AU2003266768B2 - Electronic poker with face-up hand without face-down cards beneath - Google Patents

Description

112332881

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 (Cth)

COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

ERNEST W MOODY Invention Title Electronicpoker with face-up hand without face-down cards beneath The invention is described in the following statement: Blake Dawson Waldron Patent Services Level 37, Grosvenor Place 225 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: 61 2 9258 6000 Fax: 61 2 9258 6999 Ref: DGC DCW 02 1357 1838 112332881 ELECTRONIC POKER WITH FACE-UP HAND WITHOUT FACE-DOWN CARDS BENEATH FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates primarily to electronic video poker games, and more particularly to electronic video poker games that are based on poker hand rankings and allow the player to discard and replace unwanted cards with replacement cards. The present invention has many versions with the common thread being that the player is shown possible replacement cards face up at the time the player must make his decision as to which cards to hold and which cards to discard. The invention also involves features which may apply to casino table games as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method of operating an electronic video poker machine having a video display device to facilitate play of a multi-hand poker game, the method comprising: displaying on the video display device a first poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images, each of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand not having a face-down playing-card-shaped image shown underneath when the first poker hand is initially dealt; displaying on the video display device at least one additional poker hand having at least five playing-card-shaped images; after steps and detecting the selection by a player of none, one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand as playing cards to be held; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were selected to be held, displaying a duplicate of each of the one or more face-up playing card images selected to be held from the first poker hand into at least a second poker hand; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were not selected to be held, terminating the display of the one or more face-up playing 112332881 card images in the first poker hand that were not selected to be held and replacing the display of each such playing card image with display of a replacement face-up playing card image to display a first completed poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were not selected to be held, displaying one or more face-up playing card images in the second poker hand in addition to the duplicate playing card images that were displayed in the second poker hand via step to form a completed second poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images; and determining an amount to be awarded to a player based on the first completed poker hand and the second completed poker hand.

In one preferred form of the invention, step comprises displaying at least five facedown playing-card-shaped images.

Suitably, step comprises: (bl) displaying on the video display device a first additional poker hand having at least five face-down playing-card-shaped images; and (b2) displaying on the video display device a second additional poker hand having at least five face-down playing-card-shaped images.

The method preferably comprises simultaneously displaying at least three poker hands on the video display device. Step preferably comprises displaying a duplicate of each of the one or more face-up playing card images selected to be held from the first poker hand into a third poker hand in which case step comprises displaying one or more face-up playing card images in the third poker hand in addition to the duplicate playing card images that were displayed in the third poker hand via step to form a completed third poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images. The amount determined via step is preferably based on at least three completed poker hands.

112332881 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 shows the screen display for Version #1 of an embodiment of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 2 shows the screen display for Version 1 and shows a result that could occur during the play of the game.

Figure 3 shows a modification to the method of play of Version #1.

Figure 4 shows the screen display for Version #2A of another embodiment of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 5 shows the screen display for Version #2A after the player has selected a replacement card from the bottom row.

Figure 6 shows the screen display for Version #2A after the player has received a replacement card from the top row.

Figure 7 shows the screen display for Version #2B after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 8 shows the screen display for Version #2C after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 9 shows the screen display for Version #2D after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 10 shows the screen display for Version #2E after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 11 shows the screen display for Version #2F after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 12 shows the screen display for Version #2G after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 13 shows the screen display for Version #2G after the player has selected the cards he wishes to hold from the centre row.

112332881 Figure 14 shows the screen display for Version #2H after the initial deal of the cards.

Figure 15 shows the screen display for Version #2H after the player has selected the cards he wishes to hold from the top row and a replacement card has been dealt to the top row.

Figure 16 shows the screen display for Version #3H after all three row have been completed and show five card hands.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention in a preferred embodiment includes a variety of electronic video poker games. Each electronic video poker game is designed to be played by having the hands displayed on a video screen to a player. By manipulating the buttons on the gaming device or by using conventional touch screen technology, the player selects which cards he wishes to play, which cards he wishes to move from one location to another on the screen display and which cards he wishes to discard. Replacement cards are then displayed for the discarded cards and the outcome of the play of the hand is determined.

Version# 1 Super Poker I Version #1 of this embodiment of the invention is a poker-type game in which two horizontal rows of five cards each are displayed on a video screen. Figure 1 shows the screen display for this game at the point in which the two initial five card hands are dealt and displayed to the player. A conventional deck of fifty-two cards is used. Two five card hands are dealt to the player. The first hand 20 is a five card stud poker hand dealt face down. The second hand 40 is a five card draw poker hand dealt face up. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second hand 40 is aligned card-for-card over the first hand. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the player makes two wagers one for the stud poker hand and one for the draw poker hand.

As an example, Figure 1 shows the first hand 20 comprising five cards 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 all displayed face down. The second hand 40 comprises five face up cards the Ace of Spades 41, the King of Spades 42, the Ten of Spades 42, the Four of Hearts 44 and the Three of Clubs 112332881 The player first plays the five card draw poker hand. The player selects which of the five cards he wishes to discard and replacement cards for the discarded cards come from the stud poker hand. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the replacement cards are selected by using the card from the first hand 20 that is vertically aligned with the discarded card from the second hand Again with reference to Figure 1, the player would most likely discard the Four of Hearts 44 and the Three of Clubs 45 and attempt to draw into a Royal Flush in Spades.

The cards that the player would receive as replacement cards for his discard are card 24 and card 25 from the first hand Electronically card 44 would be removed from the screen and card 24 would be reproduced at the screen location where card 44 formerly was. Likewise, card 45 would be removed from the screen display and card 25 would be reproduced at the screen location where card 45 formerly was.

At same time that this is occurring, all five cards from the first hand 20 are turned face up and displayed to the player. This results in two five card hands being displayed to the player on the screen display as shown in Figure 2. Any cards from the first hand that are also used as replacement cards in the second hand 40 are therefore displayed twice on the screen display.

Following along with the example from Figure 1, Figure 2 shows results that could occur. Assuming the player discarded the Four of Hearts 44 from the second hand 40, the replacement card for card 44 is card 24 (since card 24 is vertically aligned with card 44 on the screen display) from the first hand 20 which turned out to be the Queen of Spades when card 24 is turned face up. Likewise, assuming the player discarded the Three of Clubs 45 from the second hand 40, the replacement card for card 45 is card 25 (since card 25 is vertically aligned with card 45 on the screen display) from the first hand 20 which turned out to be the Jack of Spades when card 25 is turned up.

Thus, the draw hand 40 resulted in a hand having a poker rank of a Royal Flush in Spades. Likewise, when the first hand 20 is turned face up, it resulted in a hand having a poker rank of Four Jacks. The Queen of Spades 24 and Jack of Spades 25 are used in both the first hand 20 and the second hand 112332881 Payout schedules are provided for both the five card stud hand 20 and the five card draw hand 40 and a player is paid amounts based on the amount of his wager on each hand according the payout schedule which is based on poker hand rankings as in conventional video or electronic poker machines.

Suitable payout schedules are used for both the stud hand and the draw poker hand. The payouts can be fixed or flat jackpot amounts being multiples of the amount of the wager.

Alternatively, progressive jackpot amounts can be provided for winning combinations. For example, a first progressive jackpot amount can be provided for achieving a Royal Flush in the stud poker hand 20 and a second progressive jackpot amount can be provided for achieving a Royal Flush in the draw poker hand The above-described method of play can be modified in that any cards from the first hand 20 that are used as replacement cards in the second hand would themselves be replaced by new cards from the original deck of fifty-two cards. For example, Figure 3 shows this modification. After discarding from the second hand 40, the Queen of Spades 24 and the Jack of Spades 25 are physically moved from the first hand 20 to their corresponding vertically aligned locations in the second hand 40. Replacement cards are dealt from the original fifty-two card deck resulting in the Six of Hearts 24R and the Six of Clubs 25R being added to the first hand 20. The resulting hands in this example are a Royal Flush in Spades in the draw poker hand 40 and a Full House in the stud poker hand This version may also be modified with the use of certain optional features. These features may apply as an option to standard five card video poker, as well. One optional feature is a "Double Down" feature in which the player may double the amount of his original wager if the player achieves certain cards on the initial deal. For example, if a player is dealt one pair in the draw poker hand 40, the player may exercise the option of doubling the amount of his initial wager.

Another optional feature is the "Split" feature. In this feature, the player has the option of splitting the face up cards of the draw hand 40 into two five card hands. This may be done according to rank or suit or any other strategy that the player may wish to employ. For example, if the initial draw hand 40 contains a pair of 6's and a pair of 7's, the 112332881 player may elect to split these pairs into two separate draw hands. A first draw hand would contain the pair of 6's and the second draw hand would contain the pair of 7's. The initial fifth card would be discarded. The three replacement cards that are now needed to complete each draw hand come from the stud hand and would be the same three cards used in both the first draw hand and the second draw hand. An additional wager would be required for the additional draw hand.

Version #2 Super Poker II (Super Slot Poker) Version #2 of this other embodiment of the present invention is a poker-type card game in which three horizontal rows of cards are displayed to the player. This version has a number of variations which will be explained as follows: Version #2A. This version of the present invention uses a standard fifty-two card deck. A player makes an initial wager to activate the game. After the wager is made, three horizontal rows of five cards each are displayed to the player on the screen display. The centre row is displayed face up, the bottom row is displayed face up and the top row is displayed face down. (Alternatively, the top row is displayed face up and the bottom row is displayed face down, as the preferred embodiment is that two of the rows are face up and one of the rows is face down; it is most preferred that the centre row be one of the face up rows as that makes the game easiest to play and understand for the player).

Figure 4 shows an example of the cards displayed to the player on the initial deal.

All fifteen cards are dealt from a single fifty-two card deck of standard playing cards.

The centre row 110 is the draw hand to be played by the player and is displayed face up and in this example the player received as the draw hand 110 the Ace of Spades 111, the Jack of Spades 112, the Ten of Spades 113, the Six of Clubs 114 and the Four of Hearts 115.

At the same time as the centre row 110 is displayed to the player, the bottom row 120 is also displayed on the screen with all cards face up. The cards in the bottom row 120 are vertically aligned with the corresponding cards in the centre row 110. In the example shown in Figure 4, the cards in the bottom row 120 are the Five of Diamonds 121, the Eight of Hearts 122, the Ace of Clubs 123, the King of Spades 124 and the Queen of Clubs 125.

112332881 Also, at the same time that the centre row 110 and the bottom row 120 cards are dealt, the top row 130 cards are dealt. Five cards 131, 132, 133, 134 and 135 are displayed on the video screen face down and are vertically aligned with the corresponding cards in the centre row 110 and the bottom row 120.

The object of the method of play is for the player to attempt to achieve a winning poker hand combination on the five cards in the centre row draw hand 110. After the initial deal, the player can first determine whether he wishes to discard up to five cards in the centre row 110 and replace the discarded cards, if any, with an exposed card from the bottom row 120. Only cards that are vertically aligned made be used as replacement cards for cards discarded from the centre row 110. In the example shown in Figure 5, the player would discard the Six of Clubs 114 from the centre row 110 and replace this card with the corresponding vertically aligned card, the King of Spades 124 from the bottom row 120 in hopes of achieving a Royal Flush in the centre row 110.

The player effects this discarding and replacement by manipulating buttons on the gaming device or be using touch screen technology to touch the card locations on the screen.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the King of Spades 124 is physically moved on the screen display to the centre row 110 and the discarded card, the Six of Clubs 114, is physically moved to the top row 130 on the screen display.

After the player has determined whether to use any one or more of the face up cards from the bottom row 120 as replacement cards for centre row 110 cards, the player determines if he wishes to use any one or more of the face down cards from the top row 130 as replacement cards for centre row 110 cards. Again by either pressing buttons or using touch screen technology, the player selects which centre row 110 cards are to be discarded and replaced by top row 130 cards. Again, only vertically aligned corresponding top row 130 cards can be selected as replacement cards for those cards to be discarded from the centre row 110.

Figure 6 shows in the example that the player has determined to replace the Four of Hearts 115 from the centre row 110 with the corresponding top row card 135. The Four of Hearts 115 is physically moved to the bottom row 120 and the top row card 135 is moved to the centre row 110 to replace the Four of Hearts. The top row card may itself be 112332881 replaced by a duplicate of itself or a new face down card. This would allow the player to make a separate bet on the face down stud hand in the top row. The play of the game would be similar to Version #1 except that any face up cards that were moved into the top row would be replaced by new cards when the player presses the "Deal" button.

When the player has completed replacing centre row cards with either top or bottom cards and has selected his final five card arrangement for the centre row 110, the player presses the "deal" button and all face down cards are turned face up. If the five cards in the centre row 110 achieve a winning combination, the player is paid an amount based on the amount of his wager according to a pay table based on poker hand rankings.

In the example, if the face down card 135 when turned face up is the Queen of Spades, the centre row 110 cards would achieve a Royal Flush and the player would be paid according to the pay table for a Royal Flush. If the player did not wish to risk trying to achieve a Royal Flush, the player could have taken a lesser payout by using the Queen of Clubs 125 from the bottom row 120 and achieve a simple Straight on the centre row and receive the lesser payout from the pay table associated with a Straight.

Version #2B: This version plays the same as Version #2A. The centre row 140 is dealt face up and the top row 160 is dealt face down. The two face up replacement cards at each end of the bottom row 150 are eliminated as shown in Figure 7. Thus the player only has three face up replacement cards in the bottom row 150 and the player will have fewer options for replacement cards in this version.

Version #2C: Again, this version plays the same as Version #2A. As shown in Figure 8, the centre row 170 has its two end cards 171 and 175 dealt face down with the three remaining centre row cards dealt face up. The top row 190 has only three cards all dealt face down and the bottom row 180 has only three cards all dealt face up. After the player has made his selections regarding replacement cards, the face down cards 171 and 175 in the centre row 170 are then revealed. There are no replacement cards for the two end cards 171 and 175 of the centre row 170.

Version #2D: This version plays the same as Version #2A. As shown in Figure 9, the centre row 210 has its two end cards 211 and 215 dealt face down. The bottom row 220 has only three cards, all dealt face up. The top row 230 also has only three cards, all dealt face up. After the player has chosen the replacement cards, the two face down end cards 112332881 171 and 175 are revealed. There are no replacement cards for the two ends cards 211 and 215 of the centre row 210. This version gives the player full disclosure to select the best middle three hands, but the two end cards are left to chance.

Version #2E: This version again plays the same as Version #2A. The initial deal layout is shown in Figure 10. The centre row 240 has four face up cards and the fifth card 245 is dealt face down. The bottom row 250 has only four cards, all dealt face up and the top row 260 has only four cards, all dealt face down. There is no replacement card for the fifth centre row card 245.

Version #2F: This version also plays the same as Version #2A. The initial deal layout is shown in Figure 11. The centre row 270 has four face up cards and the fifth card 275 is dealt face down. The bottom row 280 has only three cards, all dealt face up and the top row 290 has only four cards, all dealt face down. There is no replacement card for the fifth centre row card 275. This version gives the player less options for the replacement of cards.

Version #2G: This version is somewhat similar to Version #2A, but is more complicated. Figure 12 shows the layout for the initial deal of this version. Three rows of cards are initially dealt. The centre row 310 is dealt face up; the bottom row 320 and the top row 330 are dealt face down. Also, a face down card 311A, 312A, 313A, 314A and 315A is dealt underneath each of the respective face up cards 311, 312, 313, 314 and 315 in the centre row 310.

The player makes one, two or three wagers: the first wager is on row 310, the second wager is on row 320 and the third wager is on row 330. Thus, the player is playing one, two or three hands at a time.

The player selects those cards in the centre row 310 that he wishes to hold. The player effects this selection by pressing buttons or, using touch screen technology, by simply pressing the cards on the screen that the player wishes to hold. Each card that is held by the player from the centre row 310 is duplicated in the corresponding vertically aligned position in both the bottom row 320 and the top row 330. Therefore, three copies of the held card are now displayed on the screen. The player may hold from zero to five cards from the centre row 310.

112332881 Figure 13 shows an example of the play of the hand when the player has held card 311, card 312 and card 313 from the centre row 310. Card 311, the Ace of Spades, is duplicated in the same aligned position in top row 330 and in bottom row 320. Likewise, card 312, the Jack of Spades, and card 313, the Ten of Spades, are both duplicated in the same aligned positions in top row 330 and bottom row 320.

After the player is satisfied with his selection of replacement cards, the player presses the "deal" button and the two face down cards 324 and 325 in bottom row 320 are revealed. Similarly, the two face down cards 334 and 335 in top row 330 are revealed. The two unheld cards 314 and 315 in the centre row 310 are replaced with the face down cards underneath them, cards 314A and 315A, and these two cards 314A and 315A are also revealed.

Each row is treated as a separate hand for payout purposes. Each row is evaluated for poker hand ranking and the player is paid based on the amount of his wager on each row depending on the poker hand ranking achieved for that row.

Thus, the player has effectively played three hands at once. The player could win on all three hands, could lose on all three hands, could win on two hands and lose on one hand or could lose on two hands and win on one hand.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the method of play uses a standard fifty-two card deck. One or more cards may also be designated as wild cards. If a player holds less than five cards from the centre row, each hand will have different replacement cards so that player has the possibility of achieving various winning combinations. This game may also be dealt using three separate decks of cards the first row being dealt using a first standard fifty two card deck while the second row is dealt using a second deck of forty-seven cards which comprises a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted therefrom and the third row is dealt using a third deck of forty-seven cards which comprises a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted therefrom. This would allow the player, for example, to theoretically make three Royal Flushes at the same time.

Special bonus payouts can be added if the player achieves three high ranking hands at the same time. These bonus payouts could be fixed amounts or progressive 112332881 payouts. For example, the player could win a progressive payout for achieving three Full Houses at the same time.

Version #2H: This version is played similarly to Version #2G in that the player can play three hands at once, except for a modification to the manner in which the cards are dealt to the display screen. Figure 14 shows the layout for the initial deal of this version.

Three rows of cards are initially dealt. The top row 410 is dealt face up; the centre row 420 and the bottom row 430 are dealt face down. Alternatively, any one of the three rows can be the face up cards with the other two rows being the face down cards. Another alternative would have all three hands dealt face up with each hand having the same five cards shown face up.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the player has the option to make one, two or three wagers: the first wager is on row 410, the second wager is on row 420 and the third wager is on row 430. Thus, the player is playing one, two or three hands at a time. Alternatively, it could be mandatory that the player must wager on all three hands.

As shown in Figure 14, the cards dealt to the top row 410 are the Four of Diamonds 411, the Six of Spades 412, the Six of Hearts 413, the Queen of Spades 414 and the Queen of Clubs 415.

The player selects those cards in the top row 410 that he wishes to hold. The player effects this selection by pressing buttons or, using touch screen technology, by simply pressing the cards on the screen that the player wishes to hold. Each card that is held by the player from the top row 410 is duplicated in the corresponding vertically aligned position in both the centre row 420 and the bottom row 430. Therefore, three copies of each of the held cards are now displayed on the screen. The player may hold from zero to five cards from the top row 410.

Figure 15 shows an example of the play of the hand when the player has held card 412, card 413, card 414 and card 415 from the top row 410. Card 412, the Six of Spades, is duplicated in the same aligned position in centre row 420 and in bottom row 430.

Likewise, card 413, the Six of Hearts; card 414, the Queen of Spades; and card 415, the Queen of Clubs are also duplicated in the same aligned positions in centre row 420 and bottom row 430.

112332881 In the alternative embodiment of the present invention in which all three hands are displayed face up with the same cards shown in each hand, when the player selects which cards to hold from one row, the same cards in the other two rows are automatically held.

After the player is satisfied with his selection of the held cards for each of the three hands, the player presses the "draw" button, the cards to be discarded are removed from the screen display and replacement cards are dealt for the discarded cards to complete each of the three hands. With regard to the hand in the top row 410, a replacement card is dealt for card 411 which was discarded by the player. As shown in Figure 16, the new card is the Jack of Clubs 416 which does not improve the player's hand in the top row 410 which has a final hand ranking of Two Pair.

With regard to the hand in the centre row 420, the last card 421 added to this hand is the Six of Diamonds giving the hand in the centre row 420 a final hand ranking of a Full House. With regard to the hand in the bottom row 430, the last card 431 added to this hand is the Ace of Spades giving the hand in the bottom row a final hand ranking of Two Pair.

Each row is treated as a separate hand for payout purposes. Each row is evaluated for poker hand ranking and the player is paid based on the amount of his wager on each row depending on the poker hand ranking achieved for that row. A suitable pay table is provided as is conventional for electronic video poker games with the amount of the player's winnings being based on the poker hand ranking achieved and the amount wagered by the player on each hand.

In the preferred embodiment of this version of the present invention, the amount of the player's wager on each hand would be the same. Alternatively, the player could be allowed to make wagers of different amounts on each hand.

Thus, the player has effectively played three hands at once. The player could win on all three hands, could lose on all three hands, could win on two hands and lose on one hand or could lose on two hands and win on one hand.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the game is dealt using three separate decks of cards the first row being dealt using a first standard fifty two card 112332881 deck while the second row is dealt using a second deck of forty-seven cards which comprises a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted therefrom and the third row is dealt using a third deck of forty-seven cards which comprises a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted therefrom. This would allow the player, for example, to theoretically make three Royal Flushes (or any other three hands of the same rank) at the same time. This is accomplished using the computer controls that operate the gaming machine with the software being written so that the second and third decks used to deal the second and third hands, respectively, have removed therefrom the five cards initially dealt.

Alternatively, the method of play can also use only one standard fifty-two card deck.

In this alternative, each of the three rows will receive different replacement cards from the deck for those cards that are discarded. For example, if a player holds less than five cards from the top row 410, each hand will receive different replacement cards so that player has the possibility of achieving various winning combinations.

In either the multiple deck embodiment or the single deck embodiment, one or more cards may alternatively be designated as wild cards or one or more Jokers may be added to the deck or decks and designated as wild cards. This allows the methods of the present invention to be applied to any of the various wild card video poker games that are known in the art, such as Deuces Wild or Joker's Wild.

Special bonus payouts can be added if the player achieves, either on the deal or after the draw, three hands of the same rank at the same time. These bonus payouts could be fixed amounts or progressive payouts. For example, the player could win a progressive payout for achieving three Full Houses at the same time. As another example when three decks are used, the player can receive a large fixed or progressive payout if the player achieves the same poker hand in each of the three rows such as a Royal Flush in Spades in all three rows.

Another alternative to Version #2H would be to reduce the three rows shown to only two rows and otherwise practice the method of this version as described. The player would make two wagers to play the two rows and select the cards initially dealt that 112332881 would be used in each of the two rows. Replacement cards would be provided to complete the hands in each of the two rows and winning and losing hands would be determined in the same manner as described above with reference to the three rows.

Likewise, the method of play described in Version #2H could also be modified by increasing the number of rows to four or more, with five rows being the preferred number of rows for this alternative. Again if four or more rows are used, the method of play would be the same as that described above with reference to the three rows. In order to show four or more rows of cards at the same time on a video screen display, a larger video monitor may be required.

In order to adopt this alternative of four or more rows of cards to the smaller video monitors often used in video poker gaming machines, the display of the play of this method can be modified. The player would initially make a multiple coin or credit wager representing the number of rows that the player wishes to play during that round of the game. The minimum number of coins or credits wagered would be two with the maximum being any number desired. A first hand of five cards would initially be dealt to the player. The player would select which of five cards, if any, the player wishes to hold and then replacement cards would be dealt for the discarded cards. The winning or losing outcome of this first hand would then be determined.

For the second hand, the cards held by the player from the first hand would then be redisplayed on the video screen and additional cards would be dealt to complete the player's second hand. Again, the winning or losing outcome of this second hand would be determined. The steps of redisplaying the held cards from the first hand and the dealing of cards to complete the hand would be repeated for each wager made by the player until the total number of hands originally wagered by the player is completed.

In this seriatim alternative method of play, each hand is completed by using a separate deck of cards (which have the first five cards removed therefrom so as to eliminate the possibility of duplicated cards being dealt as replacement cards).

Alternatively, a single deck of cards can be used as the source for both the initial five cards and the additional cards used to complete each of the multiple hands.

112332881 Version #21: In this version, fifteen cards are dealt and displayed on the screen.

These fifteen cards are dealt in three rows of five cards each. The player then proceeds to play three separate five card hands each row being a separate hand. The player selects which cards to hold and discard from each row. After the player has completed this selection, the player presses the "deal" button and replacement cards are dealt and displayed. Each row is then determined for poker hand ranking and the player wins according to the pay table based on the amount wagered for each row. The player has the advantage of seeing fifteen cards prior to holding and discarding, so the player knows which cards from the deck will not be available as replacement cards on the draw.

One modification to these versions involves the addition of bonus round which the player earns based on achieving certain hand combinations. If the player qualifies for a bonus round, the player is dealt five cards at random from the deck. Each card is initially displayed on the video screen face down and are turned over one at a time. The player is paid if this bonus hand qualifies for the bonus award pay table. A jackpot, which is either fixed amount of a progressive jackpot, can be paid for a Royal Flush or even a sequential Royal Flush.

Alternatively, the bonus round may be dealt at the end of or during every round of the game giving the player a chance to win the bonus payout each round of the game.

Further, the bonus round may require the player to make an additional wager to participate.

Other modifications may be made to the method of play of these versions which differ only in the number of rows of cards. These versions can be played using two, four or five rows on five cards each. An example of one of these modifications would be Version #2J.

Version #2J. This version is played similar to either Version #2G or Version #2H, except that there are two additional rows of face down cards. Thus, there are a total of five rows of cards with only the centre row being face up on the initial deal. As in Version #2G, the centre row also has an underlying row of face down cards on the initial deal.

112332881 The play of this version is essentially the same as Version #2G except that the player is now effectively playing five hands of video poker at the same time instead of only three hands at a time as in Version #2G. Each card that the player selects to be held is duplicated into the two face down rows directly below the held card as well as the two face down rows directly above the held card.

The method of play of this Version #2J also creates additional five card stud hands of replacement cards in each of the vertical columns. Special payouts or progressive or non-progressive jackpots may be awarded for high ranking stud hands that may be formed in these vertical columns such as a Full House, a Royal Flush or even a sequential Royal Flush.

The concept of the present invention may also be extended to other known casino games such as CARIBBEAN STUD@ poker, LET IT RIDE® or Texas Hold 'Em. Each of these known casino games could be modified by the addition of another wager which allows the player to bet on the outcome of the dealer's hand.

For example, in CARIBBEAN STUD® poker, a player would be allowed to make an additional wager on the composition of the dealer's five card stud hand. The payouts on this additional wager would be made in accordance with a separate pay table which would allow all players the opportunity to win at the same time for certain high ranking hands achieved by the dealer. In effect this would act as a type of insurance bet for those situations in which the player achieves a high ranking hand but is beaten by the dealer's hand.

In the case of LET IT RIDE@, a bonus hand for the dealer would be created by dealing three extra face down cards on the table layout adjacent to the two common cards used in this game. In addition to making the normal wager on his own hand, the player would also have the option of making a separate wager on the composition of these three extra cards along with the two common cards. This separate wager would pay in accordance with a separate pay table and would allow all players the opportunity to win at the same time. This separate wager could also feature special progressive or nonprogressive jackpot awards for a Royal Flush or a sequential Royal Flush achieved by this bonus hand.

112332881 As applied to Texas Hold 'Em, the player would make a separate wager on the poker hand value of the five community cards themselves. This could be played either with or without an additional progressive or non-progressive jackpot that would pay for a Royal Flush or a sequential Royal Flush. In those situations where more than one player at the table has made this separate wager and a winning hand occurs, any payouts would be shared by those players making the separate wager in proportion to the amount of their separate wagers.

An example of a pay table that can be used for the separate wagers described in the last three situations would be as follows as shown in Table 1: Pair of 6's or Better 1 to 1 Two Pair 2 to 1 Three of a Kind 3 to 1 Straight 10 to 1 Flush 20 to 1 Full House 30 to 1 Four of a Kind 100 to 1 Straight Flush 800 to 1 Royal Flush Progressive jackpot .0 Table 1.

Other payout tables could be used depending on the winning hand combinations that are designated and the hold percentage desired.

I

112332881 Combined Twenty-One Game and Stud Poker Game Another variation of the present invention involves combining the play of a conventional Twenty-One game with a Stud Poker game. In order to play this combined game, a player makes two wagers a first wager to participate in the conventional Twenty-One game and a second wager to participate in the Stud Poker game.

Version A.

After the two initial wagers are made, the dealer deals two cards to the player and two cards to the dealer. The conventional Twenty-One game is conducted with the player and dealer taking hits or standing according to the conventional manner of play of Twenty-One.

After the play of the player's hand and the dealer's hand is complete, the dealer pays all winning player hands and collects all losing player hands.

The Stud Poker game is then conducted. The player's hand is discarded and only the cards from the dealer's hand are used. If the dealer has five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional Twenty-One game, these five cards are used and evaluated as to the combination that these five cards create using conventional poker hand rankings.

If the dealer has less than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then additional cards are dealt to the dealer from the deck of cards that was used in the Twenty-One game to fill out a five card hand for the dealer. If the dealer had more than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then only the first five cards are used.

The player is paid on his second wager for the Stud Poker game based on a payout schedule similar to the payout schedules used in video poker.

112332881 Version B.

This version of the invention is similar to Version A except that the cards from the player's hand are not discarded but are used to form a Stud Poker hand.

After the player makes the two initial wagers to be eligible for both the Twenty- One game and the Stud Poker game, the dealer deals two cards to the player and two cards to the dealer. The conventional Twenty-One game is conducted with the player and dealer taking hits or standing according to the conventional manner of play of Twenty- One. After the play of the player's hand and the dealer's hand is complete, the dealer pays all winning player hands and collects all losing player hands.

The Stud Poker game is then conducted. The player's hand is used to create a five card Stud Poker hand. If the player has five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional Twenty-One game, these five cards are used and evaluated as to the combination that these five cards create using conventional poker hand rankings.

If the player has less than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then additional cards are provided to the player from the dealer's hand to fill out a five card hand for the player. For example, if the player had a two card hand, then the first three of the dealer's cards would be combined with the player's cards to create a five card hand. If the player had a three card hand, then the first two of the dealer's cards would be combined with the player's cards to create a five card hand.

If the combination of the player's hand and the dealer's hand total less than five cards, then additional cards are dealt to the dealer's hand from the deck of cards that was used in the Twenty-One game so that the dealer's hand will have enough cards to fill out a five card hand for the player.

As an alternate method to complete the player's five card hand, if the player has less than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then additional cards are dealt to the player from the deck of cards that was used in the Twenty-One game to fill out a five card hand for the player. If the player had more than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then only the first five cards are used.

112332881 The player is paid on his second wager for the Stud Poker game based on a payout schedule similar to the payout schedules used in video poker. A representative payout table, based on dealing cards from a shoe of six decks is shown in Table 2: Royal Flush 1000 to 1 Five of a Kind 500 to 1 Straight Flush 200 to 1 Four of a Kind 25 to 1 Full House 11 to 1 Flush 8 to 1 Straight 6 to 1 Three of a Kind 2 to 1 Two Pair 3 to 2 Pair of Sevens or Better 1 to 1 Lesser Hands Loss Table 2.

The method of this version of the present invention can be dealt using any number of decks of cards, but the preferred embodiment is to utilise a dealing shoe containing six standard decks of fifty-two playing cards shuffled together.

While the invention has been illustrated with respect to several specific embodiments thereof, these embodiments should be considered as illustrative rather than limiting. Various modifications and additions may be made and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the foregoing description, but rather should be defined only by the following claims.

Claims (7)

1. A method of operating an electronic video poker machine having a video display device to facilitate play of a multi-hand poker game, the method comprising: displaying on the video display device a first poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images, each of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand not having a face-down playing-card-shaped image shown underneath when the first poker hand is initially dealt; displaying on the video display device at least one additional poker hand having at least five playing-card-shaped images; after steps and detecting the selection by a player of none, one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand as playing cards to be held; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were selected to be held, displaying a duplicate of each of the one or more face-up playing card images selected to be held from the first poker hand into at least a second poker hand; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were not selected to be held, terminating the display of the one or more face-up playing card images in the first poker hand that were not selected to be held and replacing the display of each such playing card image with display of a replacement face-up playing card image to display a first completed poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images; if one or more of the face-up playing card images of the first poker hand were not selected to be held, displaying one or more face-up playing card images in the second poker hand in addition to the duplicate playing card images that were displayed in the second poker hand via step to form a completed second poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images; and 112332881 determining an amount to be awarded to a player based on the first completed poker hand and the second completed poker hand.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step comprises displaying at least five face- down playing-card-shaped images.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step comprises: (bl) displaying on the video display device a first additional poker hand having at least five face-down playing-card-shaped images; and (b2) displaying on the video display device a second additional poker hand having at least five face-down playing-card-shaped images.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein at least three poker hands are simultaneously displayed on the video display device.

The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein step comprises displaying a duplicate of each of the one or more face-up playing card images selected to be held from the first poker hand into a third poker hand and step comprises displaying one or more face-up playing card images in the third poker hand in addition to the duplicate playing card images that were displayed in the third poker hand via step to form a completed third poker hand having at least five face-up playing card images.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the amount determined via step is based on at least three completed poker hands.

7. A method of operating an electronic video poker machine substantially as herein described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings. Dated: 4 December 2003 ERNEST W MOODY Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: BLAKE DAWSON WALDRON PATENT SERVICES