Patent Application
20050059448
This invention relates to an electronic card game that increases player enjoyment and participation. Electronic card games have become extremely popular in casinos and other establishments where gambling is authorized. The popularity of these games is based upon a combination of the games' aesthetic appearance as well as the game itself, including the rules and payout table of the game. One of the most popular types of electronic card games is electronic or video poker, of which there are many different varieties, i.e. Joker Poker, Acey Deucey, Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, and many others. The majority of video poker games are based upon a basic five card draw poker game, wherein the player is dealt an initial hand of five cards and then may elect to discard up to three cards, which are replaced with new cards to form a five card poker hand. The player is then paid any winnings in accordance with a set pay table.
Another gambling card game, that has not caught on in casinos, either electronically or otherwise, is Red Dog. In Red Dog, also called In Between and other names in other parts of the world, a player places a wager and is shown two cards face up. The player then is given the opportunity to place an additional wager on whether or not a third card will fall between the first two cards dealt. Variations on these games are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,547,246 and 6,406,024. The betting options in Red Dog are straightforward and lack much variety. Similarly, in poker games, a player has a single bet and then draws cards in order to attempt to establish a winning hand for that bet.
The present invention provides a fast moving game that provides the player with up to five betting options in a single card game. The game is easy to understand, allowing the player to play the game quickly with minimal instruction.
An electronic card game is disclosed wherein a player makes a bet and is dealt two cards face up. The player is provided the option of choosing one of up to five ranges wherein the next card may fall. Those five possible ranges are: lower than the first two cards; equal to the lowest of the first two cards; higher than the lowest of the first two cards and lower than the highest of the first two cards; equal to the highest of the first two cards; or higher than both cards. The player then selects that range wherein he believes the next, third, card will fall; each range having a specific prize value associated with it. After the player selects a range, a third card is dealt and the player is paid if the third card falls in the selected range. Variations on the invention allow for bonuses to be paid if the third card falls in the middle of the selected range or is of the same rank as one or both of the first two cards.
The game of the present invention may be played on a standard type gaming platform with a place for the player to insert money, tokens or tickets, buttons and/or a touchscreen for the player to control the operation of the game, a display screen, and the additional lights, bells and signage such that the game is attractively displayed. Such gaming platforms are well known in the industry, as are the computer software and hardware on which a game such as that of the present invention may be programmed, displayed and played.
Play of the present invention is initiated by making a wager. Two cards are then dealt face up and displayed in the appropriate areas of the display. For example, in
The two drawn cards will also be shown in the range choice or range selection section of the screen (24).
The player is provided with a pay table based upon the number of cards in each range and therefore the likelihood that such card will be drawn. By way of example only, a preferred pay table is shown in
After the first two cards are dealt and the ranges are displayed, the player chooses the range in which he thinks the next card will fall, taking into consideration the possible payoffs based upon the pay table. The player may preferably select a range via either a touchscreen that allows the player to touch his chosen range on the Range Choice portion of the display (24) or via buttons on the gaming machine (21). These buttons may be the standard hold buttons for a video poker machine, modified to instead display the potential ranges: LOWER, MATCH LOWER, MIDDLE, MATCH HIGHER, and HIGHER. The button display of a preferred embodiment is shown in
After the player selects his range via either the touchscreen (24) or the buttons (41), he presses a deal or draw button (42) or otherwise signals the game to deal the third card. The third card is then dealt and evaluated and the player is paid in accordance with the pay table and whether or not he chose the correct range. For instance, if the player selects the LOWER range in our example with the four and the ten as initial cards and the third card dealt is a two, the player would be paid 6 times her initial bet. If the player had selected any other range, there would be no payout. Other payout formulas are of course available, but the preferred embodiment involves a payout that is a multiple of the initial amount bet.
The overall game play can be quite quick with each initial deal having variable prize values based upon that deal. This allows the player to select his or her own level of volatility for play. For instance, a player may consistently bet on the largest possible range, with a commensurately smaller payoff amount, if he or she desires the largest number of wins. Alternatively, a player may choose to bet on the smallest range(s) in order to maximize her payout if a win does occur. This flexibility makes the game attractive for a wide range of players and will keep game interest high during play, thereby increasing the length of time players play the game.
As a result of the first deal there may be certain instances where there are less than five ranges. For example if the initial deal is a two and an Ace, there can be no card lower than the lowest card or higher than the highest card. Therefore, there are only three ranges for this initial deal; between the two and the Ace, equal to the two or equal to the Ace. In this circumstance, the Range Display and Range Choice displays, and the player selection options are adjusted accordingly.
In addition, if the two cards dealt initially are identical, for example two sevens, there can be no “in-between” range. Further, if the initial two cards are both twos or both aces there can be no lower than or higher than range, respectively, as well. Again, Range Choice displays and player range selection options are altered in these situations to reflect only the available ranges. An initial deal of two threes and the resulting possible ranges, as displayed on the Range Choice display, are shown in
The game may also be modified so that the middle card or cards in a range have a bonus associated with them. In a preferred embodiment, the middle card(s) of any range consisting of five, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven cards would have a bonus; as can be seen from the sample pay table in
The game described above may be modified in various ways in order to provide more game options. In one embodiment, multiple hands of the game are played from a single deck of cards. In this way, the odds may increase or decrease for specific pays as the cards are dealt; or, alternatively, the pay table may be reduced to account for the player's ability to increase his or her return by factoring into their play the previously dealt cards.
In another embodiment of the present invention the game may award the player a bonus for selecting a specific card in the selected range of cards. For example if the first two cards are a four and a Queen, a player that not only specified the range in between the two cards, but which also specified a seven, for example, would receive an additional payout for selecting the actual third card. In addition to receiving a bonus for selecting the correct third card, bonuses can be awarded for other events. For instance, if the first two cards dealt are the same suit a bonus could be awarded if the third card is of the same suit as the first two cards. The permutations are nearly endless.
As those skilled in the relevant art would know, the invention can be embodied in numerous forms of media such as, but not limited to, single player video slot machines, multi-player video slot machines, electronic games and devices, scratch-card formats, lottery terminals, software, as well as in-flight, home and Internet entertainment. The invention can readily be implemented as a computer program on a compact disc, DVD, etc. comprising a computer readable medium with recorded controlled logic to implement the features of the invention. Control logic can be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by a central processing unit (CPU) to perform the various operations described herein.
The embodiments of the game set forth above are meant to teach certain aspects of the invention, including the best mode of implementation. Those embodiments, however, are offered by way of example only. The invention itself is not to be limited by any specific embodiment, but encompasses all embodiments, whether specifically described or not, and as disclosed in the following claims:
