Patent Grant
8585478
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gaming, the field of playing card game play, and particularly playing card wagering systems based on hands having poker ranks of cards without necessarily requiring poker ranks of hands.
2. Background of the Art
As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have been popular for many years. The capital requirements for playing poker and other table card games are very low. All that are needed are one or more decks of cards, a playing surface and a few participants. Five card poker is a game that most people know how to play and many games have been developed using the same basic priority or rank order of winning poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and high card(s) in hand.
For some time, it had been difficult to adapt the rules of poker into a casino table game in which each player plays against the house, rather than against other players. Although club-type games with players wagering against each other have been popular, it was desirable for a game to be played where the house received a more direct payback from the game. In a conventional poker game, a number of players (greater than one) are each dealt a poker hand by one player (or the house dealer who does not play in the game) who acts as the dealer. The player with the highest ranking hand based on the established priority ranking of poker hands wins. Each player in turn deals a hand as the game continues. It is usually essential to have wagering steps in the game to maintain the interest and excitement of the game. In the absence of wagering, there is little to commend the play of poker.
Many places, both within and without the United States, have legalized gaming. Poker is one of the games of chance offered in both casinos and card rooms. In a conventional card room poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing cards, the table and chairs, but the house does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player's bet (“the rake”) that compensates the house for providing the facilities to the players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time of play. Each player is competing not against the house, but against all the other players with the highest hand winning the total of all the wagers made on that hand.
Many people do not like to play card room poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather than from their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted. Card room poker also tends to not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands, although bonuses are sometimes paid for highest hands in tournaments or for specific combinations of hands at poker tables (e.g., a losing hand of at least a full house). While a Royal Flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total payout that he would have collected if the hand was won with a Three-of-a-Kind.
In the past fifteen years, a number of card games have been disclosed to provide poker-type card games as house-banked casino table games. These games have focused on a number of elements in providing excitement and staying power for the games. The games must be quickly understood by players. The rules must be simple and clear. The resolution of wagers by the dealer must be easily accomplished. The reading of hands by a dealer must not be complex. In addition, the games must provide a high enough hit frequency to appeal to players, yet allow the house to retain a profitable portion of the wagers. These needs have limited the number of games that have been designed and successfully introduced into the casino gaming market.
Among the successful games are Let It Ride Bonus® poker, Three Card Poker® game and Caribbean Stud® poker. These games have each achieved a high level of commercial success with different formats and attributes.
Let It Ride® stud poker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081. The Bonus version of the game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,424. In this game, the player makes a wager in three parts, three cards are dealt to each player (there may be only a single player), and two common cards are dealt face down in front of the dealer. The player examines his/her three cards, evaluates the likelihood of a ranked hand (e.g., at least a pair of tens) being achieved with those three cards and the as yet unseen common cards. The player, based on judgment of that likelihood, may elect to withdraw the first of the three-part wager or keep the wager at risk. Upon the player making that decision, and withdrawing or allowing the first wager to remain at risk, a first of the common cards is turned face up. The player then can make another decision with regard to the play of the hand and whether there is a changed potential for a ranked hand. A second portion of the three-part wager is then withdrawn or allowed to remain at risk. After this decision, the last common card is exposed, and the rank of each player's hand, including the common cards, is evaluated. Payments are made to each player based on only the rank of hand achieved and the number of wagers left on the table from the original three-part wager. As noted, at least one wager must remain, as only two parts can have been withdrawn. Wagers are paid off at rates (or odds), for example, of 1:1 for pairs of at least 10's, 2:1 for two pairs, 3:1 for three-of-a-kind, 5:1 for straights, 7:1 for flushes, 12:1 for full houses, 50:1 for four-of-a-kind, 250:1 for straight flushes, and 1000:1 for Royal Flushes. The specific payout odds can be varied and often casinos choose payout tables that help them achieve a desired percentage hold. Side bonus wagers may also be placed in which ranked hands over three-of-a-kind receive fixed or progressive bonuses, such as $25,000 for a Royal Flush. The bonus payouts and hand combinations are typically displayed on a payout table on the table surface. The winning bonus combinations are typically a higher-ranking subset of the winning base game outcomes.
The Three Card Poker® game (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774) deals three cards to each player and three cards to the dealer, all face down. Initially one or two optional wagers may be made by the player. One such wager is for the “Pair Plus” bonus bet, a bet on achieving a winning combination included in a payout table. Another wager is the game ante on which the player competes against the dealer. The Pair Plus bet in one example of the invention is a wager that the three card hand will have a rank of at least one pair or more. The hand is paid off in multiples of the bet depending upon the rank of the hand, with up to 40:1 or more paid out for three-of-a-kind. In the ante wager, if the player wants to compete against the dealer's hand (after viewing the rank of the player's hand), an additional wager equal to one or two times the ante must be placed by the player. House rules typically dictate that the amount of the Bet is 2.times the amount of the Ante. The dealer's hand is then exposed. If the dealer does not have a hand of at least a certain qualifying rank (e.g., at least Queen high), the dealer's hand is not in play. If the player has not made the additional wager, the ante is collected by the dealer at some point in the play of the game. If the player has made the additional wager, the ante is paid off to the player if the dealer's hand is not as high a rank as the player's hand. If the dealer's hand has qualified, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, then the ante and the additional wager are collected by the house. If the dealer's hand qualifies (e.g., at least Queen high) and is lower than the player's hand rank, both the ante and additional wager are paid off, with multiples payable to the ante wager for certain high ranking hands (e.g., straights, flushes, straight flushes, three-of-a-kind, etc.). The ranking of the various poker hands is different in the three card game than in five card poker games.
Potter et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,295 and 5,697,614 describe a casino table card game and apparatus in which a player may select any number of predetermined hand ranking rules to apply to the play of a hand. A player is dealt an initial, partial hand, and the player then elects from that initial hand which set(s) of predetermined hand ranking rules apply to the hand. In a preferred game, the dealer receives two separate bank hands, one that utilizes the hand ranks of standard poker and one that utilizes the hand ranks of low-ball poker. Once each player has received four of his five cards, each player decides which of the dealer's two hands to play against, with the option of playing against both (as in selecting both ways in a Hi-Low poker game). Then each player receives his or her fifth, and last, card. At this point, the “bank” hands are exposed and each player's hand is compared to the specific “bank” hand, or hands, that they played against, winners are determined, and wagers are settled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,444 describes a method of playing a stud poker game in a player-versus-dealer gaming table environment. A player places an “ante” wager whereupon he and the dealer receive a three-card portion of a five-card poker hand with two of the dealer's three cards face up. The player may then compare his partial three-card poker hand with the dealer's two up cards and exercise his option of either “surrendering” the original “ante” wager or placing an additional “challenge” wager to receive the remainder of his five-card poker hand. After he and the dealer have received their entire five-card poker hand, an ordinary showdown takes place. If the player's poker hand beats the dealer's, then the house pays even money on the original “ante” wager and on the challenge wager. In a preferred embodiment, the player must have at least an ace high hand to prevail. In a further enhancement, the player may also place an optional “side” wager at the time that the “ante” wager is made in order to receive a fixed or return for forming certain hands and, in particular, for spelling a word such as “VEGAS” using letters carried by particular cards in an otherwise standard 52-card deck. The “side” wager is paid to the house, along with the “ante” wager, in the event of a surrender.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,101 describes a poker game in which a player tries to form a five card poker hand that has the highest poker hand ranking. In the house banked version, all players play against the house and not against each other. The game is played with a standard fifty-two card deck. The game consists of a dealer and from one to seven players. Each player makes a bet and a portion of each bet may be allocated to a progressive jackpot. The dealer deals five cards to each player. The dealer then deals six cards as the community cards which are arranged face down in three rows in a triangle pattern on the gaming table layout. The players may discard from none to five unwanted cards. The dealer turns up the community cards and pre-designated groups of cards from the community cards are used for each player to make a complete five card poker hand. The dealer determines the best hand each player has made according to poker hand rankings. All winning hands will be paid by the dealer according to the odds listed in the pay table. When the progressive jackpot payout is used, the dealer examines the six community cards to determine if one of the predetermined card arrangements has occurred. Any winning payouts from the progressive jackpot are distributed to the players at the table. The method may also be played as a player banked game or as a pot game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,448 describes a casino table poker game where a dealer deals three cards to each player. The dealer then deals eight cards as the community cards which are arranged in groups of two each on the gaming table layout. The card layout is in the format of a directional compass with two cards each at the North position, East position, South position and West position, respectively. At the North position, both cards are face down. At the East and West positions, one card is face down and one card is face up. At the South position, both cards are face up. Each player determines which one of the four two-card groups the player wishes to use to comprise his five card. The player identifies this selection by moving his wager to the corresponding compass location on the player's betting spot on the gaming table layout in front of the player. The dealer turns up the remaining community cards and the dealer determines the best hand each player has made according to poker hand rankings. All winning hands will be paid according to the odds listed in the pay table.
The game known as Acey-Deucey is a popular poker game played against a community pot. Players ante money and decide how much to wager against the pot. Two cards are dealt to a player. A third card is dealt which must have a value between the first two cards dealt. If the third card has the intermediate value, the player wins the amount wagered and removes that amount from the pot. In a table setting, the game of Acey-Deucey usually continues until the pot is emptied.
A casino table or electronic video wagering games using playing cards is based upon winning combinations of sequences of playing cards that do not necessarily have to be in consecutive and adjacent series to provide a winning or qualifying event. A player position is provided with at least three playing card positions. In one embodiment, a dealer's position is also provided with at least three playing card positions. After an initial wager, each player is dealt an initial two playing cards from which the player will begin to play the game. If there is a dealer's position, the dealer is also provided with two initial cards to be distributed among the dealer's three playing card positions. The players decide how to arrange each of their initial hands to create the greatest possible numerical or statistical separation between the two initial cards, or in either an increasing value direction and the highest card or a decreasing value direction and the lowest card by positioning the two initial hand cards in player selected two of the three playing card positions, leaving an open playing card position relative to the vector values of the two placed cards. The dealer's two cards are set according to house rules among the three dealer's playing card positions, those rules intended to provide the highest probability of a third card forming a sequence or run of values. Payouts on initial wagers are paid at least on a third card having a value appropriate for placement in the open playing card position and the relative ranks of the player's hand and the dealer's hand if both player and dealer obtain a Roo straight.
A wagering game based on sequences of cards is played by one or more players a) against a paytable, b) against a dealer or house hand, or c) against both a house hand or dealer hand and a paytable. A player makes an initial wager to play in the wagering game. Each player placing an initial wager has at least three playing card placement positions. A partial hand or initial hand is dealt to each player. The player evaluates the first two cards received and determines what is the best arrangement that can be made with the cards. The cards are arranged by the player by positioning them in two of the three playing card holding positions. The player selected (or automatic position selection) is made to offer a best likelihood or highest probability of a third card forming a consecutive rank sequence of cards when the third card is dealt to a third card position oriented with respect to the positions taken up by the first two cards that were dealt to a player and then positioned by a player. If the third card “fits” sequentially into the ordered arrangement of the cards, then the player wins on the initial wager or qualifies to play against the dealer.
The player positions the initial two cards dealt to create the largest vector space in which a third card will fit. The term vector space will be described graphically and by example to explain the concept. It must first be established that the first two cards may be arranged in any combination of three positions among the three playing card placement positions (I, II and III). Identifying a filled position as X and an empty position as O, the three choices for the playing cards would be:
Orientation 1—I-X, II-X, III-O
Orientation 2—I-X, II-O, III-X
Orientation 3—I-O, II-X, III-X
The various orientations are to be read in a single direction, usually left to right, but right to left may also be used. One objective of the game is to construct hands of at least three cards with the rank or value of the cards in sequence, preferably ascending sequence, from one direction to the other, as from position I to position II to position III. For example, playing cards of rank 2 5 J are in ascending order from left to right, as are cards 6 Q K. On the other hand, cards K 8 Q are not in sequence left to right as cards cannot be read “around the corner.” A player must therefore arrange the initial two cards in a sequence and orientation of rank to maximize the likelihood of another card (the third card dealt) being in the proper orientation to form a sequence of ranks or values in the proper order. It is here that the concept of vector space is considered.
In placing the cards in two of the three placement positions, the desire to form a sequence of cards must be considered in terms of probability for the rank of the third card. The orientation for purposes of the invention shall be considered from left to right in ascending value as follows, with the size of the boxes indicating the relative rank or value of the cards and the arrows showing the relative direction of reading the cards.
Vector space would be considered the unoccupied space from one pair of boxes towards a third box or between the two end boxes. There are therefore three vector spaces to be considered. Those vector spaces are:
The two initial cards are positioned so that the vector space remaining from the positioning of the two initial cards offers the greatest probability of the third card forming a sequence when placed in the third slot or available card position. Referring to the identified vector spaces, for example, if the initial cards were a 2 and a 3, Vector space 1 would be used with the 2 in position I and the 3 in position II so that a third card of a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q or K would be a winning card. Similarly, if the first two cards were a 2 and K, vector 2 would be used with the 2 in position I and the King in position III, so that a third card of a 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, or Q would be a winning card. If the first two cards were a Q and K, vector 3 would be used with the Q in position II and the King in position III, so that a third card of a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or J would be a winning or qualifying card.
A game played according to the rules described herein is referred to as “Roo” and is a new card game based on the concept of a kangaroo straight. A kangaroo straight, or roo straight for short, is a row of cards in ascending order from left to right. Specifically, the first card is less than the second card, the second card is less than the third card, and so on. For instance, 2-3-4 and 6-9-K are both valid roo straights. Any set of cards that is not in the correct order or contains a pair is an invalid roo straight. Some examples of invalid roo straights are 4-3-2, 6-K-9, and 8-8-9.
In the game Roo, the object is to form a roo straight using 3 cards. To do so, players initially receive 2 cards that they must place in a specific configuration. They must designate their 2 cards as the low and middle, the low and high, or the middle and high cards of their final roo straight. They will then be dealt a third card to the remaining position in their roo hand. Next, the dealer will also attempt to form a 3-card roo straight in a similar fashion. To win, a player must first form a roo straight and then beat the dealer's hand if the dealer also forms a roo straight.
Exemplary Rules of Play
These rules are intended to be exemplary and are not to be taken as absolute limits on the scope of play of games envisioned herein.
Ante Bonus
The following 2 tables summarize these results.
The following table shows the ante bonus portion of the expected value:
The amount paid for each of the roo straights above varies depending on the hand. See tables 3 and 4. The outcome of the Pocket Roo side bet does not affect the outcome of the ante wager and vice versa.
To analyze the Pocket Roo side bet, I created a combinatorial program in Java that analyzed each of the 3 possible ways to play any given 2-card deal. The following describes the steps that the program executed:
The following table shows another version of the Pocket Roo side bet pay schedule and gives a summary of its expected value of −4.5068%. The corresponding house advantage for the pay schedule below is 4.5068%.
Appendix B shows the expected value of each of the 3 ways to play any 2-card player hand. It also shows the optimal playing strategy.
Pairs Insurance Bet Analysis
In the Pairs Insurance bet, players win if their first 2 cards form a pair or their 3-card hand contains a pair. Table 5 below shows the different winning hands and their corresponding pay outs.
To analyze the Pairs Insurance bet, I used combinatorics counting techniques to determine the number of each type of winning hand. I then used this information to calculate the expected value of the Pairs Insurance bet. The following table summarizes these results.
As shown in Table 5, the expected value of the Pairs Insurance bet is −4.6697%. This corresponds to a house advantage of 4.6697%.
Appendix A
The following table gives the expected values of all 3 ways to play any 2-card player hand for the ante wager. The second column of the table gives the optimal playing strategy.
Optimal Strategy Key:
Appendix B
The following table gives the expected values of all 3 ways to play any 2-card player hand for the Pocket Roo side bet. (The values below apply for the pay schedule shown in Table 3.) The second column of the table gives the optimal playing strategy.
Optimal Strategy Key:
Also available in the game is the Joey Roo event and side bet wager.
Joey Side Bet Analysis
The Joey side bet is similar to the Pocket Roo side bet in that its 2 highest paying hands are the Royal Roo and the Royal Flush Roo. However, with the exception of these 2 hands, the Joey side bet does not penalize players for not making a valid roo straight. The following list describes each of the winning hands on the Joey side bet pay table:
The Joey side bet was analyzed using the same methodology to analyze the Pocket Roo side bet. The next table shows one version of the Joey side bet pay schedule and gives a summary of its expected value of −4.3258%. This corresponds to a house advantage of 4.3258%.
The following table shows another version of the Joey side bet pay schedule and gives a summary of its expected value of −2.5882%. This corresponds to a house advantage of 2.5882%.
In addition to the play of the underlying game of ROO™ poker in which players attempt to achieve a kangaroo straight in the sequential order of the three cards and beat the dealer's ROO™ poker straight, the Roo™ game described herein may be used as a side bet game or ancillary games when other games (blackjack, Baccarat, Three Card Poker® games, etc. are being played. For example, in addition to the underlying bets already made on Three-Card Poker® game hands, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,885,774; 6,056,641; 6,237,916; 6,345,823; and the like, a side bet wagers may also be made on the first two cards, with a third card later delivered in the game. It may be adapted with more difficulty to blackjack where a third can might not ordinarily be dealt to particular hands. In that event, either a community third card may be used for any Roo wagers, or cards may be dealt after conclusion of the blackjack hand to avoid card usage that would interfere with the underlying strategy of blackjack.
These and other aspects of the invention are alternatives appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to be within the scope of the generic teachings of the present technology and game structure. In this vein, automated table systems, automated bet recognition and automated card reading and monitoring systems may be used to implement play of the present games and technology.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5288081 | Breeding | Feb 1994 | A |
| 5489101 | Moody | Feb 1996 | A |
| 5494295 | Potter et al. | Feb 1996 | A |
| 5531448 | Moody | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5653444 | Dahl | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5657993 | Merlino et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
| 5685774 | Webb | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5697614 | Potter et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 6056641 | Webb | May 2000 | A |
| 6237916 | Webb | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6273424 | Breeding | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6345823 | Webb | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6656044 | Lewis | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 20020074724 | Webb | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020153662 | Webb et al. | Oct 2002 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080026812 A1 | Jan 2008 | US |
