Patent Application
20140024434
This invention relates to the game of Texas Hold'em poker and similar games with community cards and, in particular, to a side bet option in such a game.
Texas Hold'em poker is one of the most popular poker games played on-line and in casinos.
In the conventional game of Texas Hold'em, each player receives two cards face down before wagering commences. These two cards are called hole cards. Wagering commences with the player to the left of the dealer and moves around the table (virtual or physical) clockwise. After players have either wagered or exited (folded), three community cards (called the flop) are drawn and placed in front of the dealer for use by all the players. The players can now make a five card hand with their two cards plus the three community cards. Wagering again continues with possible raises or folded hands. A fourth community card (called the turn) is then drawn by the dealer and the players continue as in the previous round of play. If more than one player remains, a fifth community card (called the river) is drawn and play continues as the two previous rounds. The game is then over. Standard poker rules apply to the ranking of hands. The full official rules of Texas Hold'em are incorporated herein by reference.
One drawback of the conventional Texas Hold'em is that, once a player folds, the player is completely out of the game and disinterested.
What is needed is a variation of Texas Hold'em that does not change the rules of the conventional game but adds more excitement for at least the players that have folded.
A method of playing a variation of Texas Hold'em poker is described for a casino game or an on-line game. One or more players place a side bet independent of playing the underlying poker game. One or more cards are dealt face down to players of the poker game as part of the underlying poker game. A plurality of community cards, such as five, is dealt over the course of the underlying poker game for use by all players as part of the underlying poker game. After the underlying poker game is over, and five community cards have been dealt, awards are granted to the one or more players that have placed the side bet if the community cards by themselves form a winning hand, independent of the underlying poker game. The award amount for the side bet is predetermined and depends on the best poker hand that is made with the five community cards. If the underlying game ends without five community cards being dealt, the remaining community cards can be dealt or the side bets can be carried over to the next game until five community cards are dealt.
A progressive pot may also be accumulated for splitting among the side bet players in the event a straight flush, four of a kind, or other improbably hand is obtained by the community cards. Such a progressive pot may become very high and draw new players to the game.
In one embodiment, non-players of the underlying game may also place side bets on the community cards, allowing many non-players to be indirectly involved in the game. This does not affect the underlying game.
The side bet option is applicable to other underlying games as well.
In one embodiment, a method of playing a variation of Texas Hold'em or other card game that involves community cards is disclosed. The underlying game of Texas Hold'em is used as an example to explain the invention. Similar poker games using the basic principles of Texas Hold'em are equally applicable to the present invention and differ in various ways, such as the number of down cards, the order of the cards being dealt, the number of cards dealt, or betting rules. The cards are from a conventional 52 cards physical or virtual deck. The cards are shuffled (randomized) after each game.
The conventional Texas Hold'em game is not affected at all by the invention, but a side bet option is added. Before the players are dealt the two hole cards, any of the players may make a side bet by placing one or more chips (or making another suitable designation) in a special side bet area of the poker table for each player. The side bet may be a fixed amount or the player can bet up to a limit. The side bet is betting on the poker hand made by the five community cards drawn by the dealer at the end of the underlying game. Once the conventional portion of the game has started, the players cannot make or add to the side bet.
There is a side bet area 12 between each adjacent pair of players (e.g., players 1 and 2; players 3 and 4). The players make the side bets by playing the side bet, such as chip 14, in the designated area 12 for that player's side bet. The chip 14 is in the player number 5 side bet area 12. To avoid the side bet chips 14 being mixed with the chips played during the conventional part of the game, the dealer moves all the side bet chips to designated areas 16 for each player. The areas 16 are labelled 1 through 10, corresponding to the player areas 1-10. The dealer then deals out two hole cards to the players, then subsequently deals out the community cards 18, with betting as in the conventional game. The center area of the table 10 is for betting chips in the conventional aspect of the game. In the example of
The entire game may be virtual, and the players bet with virtual chips.
After the conventional part of the Texas Hold'em game is completed (i.e., a player has won the game) and if the community cards are now five in number, the dealer will then pay winning side bets at the odds specified or, if there are no winners of the side bet, then the dealer will collect the side bets for the house. The conventional portion of the Texas Hold'em game is unaffected, with the winning player taking the pot.
Accordingly, even if a player folds, that player is still involved in the side bet game and has a chance of winning, adding excitement to the game. Additionally, a losing player that stayed in the game to the end and made the side bet may receive a consolation prize by winning on the side bet.
If all players but one folds before the five community cards are dealt, the dealer may complete the dealing of the five community cards, or the side bets may be held over for subsequent games until five community cards are dealt.
The side bet is applicable to casino games as well as on-line games with one or more players. The game may also be played using a mechanical or electronic gaming machine (using a display screen) with one or more players.
In one embodiment, the winning poker hands that may be obtained with the five community cards are as follows:
Two pair:—using four of the five cards to make two pairs
Three of a kind:—using three of the five cards to make three of a kind
Straight:—using all five cards to make a straight of a single suit (e.g., 2,3,4,5,6)
Flush:—using all five cards with all five cards of the same suit
Full House:—using all five cards to make a three of a kind along with a pair
Four of a kind:—using all five cards to make four of a kind
Straight Flush:—using all five cards to make a straight in the same suit
Royal flush :—using all five cards to make 10, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit.
There is no win for a pair. The house is guaranteed to make a profit on the side bet, in the long term, since the house keeps the side bets if there is no winning hand, and the payoff for each winning hand is generally proportional to the odds of achieving the winning hand.
In one embodiment, the player wins the follow multiple of the side bet for a winning hand, generally proportional to the odds of that hand occurring:
Two pair:—5 to 1
Three of a kind:—10 to 1
Straight:—25 to 1
Flush:—50 to 1
Full House:—75 to 1
Four of a kind:—250 to 1
Straight flush:—2,000 to 1
Royal flush:—5,000 to 1
The above odds may be varied according to the operator's choosing. Also gaming authorities may choose to control the payoffs to limit the house's theoretical long term profits from the side bet, such as to 7.5%.
The award granted in the side bet game is completely independent of any wager or win in the underlying, conventional aspect of the game.
The present invention of a side bet on displayed cards may also be applied to any other game where five cards are displayed face up. For example, in the games of 6-card stud or 7-card stud, a dummy hand may be used to create a five card community poker hand, or the side bet may be based on any one of the players' up cards. Therefore, players that have folded, but made a side bet on the five up cards, are essentially still in the game. In such stud games, one or two cards are dealt face down for each player, and the remaining cards are dealt face up. The players bet after each card is dealt in the underlying game.
In another embodiment, the underlying game may not involve the displaying of five cards but may involve only three or four community cards. In such a case, the side bet option may still be applied, and the winning side bet hands and associated awards are based on the three or four community cards in the underlying game.
In one embodiment, non-players of the underlying game may also make a side bet wager on the community cards. The non-players may be on-line or live at a casino. Therefore, thousands of such non-players may have a financial interest in the outcome of the game since no cards need to be dealt to the non-players. This feature has synergy since such non-players may not be confident enough to play the underlying game head-to-head with other players but want to have a passive role in the game. Therefore, the non-players add revenue to the casino or on-line site without any additional overhead by the casino or on-line site, while being entertained with the underlying game. The non-players may eventually join in the underlying game if there are “seats” available.
A progressive pot may also be accumulated for splitting among the side bet players in the event a straight flush, four of a kind, or other improbable hand is obtained by the community cards. Such a progressive pot may become very high and draw new players to the game. The pot may be accumulated from a small percentage of all side bets made over time. This progressive side bet pot has synergy since there is no additional outlay by the casino or on-line site, yet new players are drawn into the game by the lure of a high progressive pot, adding even more revenue to the casino or site while adding to the pot.
The game of the present invention provides a method of side-betting which is interesting to the players without being unduly complicated, and it provides the players with a reasonable expectation of success whilst maintaining an acceptable house advantage. Further still, the game provides a variation to a poker game without interfering with or influencing how a player plays the main game. In other words, the game of the present invention adds to but does not detract from the principles of the underlying poker game. The side bet game provides synergy since the conventional game is not affected, yet an additional game is played that benefits the players and the house, while drawing new players and non-players (i.e., only side bet players) to the game.
Accordingly, while particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications that are within the true spirit and scope of this invention.
