cards represented by the multiple card indicia, and the additional multiple cards represented by the additional card indicia. In a particular example, the resulting hand may be composed of five cards, such that determining the resulting hand involves using the best five cards from the total of the one or more first cards, the multiple cards represented by the multiple card indicia, and the additional multiple cards represented by the additional card indicia.
According to another embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes a processing module capable of carrying out functional features associated with the operational description provided herein. The processing module of the exemplary apparatus may be implemented using, for example, a processor(s) that is programmed to perform the desired features. A random-number generator may be used, which may be integral to the processor or may be separate therefrom. In one embodiment, the processor is configured to determine whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand are to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards. A display is provided to present the plurality of cards of the draw poker hand, and to present the one or more of the plurality of cards having multiple card indicia if the processor determined any of the one or more of the cards of the draw poker hand to be provided with multiple card indicia. In this embodiment, a user interface is configured to be capable of receiving an indication of which of the plurality of cards of the draw poker hand to hold. The processor is further configured to replace the cards that are not held, and to identify a plurality of resulting hands, where each of the plurality of resulting hands includes a different subset of a total of the indicia of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any cards provided with multiple card indicia.
In a particular embodiment of such an apparatus, the processor is configured to identify every five-card combination of the total of the indicia of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any cards provided with multiple card indicia. In a more particular embodiment, the processor is further configured to compare each of the five-card combinations to at least one paytable of poker ranks, and to award a payout for all of the five-card combinations matching any of the poker ranks in the paytable. In an alternative embodiment, the processor is configured to compare each of the five-card combinations to at least one paytable of poker ranks, and to award a payout for a predetermined number of the five-card combinations matching a respective one of the poker ranks in the paytable. In another alternative embodiment, the processor is configured to compare each of the five-card combinations to at least one paytable of poker ranks, and to award a payout for the best five-card combination matching a respective one of the poker ranks in the paytable.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the operation and advantages, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described representative examples of systems, apparatuses, and methods in accordance with the invention.
The description herein refers to embodiments illustrated in the following diagrams.
In the following description of various exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, as structural and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
Generally, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided for enabling payout consideration for multiple resulting hands in a poker game hand that typically offers only a single card combination to produce a single result, or that at least offers fewer resulting hands than would be available without the benefit of the systems, apparatuses and methods described herein.
In accordance with one embodiment, multiple card indicia are randomly provided in lieu of what would otherwise be a single card available to the player. The multiple card indicia may be used in connection with a single card, or multiple cards may be provided with the benefit of multiple card indicia. In this manner, additional card indicia is randomly available to derive additional resulting poker hands, which consequently may result in a greater number of winning hands.
For example, one embodiment involves presenting one or more first cards, and randomly presenting multiple card indicia respectively representing multiple second cards in place of what would otherwise be a single card of the card game. At least one resulting hand is identified, where each of the resulting hands uses a subset of the total of the one or more first cards and the multiple second cards represented by the multiple card indicia. In other embodiments, all of the cards dealt may include multiple indicia, in which case each of the resulting hands uses a subset of the total of the multiple second cards represented by their respective multiple card indicia.
In another example specific to draw poker, it may be determined whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand are to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards. The plurality of cards of the draw poker hand are presented, including the one or more of the plurality of cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia. The player is afforded an opportunity to identify which of the cards to hold, and cards that are not held are replaced. A plurality of resulting hands are identified, where each of the plurality of resulting hands includes a different subset of a total of the indicia of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any cards provided with multiple card indicia. In some embodiments, one more of the replacement cards may also be multi-indicia cards.
Other embodiments involve an apparatus configured to utilize multiple card indicia to perform features described herein. For example, a processing module may be configured to determine whether any one or more of a plurality of cards of a draw poker hand are to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia representing multiple cards. The processing module may be implemented using, for example, a processor (which includes a single processor, multiple processors, distributed processor, etc.), a random-number generator which may be implemented in circuitry and/or processor, etc. A display may present the plurality of cards of the draw poker hand, including the one or more of the plurality of cards determined to be randomly provided with multiple card indicia. The player may be afforded an opportunity to identify which of the cards to hold, such as by way of a user interface, and cards that are not held are replaced using the processing module. A plurality of resulting hands may be identified by the processing module, where each of the plurality of resulting hands includes a different subset of a total of the indicia of the cards that were held, the cards that were replaced, and any cards provided with multiple card indicia. Again, in some embodiments, one more of the replacement cards may also be multi-indicia cards.
In the illustrated embodiment, a poker/card game 100 is depicted, which includes providing cards 102, such as by dealing cards, presenting virtual cards electronically, or the like. The hand(s) 102 may be dealt by a dealer in a live table version of the card game, or by a virtual dealer in electronic embodiments. In accordance with an embodiment, one or more of the cards that are dealt in the hand 102 may include multiple card indicia representative of multiple cards. In one embodiment, one or more cards that would normally be dealt are randomly replaced by a card or cards that include the multiple card indicia. The multiple card indicia may be provided in substantially the same position that the normal single card would otherwise have been dealt, although this is not required. For example, in one embodiment the multiple indicia is provided on a representation of a single card that includes two or more card indicia, e.g., a split card, which may be dealt to approximately the position that a typical single-indicium card would otherwise have been positioned. In another embodiment, the multiple indicia may be provided by way of dealing multiple cards, which may be dealt in a manner substantially in place of what would otherwise be a single card (e.g., overlapping cards) or simply dealt into new positions.
It should also be noted that the determination of whether any multiple-indicia cards (or multiple cards representing the multiple indicia) does not necessarily occur on every played hand. In one embodiment, the occurrence of multi-indicia cards is purely random. In other instances, it is random but weighted in the sense that the likelihood of one or more cards having multiple indicia is somewhat controllable or adjustable. The term “random” is used herein regardless of the level of randomness used; e.g., “random” is used whether purely random or weighted-random. Thus, multi-indicia cards (which includes an item including multiple card indicia or other manner of providing the multiple card indicia) may or may not be provided in connection with each dealt hand. In some embodiments, more than one, and up to all of the dealt cards may be associated with the multiple card indicia. For example, where five cards are to be “dealt,” one card may be a normal card with a single card indicia, three may have two card indicia, and the final card may have three card indicia. Another hand may have all five cards with the normal single card indicia. Thus, in one embodiment, it is random as to whether any card will be provided with multiple card indicia, as well as how many cards will have multiple card indicia, and how many indicia will be provided on multi-indicia cards.
At decision block 104, it is determined whether any multi-indicia cards have been presented, such as in an electronic video poker embodiment. Each multi-indicia card may be presented in various manners, such as represented by a single card having multiple card indicia thereon. For example, a single card may be presented that includes indicia for two different cards, such as an Ace-Clubs and a Queen-Spades. In another embodiment, the multiple-indicia cards may be represented by two or more cards placed approximately at the position where a single card would otherwise be positioned. Alternatively, the multiple cards being provided in lieu of a typical single card may be dealt or provided anywhere, and need not be provided in a common position to where the typical single card would have been positioned. Some embodiments involve providing the multiple card indicia at one position to represent one of the cards of the dealt hand 102, where in other embodiments two or more of the cards of the dealt hand 102 may be provided with multiple indicia.
If it is determined 104 that no multiple card indicia have been presented, then the best final hand may be created 106 using the originally dealt cards. On the other hand, if one or more multi-indicia cards have been presented 104 in lieu of one or more cards of the dealt hand 102, the multi-indicia cards are used 108 to determine whether one or more results can be derived that would otherwise be unavailable without the use of the multiple card indicia. For example, in one embodiment, the best final hand is created 108A using a subset of the total of originally dealt cards and the multi-indicia cards. For example, looking to
In other embodiments, multiple final hands are identified 108B using a subset of the total of standard cards that were dealt and the multi-indicia cards that were dealt, making possible multiple payouts for multiple winning combinations of the total cards meeting certain criteria. For example, one or more multiple final hands may be created 108B-1 using a subset of the total of the standard cards and multi-indicia cards, enabling payouts for one winning combination of the total cards at each awardable poker rank. For example, rules may be used to indicate that only one flush may be awarded, one full-house may be awarded, one three-of-a-kind may be awarded, etc. An example is shown in
In still other embodiments, multiple final hands may be created 108B-2 using a subset of a total of the originally dealt cards and the multi-indicia cards, enabling payouts for every winning combination of the total cards. For example, a dealt multi-indicia card may include three Aces, which can be used with the remaining four standard cards that were dealt. If the remaining four standard cards were, for example, a 6-H, 8-H, 10-C and Jack-C, three-of-a kind (three Aces) would be available for each combination of the three Aces and two of the remaining originally dealt cards. This is shown by example in Table 1 below:
Thus, in this embodiment, rules allow the three-of-a-kind with Aces to be used in connection with each of the statistical combinations to provide a total of six payouts of three-of-a-kind.
In another similar embodiment, every combination of all poker ranks may be used to identify payouts. For example, in the example of Table 1, in addition to the six combinations providing payouts for three-of-a-kind, each “pair” of Aces in combination with the other five cards can also provide payouts for a pair. This can be done with, or without, inclusion of the third Ace in each determined subset. As can be seen, this can provide a large number of awardable payouts, as the statistical combinations of each pair of Aces with each of the remaining five cards (or the remaining four cards if the third Ace is not allowed by rules to be used) can be large depending on the particular cards that are dealt, and the number of multi-indicia cards that are dealt.
Returning to
The operational and structural features described herein may be used in connection with numerous poker-related card games, including but not limited to draw poker, hold'em poker, Omaha poker, and various X-card stud poker games where the multi-indicia cards increases the number of cards beyond the standard “X” cards in the X-card stud poker game. As the inclusion of multi-indicia cards is random in one embodiment, the player is unaware of if and when a multi-indicia card(s) will be presented and available for use by the player. An example of the use of the present invention is now described in connection with a draw poker game, where the player is allowed to hold and discard cards from a dealt hand of cards, and obtain replacement cards for any discarded cards.
According to one draw poker embodiment, the player is enabled to identify 304 which of the plurality of cards to “hold,” and cards that are not held are replaced 306. Allowing the player to identify 304 which of the cards to hold may be accomplished in an electronic embodiment by providing one or more user interface mechanisms, such as buttons, touch screen, voice input, joystick, and/or any other manner of facilitating user designation of one or more of the presented cards to hold.
In another embodiment, an automatic hold (auto-hold) feature 305 is employed, where rules are used to automatically determine which cards, if any, to hold on the player's behalf. For example, the processor or other control mechanism may determine which cards to hold based on which cards have the highest probability of providing a resulting hand(s) with the highest poker rank. This, or any other desired criteria, may be used to automatically hold cards. Such an auto-hold feature may be mandatory in some embodiments, or may be a selectable feature available to the player in other embodiments. In yet other embodiments, such as that described above, the player is allowed to specify which card(s), if any, to hold.
In one embodiment, the player may hold any of the cards, whether single-indicia cards or multi-indicia cards. Thus, in some embodiments, the player may actually discard a multi-indicia card(s). In one embodiment, if a player discards a multi-indicia card(s), the player will receive another multi-indicia card(s) as a replacement(s). Various embodiments can allow the multi-indicia replacement card to have the same quantity of indicia, or a different quantity of indicia. In other embodiments, discarding a multi-indicia card(s) does not guarantee that another multi-indicia card will replace the discarded multi-indicia card(s). In other words, whether a replacement card(s) is a multi-indicia card or a single-indicia card may be randomly determined. In other embodiments, the likelihood of a replacement card being a multi-indicia card may be different than the likelihood of obtaining a multi-indicia card on the initial deal. For example, the player may not be guaranteed to obtain a multi-indicia card when discarding a multi-indicia card, but one embodiment may increase (or decrease) the odds of obtaining a multi-indicia replacement card when a multi-indicia card is discarded. Other embodiments may require that the player hold some minimum number, or all, of the multi-indicia cards.
In the draw poker embodiment of
A payout may optionally be provided 310 in embodiments of the invention. By way of example and not of limitation, a payout may be provided 310A for any of the resulting hands that match one of a plurality of winning poker rank thresholds. For example, assume five-card resulting hands, and assume the player obtained four-of-a-kind with four single-indicia cards and one multi-indicia card. With these six indicia, the four-of-a-kind would be paid out twice—once for the four-of-a-kind together with the fifth indicia, and a second time for the four-of-a-kind together with the sixth indicia. If the four-of-a-kind occurred where a total of seven indicia were available, the player could be paid on the four-of-a-kind three times. The combinations would increase if the winning hand was three-of-a-kind, as the three matching cards could be combined with each two-card permutation of the remaining cards.
As another representative example, a payout may be provided 310B for any of the resulting hands that comply with a payout rule. For example, the payout rule (which may or may not include multiple sub-rules) may indicate that at most one payout will be provided at each poker rank. As a more particular example, such a single poker rank rule may result in a maximum of one payout for a flush, even though multiple flushes occur as a result of the multiple resulting hands. Rules may also indicate that for pairs, three-of-a-kind, and four-of-a kind, only the highest poker rank will be considered. For example, if a player obtains four-of-a-kind, the player may not use combinations of those four matching cards to also obtain payouts for the pairs and three-of-a-kind combinations that could be made from those four matching cards. In other embodiments of rules, those pairs and three-of-a-kind combinations may be considered for payouts even though the player is paid on the four-of-a-kind.
Other embodiments may be used in connection with other poker games that do not necessarily involve a draw. A plurality of cards may be presented, where multiple card indicia are at times (e.g., randomly) presented that represent multiple cards in place of what would otherwise be a single card(s) of the card game. Such multiple card indicia may be provided in place of one or more cards of the hand. Where multiple card indicia is provided for any one or more of the cards, then a plurality of resulting hands (whether meeting paytable criteria or not) will result, providing the player with at least the perception that there is a greater chance of obtaining a payout and/or a higher payout. In determining these resulting hands in one embodiment, each of the resulting hands uses a subset of the total of the single-indicia cards and the multi-indicia cards. For example, where a five-card hand is dealt and one of the cards is a three-indicia card, then multiple five-card resulting hands are derived using the seven total indicia derived from the four single-indicia cards and the three-indicia card.
The multi-card features of the present invention may be an integral part of the poker game, or may be selectively activated. For example, the feature may be selectively activated by way of player wagers. One example is where the player makes a bonus bet or side bet, or otherwise pays to activate the feature. Another example involves the player placing the maximum wager for a game (e.g., play three credits versus playing only one credit). In another embodiment, the likelihood of multi-indicia cards occurring increases as the player's wager increases. Another example is where the player opts to play multiple hands concurrently, where such a feature is provided in connection with the game. Other examples may relate to triggering functions, such as based on how often the player is obtaining payouts on played hands. For example, a triggering function may be that the player has played at least ten hands (or other number of hands) in a row without obtaining any payout. These and other manners of invoking the features described herein may be implemented.
By way of example and not of limitation, a representative example is now described.
The example of
At this point, the player has at least a pair of Kings by way of multi-indicia card 420B and single-indicia card 424B. As the game depicted is draw poker, the player has the opportunity to hold and discard cards. In the illustrated embodiment the player chooses to hold split card 420C and card 424C to hold the pair of Kings. Cards 422B, 426B and 428B are discarded, and replaced by replacement cards 430A, 432A and 434A. These cards are revealed to provide the A-S 430B, 9-H 432B and J-S 434B. At this point the player has six card indicia in which to provide multiple five-card resulting hands. In one embodiment, both the Ace-Clubs 420D and the King-Clubs from card 420D can separately be used with the remaining four cards 430B, 424D, 432B and 434B to produce two discrete results—one resulting hand using the Ace-Clubs 420D with the remaining four cards, and another resulting hand using the King-Clubs 420D with the remaining four cards.
In another embodiment, every distinct combination of the six indicia may be used to create resulting hands. For example, assuming a five-card resulting hand and one two-indicia card, six indicia are provided as shown by cards 420D, 430B, 424D, 432B and 434B. There are six discrete combinations of cards that can be produced by these six card indicia, as it is a combination without repetition based on the formula of Equation 1 below:
Using Equation 1, 6!/[5!(6−5)!]=6. Therefore, in this embodiment, six resulting hands are created, any of which may meet a paytable threshold to provide a payout. In the illustrated embodiment, the six combinations are shown in Table 2:
Depending on the rules provided, these six resulting hands may produce different payouts. First, assuming that the rules provide for only the “best” hand to be provided with a payout, the best hand is two pair of Aces and Kings (cards 420D, 430B and 424D, where card 420D provides both the A-C and the K-C). This is depicted at area 440, which shows how the two pair is derived from the six cards. If the player wagered five credits, the amount in the BET-5 column would pay ten credits for two pair 402.
In another representative embodiment, the rules may indicate that only one payout per poker rank 401-409 will be provided with a payout. Two of the results include “two pair” 402, and the remaining four include one pair of “jacks or better” 401. In this embodiment, and again assuming the player wagered the maximum credits, the player would win ten credits once for “two pair,” and five credits once for “jacks or better,” resulting in a total of fifteen credits awarded.
In another embodiment, the rules may indicate that a pair is not awardable if a higher poker rank that includes a pair is already awarded. For example, such rules may prohibit payouts on a pair of “jacks or better” if three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, two pair or a full house is being awarded using that pair. In the example from the previous paragraph, this would mean that the “pair” of Aces or Kings would not result in a payout, since two pair using the pair of Aces or Kings is already being paid once. This would result in an award of ten credits to the player, for achieving two pair.
In yet another embodiment, every resulting combination may be individually paid, regardless of what the other combinations may provide. In this case, each of the six combinations in Table 2 above would provide a payout. Again assuming the player placed the maximum BET-5 414, two of the combinations would each provide ten credits for “two pair” 402, and four of the combinations would each provide five credits for “jacks or better” 401, resulting in a total award of forty credits. In such an embodiment, the payouts may be reduced across the board in order to ensure that payouts do not statistically exceed player wagers.
These and/or other rules may be implemented in any desired fashion.
It should be noted that multiple-indicia cards, such as the card 420B/C/D, may or may not have any predetermined association. In one embodiment, it is random as to what the card indicia are that present themselves on a multi-indicia card. For example, a split card having two indicia may be an Ace-Spades and King-Spades as easily as it could be a Two-Clubs and a Jack-Hearts. In other embodiments, such multiple indicia is in some way correlated, although the occurrence of the multiple-indicia card may still be random. For example, multiple indicia may be of the same suit. As another example, the multiple indicia may be within some determined range of one another, such as within two card ranks (e.g., Jack/King, Four/Six, Eight/Nine, etc.). Other embodiments could provide split cards with matching multiple indicia, such as a pair of Sixes, pair of Kings, three Aces, etc. Any desired criteria may be utilized.
As previously noted, some embodiments allow replacement cards to also be multi-indicia cards, if they are randomly provided at the time of card replacement. For example, any one or more of replacement cards 430B, 432B and 434B could have been multi-indicia cards.
Further, any manner of depicting the multiple indicia may be implemented, as shown in
In another embodiment, a feature can be provided such that when a multi-indicia card(s) is dealt, it causes an additional hand(s) to be dealt whereby the multi-indicia card(s) is evaluated for the additional hand(s). For example, if the multi-indicia card provides two indicia, an additional hand may be dealt where one indicia is used for each of the hands, or alternatively the two indicia are available for use in both hands.
In the instance that one of the bonus cards 500A that is dealt is also a bonus card, it can cause yet another two (or more) cards to be dealt for that position. This is depicted in
In one embodiment, a poker game utilizing bonus cards as described in connection with
As previously noted, there are many variations of the operational and structural features that may be used in connection with the embodiments set forth herein and with other embodiments incorporating the invention. Some additional variations are now described. Regarding manners for determining the occurrence and frequency of multiple-indicia items, one possibility is that for each card position a card can be dealt, where a probability table is used to determine whether a multiple-indicia card(s) is to be presented. The probability could be fixed for all card positions, it could be different for all positions, it could be different for some positions, it could be determined by the wager level (e.g., increasing the wager increases the probability of multiple-indicia items being presented), or the like. Another representative manner for determining the occurrence/frequency of multiple-indicia items may be to determine this as each card is dealt. For example, prior to the deal, each card dealt may have a certain probability of being dealt as a multi-indicia card. The probability could be fixed for each card dealt, it could be different for each card dealt, it could be different for some cards dealt, it could be determined by the wager level (e.g., increasing the wager increases the probability of multiple-indicia items being presented), or the like.
Another variation is the manner for determining the composition of multiple-indicia cards. Multi-indicia cards may be derived from combining any cards remaining in the deck, including other multi-indicia cards. Such selection may be random, or generated from a probability table, or fixed (e.g., A-S, J-S). Where multi-indicia cards are derived from combining any cards remaining in the deck, even though there may be 52 possible cards in a deck that could be evaluated in a hand, the number of items that could appear in any hand decreases with the presence of multi-indicia cards. This is depicted in
Alternatively, multi-indicia cards may be derived from duplicating existing cards in the deck and combining them, including other multi-indicia cards. Such selection may be random, or generated from a probability table, or fixed (e.g., A-S, J-S). Where multi-indicia cards are derived from combining cards through duplication of cards in the deck, even though there may be 52 possible cards that can appear in a hand, the number of items that could appear in any hand increases with the presence of multi-indicia cards. This is depicted in
Other variations involve manners in which multi-indicia cards/items may be discarded in a draw poker environment. When a split card or other multi-indicia item is discarded, it may be exchanged for a randomly selected card(s) remaining in the deck, including any remaining multi-indicia items. Alternatively, it could always generate the same number of cards that appeared on the original multi-indicia item. In another embodiment, a probability table could be used to determine whether another split or multi-indicia item is dealt in its place. Such probability could be fixed, tied to the wager level (e.g., for higher wagers, increase the probability of obtaining additional multi-indicia items), etc.
In yet other embodiments in which multi-indicia cards/items may be discarded, a fixed number of cards could be generated for replacement at the position that the multi-indicia items were discarded. For example, this could be determined by the quantity of the cards at the position or the type of cards at the position. It could be a set number such as 1 or 2. It could be a set number determined by dealt position, such as card position-A generates one card; card position-2 generates two cards, card position-3 generates three cards, etc. It could be determined by the number of draws in the game; e.g., in a double-draw game, it could be fixed at three for the first draw, and two on the second draw. Alternatively it could be determined by the number of multiple indicia “positions” dealt. For example, if two positions were dealt multi-indicia items, the first one may generate two replacement indicia, and the second multi-indicia item position may generate one replacement indicia.
Other variations involve manners in which hands using multi-indicia items are evaluated for payouts. For example, the player may be provided a payout for the highest ranking hand (e.g., five-card hand) that is presented. In another embodiment, the player may be provided a payout for any unique five-card (or X-card) combination that appears. This is illustrated in
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An additional example is shown in
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Still other variations exist in which hands using multi-indicia items may be evaluated for payouts. For example, the number of unique X-card (e.g., 5-card) combinations may be limited. For example, payouts may be limited such that combinations having the same pay on a standard poker pay schedule are not repeated, or are repeated some limited number of times. In one example, payouts are provided for only one instance of a unique combination on the pay schedule; e.g., only one payout for a royal flush, only one payout for a straight flush, only one payout for a flush, etc. This is depicted in
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As can be seen, of the twenty-one resulting hands, one payout is provided for a royal flush, one payout for a flush, and one payout for a straight flush. In other embodiments, the number of unique combinations paid at each pay schedule level may be capped at some number greater than one, such as the top three paying combinations at each pay schedule level.
Still other variations exist in which hands using multi-indicia items may be evaluated for payouts. For example, duplicate or like-winning combinations may be awarded by way of a limited pay schedule. For example, using the example above in
Still other variations in which the features of the invention may be practiced relate to the number of cards, or decks of cards, that are used. For example, the cards generated by a multi-indicia card could come from a deck of cards separate from the deck of cards providing the other cards of the deck. This separate deck could be a standard 52-card deck. The multi-indicia cards could alternatively be provided from a premium deck; e.g., composed of all 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace cards.
In other embodiments, the multi-indicia cards could be generated from a separate deck, while having a particular probability of being a card closely related to the suit and/or rank of the card that generated the split. One embodiment involves a suited probability. As an example, the Ace-Spades may generate a multi-indicia card, and cards from the same suit as the Ace-Spades could be randomly selected (e.g., cards including the 2-Spades through the King-Spades). Another embodiment involves a ranked probability. As an example, the Ace-Spades may generate a multi-indicia card, and cards from within X cards (e.g., two cards) of the Ace may be randomly selected. In the case of a two-card range, the additional card indicia to accompany the Ace-Spades would be any King, Queen, Two or Three. Another embodiment involves both ranked and suited probability. As an example, the Ace-Spades may generate a multi-indicia card, and cards from within X cards (e.g., two cards) of the Ace-Spades, and of the same suit (e.g., Spades in this example) could be randomly selected to accompany the Ace-Spades in a multi-indicia item. In this example the available cards to accompany the Ace-Spades would be the King-Spades, Queen-Spades, 2-Spades and 3-Spades.
In other embodiments, the multi-indicia cards could be generated based on the card position in which the multi-indicia card(s) is to occur. For example, in a five-card hand the first position may be referred to as card position-1, the second position may be referred to as card position-2, and so forth through card position-5. For each multi-indicia card generated in a particular position, a different level may be assigned. For example, the first multi-indicia card dealt in position 1 may be dealt on level 1, the second multi-indicia card dealt in that position may be dealt on level 2, the third multi-indicia card dealt in that position may be dealt on level 3, and so forth. An example is shown in
As previously noted, the invention may be utilized in various poker games including hold'em poker. For example, a multi-indicia card provided on the board (e.g., flop, turn and/or river) could create additional anticipation and excitement as one or more additional card indicia may be made available for each of the players to potentially further enhance their respective resulting hands. In such an embodiment, one or more multi-indicia cards may be introduced after the player's hole cards are dealt so that the multi-indicia card(s) is only available on the board. In other embodiments, multi-indicia cards may be provided in the entire playable deck, thereby making it possible that a player(s) receives a multi-indicia card(s). In one embodiment, the rules may require a player receiving a multi-indicia hole card to declare this card after the deal and exchange it for two cards dealt face down.
The present invention may be played in connection with live table games, or in electronic embodiments. In live table games, the deck(s) of cards may include multi-indicia cards, or multiple cards may be dealt at a particular position(s) and in response to a random triggering event (e.g., dealing a joker or other special card, as previously described). In one embodiment of a live table game, the multi-indicia item features may be implemented using a card reader or other mechanism that generates a “split,” and then deals a single split card, or two or more discrete cards to a player in a fashion that signifies a “split”; e.g., two cards dealt on top of each other in an overlapping fashion to show the card indicia from each of the cards. Another technique involves creating a special “split deck” with all of the split combinations to be used. This “split deck” could be used in conduction with a standard 52-card deck. There could be two card readers that communicate with one another, or communicate to another device such as a server, where one reader is for the “split” deck and the other for the standard deck. When standard cards are dealt, those combinations may be deactivated from the split deck. Conversely, when split cards are dealt, cards appearing in the split deck may be removed from the standard deck.
In electronic embodiments, multiple hands may be played concurrently. For example, a first hand in a draw poker embodiment may be presented that may include one or more multi-indicia cards. The player may hold any of the cards, including the one or more multi-indicia cards. Upon those cards being held, they can be replicated into any number of concurrently played hands. Cards that are not held are replaced, and any held multi-indicia card can then be used in each concurrently played hand in the manner described herein for a single hand. The player may be required to pay additional wagers to play the additional hands concurrently.
The present invention may be used in connection with slot machines, computing devices and/or other gaming devices.
The illustrated gaming machine 800 includes a computing system (not shown) to carry out operations according to the invention. The illustrated gaming machine 800 includes a display 802, and a user interface 804, although some or all of the user interface may be provided via the display 802 in touch screen embodiments. The user interface 804 allows the user to control and engage in play of the gaming machine 800. The particular user interface mechanisms associated with user interface 804 is dependent on the type of gaming machine. For example, the user interface 804 may include one or more buttons, switches, joysticks, levers, pull-down handles, trackballs, voice-activated input, or any other user input system or mechanism that allows the user to play the particular gaming activity. The user interface 804 may allow the user to enter coins, bills, or otherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, credit cards, tickets, etc. Various mechanisms for entering such vouchers, tokens, credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are known in the art. For example, coin/token input mechanisms, card readers, credit card readers, smart card readers, punch card readers, and other mechanisms may be used to enter wagers. It is through the user interface 804 that the user can initiate and engage in a gaming activity in accordance with the invention. For example, the user can use the user interface 804 and/or touch screen inputs to place wagers 808, hold cards 811, activate multi-indicia card features in some embodiments, make gaming decisions (e.g., bet max) 810 or place side bets 816 that will otherwise make the user eligible for such features, and the like. While the illustrated embodiment depicts various buttons for the user interface 804, it should be recognized that a wide variety of user interface options are available for use in connection with the present invention, including pressing buttons, touching a segment of a touch-screen, entering text, entering voice commands, or other known user entry methodology. The particular user interface mechanism utilized is not relevant to the present invention.
The display device 802 may include one or more of an electronic display, a mechanical display, and fixed display information such as information such as paytable information associated with a glass/plastic panel 809 on the gaming machine 800. A display segment or panel 830 may also be provided to display information such as the accumulated credits, current bet amount such as “10” credits (where credits may represent, for example, coins, tokens, dollars, etc.), the number of hands played, total bet, the number of credits paid out or “won” on a particular play, etc. A wager acceptor 832 is operative to receive wager tokens, coins, bills, credit/debit cards, coupons, smart cards, prepaid casino cards, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, and the like.
In the illustrated embodiment, the user is shown to play a draw poker hand 824, where the player has opted to hold the 4-Spades and a multi-indicia card including the 4-Clubs and 4-Hearts. In a single hand game, the remaining cards would be replaced, with the possibility of replacement cards being multi-indicia cards in one embodiment. The illustrated embodiment also illustrates an embodiment where the player can concurrently play multiple hands, depicted by additional hands 826, 828. In such an embodiment, the held cards (4-Spades and multi-indicia card including the 4-Clubs and 4-Hearts) are replicated into the other hands 826, 828. These other hands 826, 828 can also receive replacement cards, which in one embodiment may include additional multi-indicia cards.
As may now be readily understood, the device 800 may be programmed to facilitate the various embodiments of the invention. The present invention may be implemented as a casino gaming machine such as a video poker machine or other special purpose gaming kiosk as described in
Hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof may be used to perform the various gaming functions, display presentations and operations described herein. The functional modules used in connection with the invention may reside in a gaming machine as described, or may alternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computing device/system. The computing structure 900 of
The example computing arrangement 900 suitable for performing the gaming functions in accordance with the present invention typically includes a central processor (CPU) 902 coupled to random access memory (RAM) 904 and some variation of read-only memory (ROM) 906. The ROM 906 may also represent other types of storage media to store programs, such as programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), etc. The processor 902 may communicate with other internal and external components through input/output (I/O) circuitry 908 and bussing 910, to provide control signals, communication signals, and the like.
Chance-based gaming systems such as video poker machines, in which the present invention is applicable, are governed by random numbers and processors. A display device 911 is used to display the gaming activity as facilitated by one or more random number generators (RNG). RNGs are well-known in the art, and may be implemented using hardware, software operable in connection with the processor 902, or some combination of hardware and software. The present invention is operable using any known RNG, and may be integrally programmed as part of the processor 902 operation, or alternatively may be a separate RNG controller 940.
The computing arrangement 900 may also include one or more data storage devices, including hard and floppy disk drives 912, CD-ROM drives 914, and other hardware capable of reading and/or storing information such as DVD, FLASH drives, etc. In one embodiment, software for carrying out the operations in accordance with the present invention may be stored and distributed on a CD-ROM 916, diskette 918, DVD, FLASH device or other form of media capable of portably storing information. These storage media may be inserted into, and read by, devices such as the CD-ROM drive 914, the disk drive 912, etc. The software may also be transmitted to the computing arrangement 900 via data signals, such as being downloaded electronically via a network, such as the Internet. Further, as previously described, the software for carrying out the functions associated with the present invention may alternatively be stored in internal memory/storage of the computing device 900, such as in the ROM 906 or other storage.
The computing arrangement 900 is coupled to the display 911, which represents a display on which the gaming activities in accordance with the invention are presented. The display 911 may be any type of known display or presentation screen, such as LCD displays, plasma display, cathode ray tubes (CRT), etc. Where the computing device 900 represents a stand-alone or networked computer, the display 911 may represent a standard computer terminal or display capable of displaying multiple windows, frames, etc. Where the computing device is embedded within an electronic gaming machine (see
The computing arrangement 900 may be connected to other computing devices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computing arrangement 900 may be connected to a network server 928 in an intranet or local network configuration. The computer may further be part of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN) such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer accesses one or more web servers 930 via the network/Internet 932.
Other components directed to gaming machine implementations include manners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. For example, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 900 may also include a hopper controller 942 to determine the amount of payout to be provided to the participant. The hopper controller may be integrally implemented with the processor 902, or alternatively as a separate hopper controller 942. A hopper 944 may also be provided in gaming machine embodiments, where the hopper serves as the mechanism holding the coins/tokens of the machine. The wager input module 946 represents any mechanism for accepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, credit cards, smart cards, membership cards, etc., for which a participant inputs a wager amount.
Additionally, the computing arrangement 900 may include a transmitter (TX) 950, and may include a receiver (RX) 952. These TX 950 and RX 952 components may be discrete components, or aggregated such as in the case of a transceiver. The receiver function provided by the RX 952 can be configured to receive information from any type of network, such as a local area network (LAN), wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11 a/b/g), wired network (e.g., Internet), wireless network (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS), proximity networks (e.g., Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networks), and/or other wired/wireless network technologies. For example, the RX 952 may receive programming and/or operational information from a server 928 or 930 where the system is server-based. Any such server may include computing components analogous to those depicted in
It should also be recognized that the computing arrangement 900 of
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. For example, the present invention is equally applicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines, and is also applicable to live table versions of gaming activities that are capable of being played in a table version (e.g., slot machines involving poker or card games that could be played via table games).
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/228,224, filed Dec. 20, 2018, now issued on Sep. 22, 2020 as U.S. Pat. No. 10,783,754, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/728,497, filed Oct. 9, 2017, now issued on Jan. 1, 2019 as U.S. Pat. No. 10,169,959, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/231,778, filed Aug. 8, 2016, now issued on Oct. 10, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,786,131, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/453,524, filed Aug. 6, 2014, now issued on Aug. 9, 2016 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,412,238, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/168,211, filed Jan. 30, 2014, now issued on Aug. 26, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,814,646, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/692,774, filed Dec. 3, 2012, now issued on Apr. 1, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,684,809, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/838,670, filed Jul. 19, 2010, now issued on Dec. 4, 2012 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,085, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16228224 | Dec 2018 | US |
| Child | 17027214 | US | |
| Parent | 15728497 | Oct 2017 | US |
| Child | 16228224 | US | |
| Parent | 15231778 | Aug 2016 | US |
| Child | 15728497 | US | |
| Parent | 14453524 | Aug 2014 | US |
| Child | 15231778 | US | |
| Parent | 14168211 | Jan 2014 | US |
| Child | 14453524 | US | |
| Parent | 13692774 | Dec 2012 | US |
| Child | 14168211 | US | |
| Parent | 12838670 | Jul 2010 | US |
| Child | 13692774 | US |
