AU628044B2

AU628044B2 - Electronic poker game

Info

Publication number: AU628044B2
Application number: AU33126/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Daniel A. Jones; James P. Suttle
Original assignee: CARIBBEAN STUD ENTERPRISES Inc
Current assignee: Progressive Games Inc
Priority date: 1988-04-18
Filing date: 1989-04-18
Publication date: 1992-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 2009-04-18
Also published as: AU621599B2; AU3312489A; AU5387994A; AU3312689A; AU3312589A

Description

Our Ref: 269515

AUSTRA.IA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FORM

(ORIGINAL)

Application Number: Lodged: 628044 Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: 'T 1 I I Applicant(s): Address for Service: Caribbean Stud Enterprises, Inc.

4606 Wynn Road Suites 3 4 Las Vegas Nevada 89103 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ARTHUR S. CAVE CO.

Patent Trade Mark Attornerys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Complete specification for the invention entitled "An- =impr~ method-and atevifee Ec< ~or \c PoI ee- CcQ~t<as I The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 10/04/09 1 5020 i _3 S AMD/0500a la BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to a game of chance that can be played in a casino version or a cardroom version. More particularly, it relates to a modified version of a five-card stud poker game.

A player and a dealer are each dealt five card poker hands using a standard deck of playing cards. The high hand wins based on the priority of hands established under conventional five card poker rules. However, the player automatically wins if the dealer does not have at least a preselected combination of cards, an Ace-King combination or better in the dealer's hand. The player also receives a bonus payment depending on the type of poker hand that the player has if the player's hand beats the dealer's hand.

As a leisure time activity, poker and other card games have fascinated the public for years. A deck of cards, a playing surface and a few participants are all that is needed to provide a recreational few hours away from the stress and strain of daily life. Five card poker is a game that almost everyone knows 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, oe

S

0 ol if S 1 Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High card(s) in Hand.

2 For one reason or another, it has been difficult to 3" adapt the rules of poker into a casino table game in which each 4 player plays against the house. In a conventional poker game, a plurality of players are each dealt a poker hand by one player 6 who acts as the dealer. The player with the highest hand based 7 on the established priority of poker hands wins. Each player in 8 turn deals a hand as the game continues. It is not unknown to 9 introduce wagering into the game, generally through the use of tokens or poker chips, which may or may not have a monetary 11 value.

Many places, both within and without the United States, 13 have legalized gaming and poker is one of the games of chance 1j that is offered in both casinos and cardrooms. In a conventional Scardroom poker game, the house provides a dealer, the playing 3 t 16 cards, the table and chairs but does not play a hand. The house collects a nominal percentage of each player's bet (the "rake") which compensates the house for providing the facilities to the 19 players. Alternatively, the house may charge each player a set amount per hand or for a specified length of time, say one-half 21 hour. Each player is competing not against the house, but 2' against all the other players with the highest hand winning the 23 total of all the wagers made on that hand.

24 Many people do not like to play cardroom poker because each player is competing against his fellow players, not against 26 the house. Many people would rather attempt to win money from an 27 impersonal source, the house or the casino, rather:than from

-I-

^-rls^ AMD/0500a -3their fellow players with whom they may be acquainted.

Cardroom poker also does not offer any bonus payments for particularly good hands. While a Royal Flush is a rare occurrence and generates a thrill for any poker player, the player collects the same total wager that he would have collected if all he needed to beat the other players was Three of a Kind.

The present invention seeks to provide a game of chance in which each player plays his poker hand against a poker hand held by the house or a banker and in which a player receives a bonus payment based on the type of poker handthat a player holds. The present invention also seeks to provide a game in which a player may win all or a portion of a progressive jackpot if the player is dealt, a particularly high ranking poker hand.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one broad form, the present invention provides an electronic device for playing a poker game comprising: a first token acceptor means for inserting a first token into the electronic device to be eligible to play a poker game displayed on the electronic device; a second token acceptor means for inserting a second token therein to be eligible to participate in a progressive jackpot, said second token being inserted prior to beginning the play of the hand of said poker game, which second token is allocated to a progressive jackpot separate from the allocation of the first token; and, means to electronically display to the player a poker hand comprising a predetermined number of cards; *wherein, the player wins a predetermined amount of said 4 q progressive jackpot if the player's hand comprises a predetermined poker hand combination.

In a further broad form, the present invention provides an electronic device for playing a poker game, said device AMD/0500a 3a being operable by: a) a player anteing a first bet means by inserting said first bet means into said electronic device; b) electronically displaying a predetermined number of cards representing a player's hand and a dealer's hand, c) the player either folding in which case the player loses his first bet means, or betting a second bet means by inserting said second bet means into said electronic device; d) electronically comparing the player's hand to the dealer's hand using poker ranks as the criterion for comparison; e) if the dealer's hand is not at least a predetermined rank, the player wins a preselected amount based on the player's first bet means and the player keeps his second bet means, said preselected amount being computed by said electronic device; f) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, the player loses both his first bet means and his second bet means; g) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the player's hand is higher than the dealer's hand, then the player wins a first predetermined amount on his first bet means which is computed by said electronic device, and the player wins a second predetermined amount on his second bet means based on the type of poker hand combination that the player has .which is computed by said electronic device.

In yet another broad form, the present invention provides an electronic device for playing a poker game, said device being operable by: rr a) a player anteing a first bet means by inserting said first bet means into said electronic device; b) electronically displaying a predetermined number of cards representing a player's hand and a dealer's hand, AMD/0500a 4 c) the player either folding in which case the player loses his first bet means, or betting a second bet means by inserting said second bet means into said electronic device; d) electronically comparing the player's hand to the dealer's hand using poker rank as the criterion for comparison; e) if the dealer's hand is not at least a predetermined rank, the player wins a preselected amount based on the player's first bet means and the player keeps his second bet means, said preselected amount being computed by said electronic device; f) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hana, the player loses both his first bet means and his second bet means; g) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the player's hand is higher than the dealer's hand, then the player wins a first predetermined amount on his first bet means which is computed by said o 7. electronic device, and the player wins a second predetermined amount on his second bet means based on the type of poker hand combination that the player has a which is computed by said electronic device, said Sa second predetermined amount having a potential return of at least twenty times the amount of said second bet means.

oc0 o BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

:D

The present invention will become more fully understood ~from the following detailed description of preferred but o non-limiting embodiments thereof in connection with the S accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a game layout that can be used to play the poker game analogous to the electronic machine version of AMD/0500a 4a the present invention; and, Fig. 2 shows the electronic video machine upon which the poker game of the present invention is played.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The detailed description included hereinafter describes, in Fig. 1, a gaming table version of the poker game, and, in Fig. 2, the electronic device version of the poker game. It should however be appreciated that the present invention is directed particularly to the electronic device for playing the poker game, as shown in Fig. 2. The description hereinafter provided, in describing the gaming table version, aids the understanding of the invention and enables the reader to appreciate and relate any analogous features of the electronic device to the gaming table version of the game. The reader is however also directed to the applicant's related applications/patents which more particularly relates to the gaming table versions of the poker game.

The casino game version of the present invention will 0 be described with reference to the casino game version layout 10 shown in Fig. 1. The term "casino game" is S intended to encompass a game in which the house acts as the O banker, the house o 04 04 04 o o r ur o 1 collecting all losing wagers and paying all winning wagers. The 2 dealer is employed by the house and each player plays exclusively 3 against the house.

4 The layout 10 would be mounted for use on the top of a conventional gaming table (not shown) positioned at a suitable 6 location in a casino. Playing locations 12 are provided for each 7 player. Each playing location 12 has designated areas 14 and 16 8 for the player to make an "ante" and a "bet", respectively, which 9 will be more fully explained herein. In the preferred embodiment, six playing locations 12 are provided, but the number of 11 playing locations 12 can be varied depending on the size of the 1.2 playing table and the number oE players that the house wishes to 1 2 .o accommodate. A typical casino layout will accommodate five, six at or seven players per table.

I A dealer's location 20 is provided opposite the playing 1 locations 12 and is preferably adjacent to a chip rack 22. The 17 chip rack 22 is of a conventional design used to hold poker chips or other gaming tokens. The dealer uses the chip rack 22 to l9°.. store the gaming tokens that belong to the house. When a player loses his wager to the house, the gaming tokens won by the house 21 are stored in the chin rack 22. When a player wins his wager 22 from the house, the player is paid from the gaming tokens stored 23 in the chip rack 22.

24 Standard playing cards are used to play the game. Any number of decks of cards may be used, but in the preferred embod- 26 iment, a single deck of standard playing cards is used which is 27 reshuffled after each round is played. The dealer shuffles the

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1 cards, each player makes an ante by placing a token or chip in 2 the ante area 14 and then the dealer deals one card at a time to 3 each player and then one card to himself until each player and 4 the dealer has a five card hand. All of each player's cards are dealt face down, while four of the dealer's cards are dealt face 6 down and the other card face up.

7 Each player may look at his five card hand and each 8 player then decides whether his five card hand has a favorable 9 probability of ultimately beating the dealer's five card hand.

The player is assisted in this determination because the player 11 can see one of the dealer's cards.

12 The priority of winning hands is determined by the, 13-0 conventional rules of poker. As is known to those skilled in the e art, five card poker hands are ranked according to the following Io order with a Royal Flush being the highest winning hand: 16 1. Royal Flush 2. Straight Flush 17 3. Four of a Kind o4. Full House o. 5. Flush 6. Straight 19 7. Three of a Kind 8. Two Pair 9. One Pair 21 22 t L 23 24 26 High Card in Hand If a player determines that his hand will not beat the dealer's hand, the player folds or drops, discontinues playing that hand. The dealer wins the player's ante and takes the player's token from the ante area 14 on the playing surface 10 and places it in the chip rack 22.

If the player determines that his hand may- beat the 1 dealer's hand, then the player indicates his willingness to con- 2 tinue play by placing a bet in the bet area 16 on the playing 3' surface 10. The bet made by the player is preferably equal to a 4 multiple double) of whatever the player originally anted.

After each player has either bet or folded, all cards 6 are turned face up. Each remaining player places his five card 7 hand in front of him on the playing surface 10 while the dealer's 8 cards are all turned face up in front of the dealer on the play- 9 ing surface If the dealer does not have a poker hand at least equal 11 to a predetermined rank or minimum play level, an Ace-King 1-24-, combination or better, the game does not go forward, and the 1,3 dealer pays each remaining player a predetermined amount, e.g., one-to-one odds on the amount of the player's ante. The amount of the player's bet is simply returned to the player. All cards *o ea 16° are collected, the dealer shuffles the cards and the next round 17 can be played.

l8,o° If the dealer has a poker hand of at least the pre- '9°oo6 selected rank or minimum (Ace-King or better), then play proceeds and each remaining player's hand is compared to the dealer's 21 hand. If the dealer's hand is higher based on the conventional 22 priority or ranking of five card poker hands, then the dealer 23 wins and he collects both the player's ante and bet. If the 24 dealer's and player's hands are equal, the hand is ruled a tie and the player keeps his bet and his ante.

26 If the player's hand is higher, the player wins and the 27 dealer pays the player a first predetermined amount, one- 1 to-one odds, on the amount of the player's ante regardless of the S2 type of poker hand the player has. The dealer also pays the wini 3 ning player a second predetermined amount, one-to-one odds 4 on his bet unless the player has received a hand which exceeds a minimum win level, in which case, instead of paying one-to-one I 6 odds, the dealer pays the player a bonus payment on the amount of S7 the player's bet based on the type of poker hand that the player S,8 has. The bonus payment may be paid according to the following 9 preferred bonus payment schedule: Type of Hand Bonus Payment Odds 11 Royal Flush 250-to-l 1 la Straight Flush I Four of a Kind I 1 Full House 7-to-l Flush l4' Straight 4-to-l S* Three of a Kind 3-to-l 1i Two Pair 2-to-l t. t

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i16 After the dealer has paid the winning players and col- 17 lected from the losing players, the cards are gathered up, the dealer shuffles the cards and the next round can be played.

19 While the bonus payment odds in the above table are a preferred example of a payout schedule, different odds can be used within 21 the spirit of the invention.

2 2, The cardroom game version of the present invention can 2,3 be played on a table layout similar to the casino game version 24 shown in Figure 1. The layout is placed on a conventional card room poker table, which is usually larger than a casino game 26 table. A card room poker table may accommodate up to ten players 27 and a dealer.

1 The term "cardroom game" is intended to encompass a 2 game in which one of the players acts as the banker and the 3 banker's poker hand is played against each of the other player's 4 hands. The other players do not play against each other, only individually against the banker.

6 As in a conventional cardroom poker game, the house 7 provides a dealer and the playing facilities and collects a 8 "rake". The rake may be a percentage of each player's ante, of 9 each player's bet or of the total amounts wagered on each hand.

Alternatively, the house may charge each player a flat fee for 11 each hand played or the house may charge a fee based on the length of time that a player participates. The house, however, LS o does not collect losing wagers or pay winning wagers. This 0. 0 arrangement is necessary because some states, such as California, have only legalized cardroom gaming but do not have legalized 16 O casino gaming.

17 In this cardroom version of the present invention, a ^00 18" o plurality of player locations are provided around the perimeter ft 0 1 9 of the playing surface. Each playing location is provided with an ante area and a bet area. A dealer, provided by the house, is 21 stationed at a dealer's location. Because the house does not 22 actually participate in the play of the cardroom version of the 23 game, the dealer's sole function is to deal the cards and to 24 collect the house's rake, as well as resolve disputes among the players.

26 At the beginning of the hand, one of the players is 27 selected to act as banker. The players may cut the cards with i 1 the high card being the banker; although other selection pro- 2 cedures may be utilized to choose the banker, such as rolling 3 five dice with the high total being banker. As consecutive 4. rounds of the game are played, the designation as banker shall be passed from player to player around the table. A suitable in- 6 dicator, such as a button or marker with the letter B or the word 7 BANKER printed thereon, can be placed in front of the player who 8 is designated as banker for that particular round of play.

9 All of the players, except the banker, ante by placing a token in the ante area. The house dealer deals, one at a time, 11 five cards to each player including the banker. The banker gets four cards face down and one card face up. All the other players 13*. get their five cards face down. From this point on, the play continues as described above with regard to the casino game version with each player competing only against the banker. Each 16 player bets or folds; if a player folds, the banker wins the 17 amount of the player's ante and adds this to the banker's supply f8 of tokens, and the player retains his bet. If any remaining 19 players bet, all cards are turned face up. If the banker has 20':'1 less than an Ace-King combination, the banker cannot play further 21 and each remaining player is paid one-to-one odds based on only 22 his ante from the banker's own supply of tokens and the player 23 simply keeps his bet.

24 If the banker has at least an Ace-King combination or better, play continues and the banker compares poker hands with 26 each player with the higher hand winning. If the banker wins, he 27 collects a player's ante and bet and adds it to the banker's 1 supply of tokens. If a player wins, the banker pays that player 2 from the banker's own supply of tokens including paying that 3 player any bonus payment to which the player may be entitled 4 according to a predetermined bonus payment schedule, such as the one previously described in connection with the casino game 6 version.

7 At the end of each round, the house dealer collects the 8 cards and shuffles, the "banker" designation is passed on to the..

9 next player and a new round can be played.

Either the casino game version or the card room game 11 version may be made even more exciting or entertaining by the 12 addition of a "progressive jackpot" feature. At the beginning of 13.- ;each round, a player may participate in a progressive jackpot by making an additional jackpot wager of any predetermined amount, one token. The amount of each player's jackpot wager is 1 added to the jackpot wagers that are made by other players on 17 that round or that have been made previously by the players during earlier rounds.

9 If a player has made a jackpot wager on a particular round, the player becomes eligible to win all or a portion of the 21 jackpot amount if a player holds a predetermined poker hand dur- 22 ing that round. For example, in the preferred embodiment, if the 23 player's hand is a Royal Flush, the player wins 100% of the pro- 24 gressive jackpot amount. Other types of poker hands will win for the player other percentages of the jackpot, a Straight 26 Flush wins 10%, and a Four of a Kind wins Additionally, the 27 player wins a predetermined number of tokens for other types of AMD/0500a 12 poker hands, e.g. 50 tokens for a Full House and 25 tokens for a Flush. The types of poker hands that share in that jackpot, as well as the percentages and predetermined number of tokens, can be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The appeal of the jackpot wager is heightened by its progressive nature. As each round is played, the jackpot wagers made on each hand are added to the previous jackpot amount thereby creating a "progressive jackpot" amount. In the event a player wins all or part of a progressive jackpot, the amount won is deducted from the jackpot amount and the subsequent jackpot wagers are added thereto.

If a progressive jackpot is being conducted in connection with a casino or cardroom, the house may collect a percentage of each jackpot wager, the house's fee for providing the progressive jackpot feature. If the casino or cardroom has a plurality of tables, each having six or seven players, all contributing to the progressive jackpot, the amount of the jackpot can increase quite quickly thereby making a tidy sum to be distributed to a 0 winning player.

0900 ao It is contemplated that the game may be played as a S casino game, a card room game or even a parlor game, and any form of counting can be used for the ante means or bet :o means, including tokens, poker chips, currency, coins, or the like, as mean. for keeping score.

Various modifications can be made without varying from p. e -the details hereinbefore described. Either version of the 900 game can be played using wagering tokens that do not have a monetary value.

o a *0 *9 0 9r S' AMD/0500a 13 Instead the players can bet, win and lose points so that, after a designated number of rounds, the player with the highest total of points can be declared the winner. The progressive jackpot feature can also be utilised with the players contributing points to the progressive jackpot and winning percentages of those points for certain predetermined poker hands. This adds excitement to the game since a player who is far behind on points can possibly win the entire game if he is dealt a Royal Flush.

The odds paid on the bonus payment schedule can be adjusted in any manner desirable; the preferred odds set forth herein were selected to return a reasonable profit to the house in the casino game version. Additionally, the game can be played by placing a maximum payout on any particular hand regardless of the number of tokens that are wagered by a particular player. For example, a maximum payout of 1,000 tokens can be used. This limits the risk to the banker in the card room versien of the game in the event that a player receives a Royal Flush and has 100 tokens bet. This maximum payout feature can also be used in the Scasino game version and has the added incentive of encouraging players to participate in the progressive jackpot feature of the game.

The electronic device of the present invention is shown in Figure 2 in which an electronic device 100 is used to play the electronic version of the game. A video display screen 110 displays the five cards 111, 112, 113, 114 and S 115 of the dealer's hands as well as the five cards 116, 117, 118, 119 and 120 of the player's hand. A LED display shows the number of coins "anted" till r.

i 1 2 3.

4 6 7 8 9 11 12 13..

o ei 14 o a o 17 Eve 1.9"oO °o 21 22 24 26 27 122 by the player and the number of coins "bet" 124 by the player. A progressive jackpot indicator light 126 is illuminated if the player is participating in the progressive jackpot component of the game. Another LED display shows the number of credits remaining 134 and the number of coins paid out 136. Two coin acceptors are provided; one for the ante/bet 140 and one for the progressive jackpot 142. Control buttons are provided on the machine to operate the following functions: deal 150, ante credits 152, bet credits 154, progressive jackpot credits bet 156, fold 157 and cashout 158. The ante credits 152, bet credits 154 and progressive jackpot credits bet 156 buttons can be utilized whenever the player has credits 134 from previous winning hands. The activation of the cash out button 158 causes gaming tokens to be dispensed from a hopper inside the machine not shown) into the tray 160. The payout LED 136 will register the number of coins dispensed into the tray which is the number shown in the credits.

Whenever a player achieves a winning hand, the credits LED display 134 is incremented by the amount that the player has won. The winning player receives the same payoffs as those from the live game. The game of the present invention is played electronically in a manner similar to the live game, except that the electronic device 100 replaces the dealer. A player places a gaming token into the ante/bet coin acceptor 140 and presses the deal button 150. This activates the electronic device 100 and the player's five card hand and the dealer's five card hand appear on the video display screen 110. Each of the -cards 111, _I _M M i i YI*~i-;L 1 112, 113, 114 and 115 of the player's hand are displayed face up.

2 The first card 116 of the dealer's hand is displayed face up 3 while the remaining cards 117, 118, 119 and 120 of the dealer's 4 hand are displayed face down. The player evaluates his hand and decides whether to continue to play or not, to bet or fold.

6 If the player wishes to fold, the player presses the fold button 7 157 and the game is over.

8 If the player wishes to continue to play, he places a 9 number of gaming tokens equal to twice his ante into the ante/bet coin acceptor 140 and presses the deal button 150. This causes 11 the four remaining face down dealer's cards 117, 118, 119 and 120 12 to be displayed face up. If the dealer's hand has less than an 13-, Ace-King combination, the player automatically wins and the player is paid 1 to 1 odds on the amount of his ante and the amount

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lw'o' of his bet is returned to him. This payoff is made by increment- @0 o4 I 0" ing the credit LED display 134 by the number of units which the 17 player has won.

If the dealer has at least an Ace-King combination, I then the higher poker hand between the player and the dealer wins. If the player wins, the credit LED display 134 is incre- 4, a 21 mented by the amount that the player wins using the same pay off 22 schedule, including the bonus payments, as is used in the live 23 game.

24 If the player wishes to utilize the credits displayed on the credit LED 134 to make antes or bets on subsequent 26 hands, he can do so by pressing the ante credits button 152 or 27 the bet credits button 154. The electronic device 1-00 can be i' AMD/0500a 16 programmed to limit the number of tokens that can be anted on a single hand to say five and the number of tokens which can be bet to twice the number anted, say a maximum of ten.

At the conclusion of any hand, the player can cause the electronic device topay out the number of tokens shown on the credit LED 134 by pressing the cash out button 158. The number of tokens pay out is shown on the paid out LED display 136.

At the beginning of play, in addition to making an ante, the player can also elect to participate in the progressive jackpot component by placing a gaming token in the progressive jackpot coin acceptor 142. This activates the progressive jackpot indicator light 126. If a player is dealt one of the predetermined winning hands, the player wins a predetermined amount of the progressive jackpot. If the winning amount is a fixed number of tokens, that amount is automatically added to the amount shown on the credit LED display 134. If the winning amount is a percentage of the amount shown on a progressive meter (not shown) to which the electronic device is connected, then the player is manually paid by the casino personnel.

Instead of manually inserting gaming tokens into the progressive jackpot coin acceptor 142, a player may press the progressive jackpot bet button 156 in which case a unit is deducted from the credit LED display 134 and the progressive jackpot indicator light 126 is activated.

As a further alternative, rather than the dealer receiving one card up and four cards down, the dealer may receive two cards up and three riiL i AMD/0500a 17 down. This would slightly vary the odds in favour of the player. The odds could be varied toward the dealer by having the dealer receive all of his cards face down. Other variations or modifications 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.

S i t

Claims

1. An electronic device for playing a poker game comprising: a first token acceptor means for inserting a first token into the electronic device to be eligible to play a poker game displayed on the electronic device; a second token acceptor means for inserting a second token therein to be eligible to participate in a progressive jackpot, said second token being inserted prior to beginning the play of the hand of said poker game, which second token is allocated to a progressive jackpot separate from the allocation of the first token; and, means to electronically display to the player a poker hand comprising a predetermined number of cards; wherein, the player wins a predetermined amount of said progressive jackpot if the player's hand comprises a predetermined poker hand combination.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of cards is five.

3. The device as claimed in claims 1-or 2, wherein said predetermined amount is a percentage of said progressive jackpot.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the percentage is computed as follows: Royal Flush 100% a 4 U Straight Flush SFour of a Kind 1%

5. The device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein said predetermined amount is a fixed number of tokens.

6. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said fixed number of tokens is computed as follows: Full House 50 Tokens S' Flush 25 Tokens

7. The device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein said predetermined amount is a combination of a percentage of the progressive jackpot and a fixed amount of tokens.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the i AMD/0500a 19 combination of percentages and fixed amount is computed as follows: Royal Flush 100% Straight Flush Four of a Kind 1% Full House 50 Tokens Flush 25 Tokens

9. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the progressive jackpot is progressive in that any amount of the jackpot remaining unwon is carried over to the next hand. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9,- wherein the house collects a percentage of each second token bet as the house's fee for providing the progressive jackpot.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the percentage is between 3% and

12. An electronic device for playing a poker game, said device being operable by: a) a player anteing a first bet means by inserting said first bet means into said electronic device; b) electronically displaying a predetermined number of cards representing a player's hand and a dealer's hand, c) the player either folding in which case the player loses his first bet means, or betting a second bet S, means by inserting said second bet means into said electronic device; d) electronically comparing the player's hand to the dealer's hand using poker ranks as the criterion for comparison; e) if the dealer's hand is not at least a predetermined rank, the player wins a preselected amount based on the player's first bet means and the player keeps his second bet means, said preselected amount being computed by said electronic device; f) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, the player loses both his first bet means and his AMD/0500a 20 second bet means; g) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the player's hand is higher than the dealer's hand, then the player wins a first predetermined amount on his first bet means which is computed by said electronic device, and the player wins a second predetermined amount on hi,- second bet means based on the type of poker hand combination that the player has which is computed by said electronic device.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the predetermined number of cards is five.

14. The device as claimed in claims 12 or 13 wherein the player's cards are displayed face up. The device as claimed in claims 12 or 13 wherein some of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face up and the remainder of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down.

16. The device as claimed in claim 15, wherein one of the dealer's cards is initially displayed face up and the rest of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down.

17. The device as claimed in claim 15, wherein two of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face up and the rest of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down.

18. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the second bet means is a multiple of the first bet means.

19. The device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the second bet means is double the first bet means.

20. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 19, wherein the cards are electronically displayed are standard playing cards. 00 SI

21. The device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the 004* predetermined rank in an Ace-King combination.

22. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein the preselected amount that a player wins on the player's first bet means is one-to-one odds.

23. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 22, i'l :i i_ 1 AMD/0500a 21 wherein the first predetermined amount that a player wins on his first bet means is one-to-one odds.

24. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 23, wherein the second predetermined amount that a player wins on his second bet means is according to the following schedule: Poker Hand Odds Royal Flush 250-to-i Straight Flush Four of a Kind Full House 7-to-i Flush Straight 4-to-i Three of a Kind 3-to-i Two Pair 2-to-i Any other hand l-to-i The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 24, wherein the player antes his first bet means by placing a gaming token into a coin acceptor.

26. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to wherein the player antes his first bet means by activating a button that deducts a unit from a credit LED display and registers the ante as being made on an ante LED display.

27. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 26, wherein the player bets his second bet means by placing a gaming token into a coin acceptor.

28. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 27, wherein the player bets his second bet means by activating a button that deducts a unit from a credit LED display and registers the bet as being made on a bet LED display.

29. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 28, wherein the player's winning amount is automatically displayed on a credit LED display. The device as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 29, wherein an amount the player wins is dispensed into a tray mounted on the electronic device.

31. An electronic device for playing a poker game, said device being operable by: .,AMD/0500a 22 a) a player anteing a first bet means by inserting said first bet means into said electronic device; b) electronically displaying a predetermined number of cards representing a player's hand and a dealer's hand, c) the player either folding in which case the player loses his first bet means, or betting a second bet means by inserting said second bet means into said electronic device; d) electronically comparing the player's hand to the dealer's hand using poker rank as the criterion for comparison; e) if the dealer's hand is not at least a predetermined rank, the player wins a preselected amount based on the player's first bet means and the player keeps his second bet means, said preselected amount being computed by said electronic device; f) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, and the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, the player loses both his first bet means and his second bet means; g) if the dealer's hand is at least a predetermined rank, St t and the player's hand is higher than the dealer's hand, then the player wins a first predetermined amount on his first bet means which is computed by said electronic device, and the player wins a second predetermined amount on his second bet means based on the type of poker hand coiibination that the player has which is computed by said electronic device, said second predetermined amount having a potential return of at least twenty times the amount of said second bet means.

32. The device as claimed in claim 31 wherein the predetermined number of cards is five.

33. The device as claimed in claims 31 or 32, wherein the player's cards are displayed face up.

34. The device as claimed in claims 31 or 32, wherein some of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face up and i 4 AMD/0500a 23 the remainder of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down. The device as claimed in claim 34 wherein one of the dealer's cards is initially displayed face up and the rest of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down.

36. The device as claimed in claim 34, wherein two of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face up and the rest of the dealer's cards are initially displayed face down.

37. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 34, wherein the second bet means is a multiple of the first bet means.

38. The device as claimed in claim 37, wherein the second bet means is double the first bet means.

39. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 38, wherein the cards that are electronically displayed are standard playing cards. The device as claimed in claim 39, wherein the predetermined rank is an Ace-King combination.

41. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to wherein the preselected amount that a player wins on the player's first bet means is one-to-one odds.

42. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 41, wherein the first predetermined amount that a player wins on his first bet means is one-to-one odds.

43. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 42, wherein the second predetermined amount that a player wins on his second bet means is according to the following schedule: SI Poker Hand Odds Royal Flush 250-to-I Straight Flush C.;Four of a Kind *4 It SFull House 7-to-i Flush Straight 4-to-I Three of a Kind 3-to-i Two Pair 2-to-i Any other hand 1-to-i I- C ~-r-ru 4 AMD/0500a 24

44. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 43, wherein the player antes his first bet means by placing a gaming token into a coin acceptor. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 44, wherein the player antes his first bet means by activating a button that deducts a unit from a credit LED display and registers the ante as being made of an ante LED display.

46. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to wherein the player bets his second bet means by placing a gaming token into a coin acceptor.

47. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 46, wherein the player bets his second bet means by activating a button that deducts a unit from a credit LED display and registers the bet as being made on a bet LED display.

48. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 47, wherein the player's winning amount is automatically displayed on a credit LED display.

49. The device as claimed in any one of claims 31 to 48, wherein an amount the player wins is dispensed into a tray mounted on the electronic device. An electronic device for playing a poker game, substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

51. A method for operating the electronic dm-r ice for playing a poker game, substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 2. DATED this 20th day of June, 1992. £CARIBBEAN STUD ENTERPRISES, INC. C By Its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE