WO2009004587A1

WO2009004587A1 - Card player protection

Info

Publication number: WO2009004587A1
Application number: PCT/IB2008/052660
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alan Simon Levy
Original assignee: Alan Simon Levy
Priority date: 2007-07-02
Filing date: 2008-07-02
Publication date: 2009-01-08
Also published as: ZA201000883B

Abstract

The invention provides for a facility (10) for providing insurance to a player of a card game such as poker in which the players place bets that their hands will win the game and the winner is awarded the aggregate of the players' bets, or a portion thereof. The facility (10) includes an offer providing means (20) for providing an offer to pay the player an insurance amount, regardless of whether the player wins, in return for forfeiture of the amount which the player would have received had the player won. The facility (10) further includes an acceptance receiving means (22) for receiving an acceptance of the offer by the player and insurance amount calculating means (24). The invention extends to a method of insuring a player of a card game, an insurance product and an improvement to a card game.

Description

CARD PLAYER PROTECTION

THIS INVENTION relates to an insurance product, a method of insuring a player of a card game, a facility for providing insurance to a player of a card game and an improvement to a card game.

In this specification a "card game" means a game which is based on one or more packs of cards, regardless of whether they are physically existing cards or software-generated virtual cards.

In this specification, "insurance" includes an agreement in terms of which an insurer agrees to mitigate a loss that an insured person would suffer if an uncertain event occurred, regardless of whether or not the agreement is enforceable by law.

In this specification a "player" means a participant of a card game who is not the house.

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided an insurance product for a player of a card game, the product comprising a policy in terms of which an insurer agrees, in return for a consideration, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of insuring a player of a card game, which method includes providing, in return for a consideration, an undertaking to the player, from an insurer, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a facility for providing insurance to a player of a card game, from an insurer, which facility includes an offer providing means for providing to the player, in return for a consideration, an offer provide an undertaking to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player; and an acceptance receiving means for receiving an acceptance of the offer by the player.

According to a yet further aspect of the invention, there is provided, in a game of cards in which the object of the game is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof, an improvement which comprises providing, in return for a consideration, an undertaking to one of the players, from an insurer, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

The consideration may include a partial or total forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of any benefit which may accrue to the player for winning the game. Instead or in addition, the consideration may include payment of a fee.

The facility may be connectable to an electronic communication network. The network may be a computer network, for example the Internet. The facility may include a computer server which is connectable, via the network, to a client computer operated by the player. The client computer may be remote from the server.

The game may be one in which the object is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof. The award may include payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof. The award may be the net aggregate of the players' bets after deduction of an administration fee.

The insurer may acquire the benefit associated with the insured player's hand, which is the consideration, and the insurer may pay the insured player an insurance amount which is less than the aggregate of the players' bets. The insurer may also acquire the risk associated with the insured player's hand.

The insurance amount may be calculated having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game. Thus, the facility may include an insurance amount calculating means for calculating the insurance amount due to the insured player having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game. In the event that the game is won by the insured player, the award may be paid to the insurer. The insurance amount may be paid to the insured player immediately upon acceptance of the offer by the insured player.

The insurance amount calculating means may include software for calculating the insurance amount due to the insured player. The software may be operated by the server.

The game may be poker or a variant thereof. Thus, the ranking may be based on a plurality of criteria including whether all of the cards in the hand form a series of consecutive values, whether all of the cards in the hand are of the same suit, the number of cards in the hand which are of matching value and the value of the matching cards. In particular, the ranking may be that which is commonly used for poker and variants thereof, the ranking being (from highest rank to lowest rank) royal flush, straight-flush, four-of-a-kind, full house, flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two pairs, one pair and unmatched high card in hand, these terms being familiar to persons who play poker. Poker is typically used as a vehicle for gambling, each player betting that the player's hand will win the game. The aggregate of the players' bets (known as "the pot') is awarded to the player who achieves the highest ranked hand, although an administrator's fee is sometimes deducted from the pot by the administrator of the game, for example if the game is being played in a casino.

The game may be one of the "Hold 'Em" poker games, Hold ¹Em poker games being a genre of poker games in which some cards are dealt to each player (which are called "hole cards"), which can only be used to achieve a hand by the player to whom they are dealt, and other cards, which are community cards, which can be used by all players to achieve their respective hands, the winner of the game being the player who thus achieves the highest ranked hand. The community cards are dealt on "the board", and, as indicated above, any community card can be used simultaneously by a plurality of players. The number of hole cards dealt to each player and the rules for how the hole cards may be combined with other community cards differs according to which particular "Hold 'Em" game is being played.

In particular, the game may be a Hold 'Em poker game known as Texas Hold 'Em, each player being dealt two hole cards and three community cards (known as the "flop") also being dealt, the players being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting after the flop is dealt, a fourth community card (known as the "turn") thereafter being dealt and the players then being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting, and a final community card (known as the "river") thereafter being dealt. Further, the players may also engage in a round of betting before the hole cards have been dealt, may also engage in a round of betting after the hole cards have been dealt and before the flop has been dealt and may also engage in a round of betting after the river is dealt. A player is said to be "all in" when the player has bet all his money on a single hand. The object of the game is for a player to achieve, with the use of the player's hole cards and the community cards, a five card hand which ranks higher than the five card hands achieved by the other players. Thus, the player who achieves the highest ranking hand wins the game and is awarded the pot. The community cards are dealt face up on the board so that their values are visible to all players. The values of a player's hole cards, however, are not visible to other players unless all players are all in and no further betting can occur, in which event the values of the hole cards of all players in the game are usually exposed and are thus visible to all players of the game. If a player has a hand which ends up losing the game, and the player had had, at a previous point in the game, a hand with the highest statistical probability of winning the game, the losing hand is called a "bad beat". It is envisaged that the invention can be of particular use in providing players of Texas Hold 'Em with protection against bad beats. However, it will be appreciated that there are also many other possible applications for the invention. For example, the invention may also be used to provide bad beat protection in other forms of poker such as Omaha and Razz.

The undertaking may only be offered to a player with a hand which is of at least a pre-determined minimum rank. Instead, undertaking may only be offered to a player in circumstances where the player will be able to achieve a hand of at least a predetermined minimum rank having regard to the cards which have been already dealt that are available for use by the player. Thus, undertaking may only be offered to a player of Texas Hold ¹Em if, having regard to the player's hole cards and the community cards which have already been dealt, the player will be able to achieve a hand of at least a pre-determined minimum rank. For example, insurance may only be offered to a player of Texas Hold ¹Em after the turn has been dealt (and before the river is dealt) if the player will be able to achieve a hand of at least the rank of a pair using the player's hole cards and the community cards already on the board.

If the consideration includes a fee, the fee may be calculated by taking into account the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game having regard to the cards which have already been dealt that are visible to the insured player. The facility may include a fee calculating means for calculating the fee in this manner. The fee calculating means may include software for calculating the fee. The software may be operated by the server. Thus, if the game is Texas Hold 'Em, the fee may be calculated by taking into account the statistical probability of the insured player winning the game having regard to the community cards already on the board and the insured player's hole cards and, in the event that the other players' hole cards are visible to the insured player, the other players' hole cards as well.

The offer may be provided only when the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game. The facility may thus include a card exposure determining means for determining whether the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game.

The facility may include a probability calculating means for calculating the statistical probability that a player's hand will win the game. The probability calculating means may include software for calculating the statistical probability that a player will win the game. The software may be operated by the server. The probability calculating means may take into account only the cards which have already been dealt that are visible to the insured player in order to calculate the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game. As indicated above, this situation can occur in Texas Hold ¹Em where all of the players are all in and thus the values of each of the players' hole cards are visible to all players. The offer may be provided only to the player who has been calculated to have the highest statistical probability of winning the game.

Instead or in addition, the offer may be provided to a player who has been calculated not to have the highest statistical probability of winning the game as compared to the other players i.e. the offer may be provided to a player who has an equal statistical probability of winning the game as compared to the other players of the game or the offer may be provided to a player who has a lower statistical probability of winning the game as compared to another player of the game.

The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting, illustrative examples with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic figure, which is a diagram showing a facility for providing insurance to a player of a card game in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the figure, a facility for providing insurance to a player of a card game in accordance with the invention is designated generally by reference numeral 10. The facility 10 includes a computer server 12 which is connectable to the

Internet 14 and to a plurality of client computers 16a, 16b, 16c via the Internet 14. The server 12 is provided with game software (not shown) for hosting an electronic version of the game, in the instance being Texas Hold ¹Em poker. The game can be played a plurality of players, in this example Player A, Player B and Player C (not shown) who respectively operate the computers 16a, 16b and 16c. The players play the game against one another. Each computer 16a, 16b, 16c is provided with a monitor 18 on which the cards are displayed.

The facility 10 includes an offer providing means 20 and an acceptance receiving means 22. The offer providing means 20 is for providing to each of the players an offer to mitigate, in return for a consideration, a loss which the player would suffer if the game is won by another player. The acceptance receiving means 22 is for receiving an acceptance of the offer by the player.

The facility 10 also includes an insurance amount calculating means 24, a fee calculating means 26, a card exposure determining means 28 and a probability calculating means 30. The insurance amount calculating means 24 is for calculating the remuneration due to the insured player in the event that the game is won by another player. The fee calculating means 26 is for calculating the fee due by a player for the insurance. The card exposure determining means 28 is for determining whether the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game. The probability calculating means 30 is for calculating the statistical probability that a player will win the game.

In use, the game software first ascertains from each of the players how much money the player has available to bet. The available amounts for all players are displayed on all of the monitors 18. Players can optionally place bets before they are dealt any cards. Each player is then randomly dealt two hole cards. Since the players have money available to bet, each player can only see the values of his own hole cards, the values being displayed on the player's monitor 18. The players can then engage in one or more rounds of betting. Thereafter, three community cards (the flop) are simultaneously dealt and the players can then engage in further rounds of betting. The values of the flop are displayed on all of the players' monitors 18. A fourth community card (the turn) is then dealt, the value of which is also displayed on all of the players' monitors 18, and the players can then engage in further rounds of betting. Thereafter, a fifth community card (the river) is dealt, the value of which is also displayed on all of the players' monitors 18, and the players can engage in yet further rounds of betting.

If, at any stage, the circumstance arises where one of the players has bet all of his available money, the game software causes all of the players' hole cards to be displayed on all of the monitors 18. No player is allowed to bet more than the amount which such player or any other of the players has available to bet, so that all other players will at least be able to respond by placing an equal bet ("seeing the bet") and thus remaining in the game. If a player does not respond to a bet by placing a bet of an at least equal value, the player "folds", and thus withdraws from the game, losing any amount which such player has already bet and losing any claim to the pot. The exposure of all of the players' hole cards is registered by the exposure determining means 28 and the registration causes the probability calculating means 30 to calculate, taking into account all of the hole cards and the community cards which have already been dealt, which of the players has the highest statistical probability of achieving the highest ranked hand i.e. the highest probability of winning the game. An offer is formulated for the player who has been calculated to have the highest statistical probability of winning. In terms of the offer, an insurance amount is offered to the player in return for a consideration, comprising forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of the pot which would accrue to the player should he win and, possibly, also a fee. The fee calculating means 26 determines whether or not the consideration will include a fee, and, if so, what the amount of the fee will be. The insurance amount is calculated by the insurance amount calculating means 24 having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player winning the game, as calculated by the probability calculating means 30, and also taking into account the value of the consideration, the insurance amount being less than the amount that the insured player would have received in terms of the game rules had he won the game.

The offer providing means 20 provides the offer to the player. The offer is provided to the player's computer via the Internet 14. The offer is displayed on the player's monitor 18 by the offer providing means 20, and the player can accept the offer by clicking a link marked "I accept" which is also displayed on the player's monitor 18 by the offer providing means 20.

If the player accepts the offer by clicking the appropriate link, the acceptance of the offer is sent via the Internet 14 to the acceptance receiving means 22, which receives the offer, and the player is debited with the fee, if the offer provided for a fee, and is paid the insurance amount. Thereafter, once the river is dealt, the game software determines the winner of the game by determining the best possible five card hand for each of the players in accordance with the rules of Texas Hold ¹Em. The players' hands are ranked and the player with the highest ranked hand wins the game and is awarded the pot i.e. the aggregate of the bets placed by all of the players, save that if the insured player's hand is the winning hand, the pot gets paid to the insurer.

To illustrate the invention further, let us suppose that Player A and Player B are the only players in the game. A classic example of a bad beat might occur as follows. Player A is all in for US$ 1 ,000 with hole cards comprising the ace of hearts and the king of hearts. Player B has hole cards comprising the two of hearts and the three of hearts and is also all in for US$ 1 ,000. At this stage all of the hole cards are exposed. The flop comprises the four of hearts, the five of hearts, the seven of hearts. The turn comprises the ten of spades. In this instance Player B could win only if the river comprises a six of hearts, as this would give Player B a straight flush and Player A the ace high flush. The chances of the six of hearts appearing on the river are in fact one in forty four (1 :44), there being fifty two cards in the pack and eight cards having already been played. This is due to the fact that there are 44 unseen cards in the pack and only one of the cards is the six of hearts. In this case Player A would be offered bad beat insurance. Thus, suppose he is offered payment of US$ 1 ,900 if he does not win the game in return for payment by Player A of a fee of US$ 100. If Player A accepts the offer, one of two scenarios could arise:

1 . the river card is not a six of hearts, in which case Player A wins the game, having been paid US$ 1 ,900 and Player B receives nothing, the pot being paid to the insurer; or

2. the river card is a six of hearts, in which case Player B wins the game and Player A is paid US$ 1 ,900 from the insurer, and Player B is awarded the pot of US$ 2,000.

In the latter scenario, US$ 3,900 has been paid out and only a fee of US$ 100 has been collected. It will be appreciated that in order to make a profit one needs to look at a long term scenario. In this instance US$ 100 was paid which is one twentieth of the pot, however the odds on a bad beat occurring were forty four to one.

In other words, statistically speaking, after forty four times a total of US$ 4,400 would theoretically be paid in fees, while the bad beat should occur only once, in which event Player A is paid the insured value of US$ 1 ,900 and Player B is awarded the pot. This is assuming that statistical probabilities held up. It will be appreciated that statistical probabilities are only relevant in the long run, and this would need to be taken into consideration when offering bad beat insurance.

More conveniently, however, the insurance amount can be such that payment of a fee is unnecessary. To illustrate the invention still further, let us suppose that Player A is dealt hole cards comprising an ace of hearts and an ace of diamonds, Player B is dealt hole cards comprising a king of hearts and a king of spades and Player C is dealt hole cards comprising a seven of hearts and a five of hearts. The maximum amount which each of the players has available to bet is US$ 1 ,000. The flop is dealt and comprises a two of diamonds, a two of spades and a five of clubs and the players bet all of their available money and are accordingly "all in", thereby providing a pot of US$ 3,000. At this point, since the players are all in, all of the hole cards are exposed. Because Player A at this point has the highest statistical probability of achieving the highest ranked hand, Player A is offered bad beat insurance. More particularly, Player A is offered payment of an insurance amount of US$ 2,000, the insurer to acquire the benefit and risk of the hand of Player A if the offer is accepted. If Player A accepts the offer and his hand wins the game, the pot of US$ 3,000 is paid to the insurer and Player A is paid the insurance amount of US$ 2,000. If Player A accepts the offer and his hand does not win the game, the pot will be awarded to the player with the winning hand (i.e. Player B or Player C as the case may be) and Player A will be paid the insurance amount of US$ 2,000. If Player A does not accept the offer and wins the game, he is awarded the pot i.e. US$ 3,000. If Player A does not accept the offer and does not win the game, he will not receive any award and will lose his bet of US$ 1 ,000. However, as indicated above, if Player A accepts the offer, he will be paid US$ 2,000 irrespective of whether or not his hand wins. It will be appreciated that this embodiment of the invention can be implemented by a facility 10 with the features as described above and which is connectable via the Internet 14 to client computers 16a, 16b and 16c, each having monitors 18, save that the facility in this case will not include the fee calculating means 26. This arrangement is convenient since the insurance is offered to a player who is "all in" (i.e. all his funds available for betting have been wagered) and it is therefore preferable not to have to obtain a fee for insurance from such player since such fee would have had to be obtained from a source of funds other than that which had been made available for betting. Thus in this arrangement money only flows from the insurer to the insured player, the insured player not being obliged to pay an insurance fee.

To provide yet another example, in a different application of the invention, an offer may be provided to a player who has a lower statistical probability of winning the game as compared to another player of the game. Suppose that there are two players, Player A and Player B, who are in the pot for US$ 1 ,000 each, the size of the pot thus being US$ 2,000, and both Player A and Player B are all in. Player A has hole cards comprising a pair of aces and Player B has hole cards comprising a pair of kings, with the flop and the turn having been dealt and none of the player's hands having been improved upon. Since the players are all in, all of the hole cards are exposed. Player B may be provided with an offer to be paid an insurance amount of US$ 50 regardless of whether he wins or loses, the insurer to acquire the benefit and risk of the hand of Player B if the offer is accepted. If Player B accepts the offer and his hand wins the game, Player B will be paid the insurance amount of US$ 50, and the insurer will be awarded the value of the pot i.e. US$ 2,000. If Player B accepts the offer and his hand does not win the game, Player A will be awarded the value of the pot i.e. US$ 2,000 but Player B will still receive the insurance amount of US$ 50. Thus, if Player B accepts the offer he will be paid the insurance amount of US$ 50, regardless of whether his hand wins or loses.

Claims

1. An insurance product for a player of a card game, the product comprising a policy in terms of which an insurer agrees, in return for a consideration, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

2. An insurance product as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the consideration includes payment of a fee or a partial or total forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of any benefit which may accrue to the player for winning the game.

3. An insurance product as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the game is one in which the object is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof.

4. An insurance product as claimed in Claim 3, in which the insurer acquires the benefit associated with the insured player's hand, which is the consideration, and the insurer pays the insured player an insurance amount which is less than the aggregate of the players' bets.

5. An insurance product as claimed in Claim 4, in which the insurer acquires the risk associated with the insured player's hand.

6. A insurance product as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which the insurance amount is calculated having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player winning the game.

7. An insurance product as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 6 inclusive, in which the game is a "Hold 'Em" poker game, some cards which are dealt being dealt to players (known as "hole cards") and being only capable of being used to achieve a hand by the player to whom they are dealt, and other cards which are dealt (known as "community cards") being capable of being used by all players to achieve their respective hands, the winner of the game being the player who thus achieves the highest ranked hand.

8. An insurance product as claimed in Claim 7, in which the game is Texas

Hold 'Em poker, each player being dealt two hole cards and three community cards (known as the "flop") also being dealt, the players being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting after the flop is dealt, a fourth community card (known as the "turn") thereafter being dealt and the players then being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting, and a final community card (known as the "river") thereafter being dealt.

9. A method of insuring a player of a card game, which method includes providing, in return for a consideration, an undertaking to the player, from an insurer, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

10. A method as claimed in Claim 9, in which the consideration includes payment of a fee or a partial or total forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of any benefit which may accrue to the player for winning the game.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 9, in which the game is one in which the object is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof.

12. A method as claimed in Claim 1 1 , in which the insurer acquires the benefit associated with the insured player's hand, which is the consideration, and the insurer pays the insured player an insurance amount which is less than the aggregate of the players' bets.

13. A method as claimed in Claim 12, in which the insurer acquires the risk associated with the insured player's hand.

14. A method as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13, in which the insurance amount is calculated having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game.

15. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 1 to 14 inclusive, in which the game is a "Hold 'Em" poker game, some cards which are dealt being dealt to players (known as "hole cards") and being only capable of being used to achieve a hand by the player to whom they are dealt, and other cards which are dealt (known as "community cards") being capable of being used by all players to achieve their respective hands, the winner of the game being the player who thus achieves the highest ranked hand.

16. A method as claimed in Claim 15, in which the game is Texas Hold ¹Em poker, each player being dealt two hole cards and three community cards (known as the "flop") also being dealt, the players being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting after the flop is dealt, a fourth community card (known as the "turn") thereafter being dealt and the players then being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting, and a final community card (known as the "river") thereafter being dealt.

17. A method as claimed in Claim 16, in which the undertaking is offered only when the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game.

18. A method as claimed in Claim 17, in which the undertaking is offered only to the player who has been calculated to have the highest statistical probability of winning the game.

19. A facility for providing insurance to a player of a card game, from an insurer, which facility includes an offer providing means for providing to the player, in return for a consideration, an offer to provide an undertaking to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player; and an acceptance receiving means for receiving an acceptance of the offer by the player.

20. A facility as claimed in Claim 19, in which the consideration includes payment of a fee or a partial or total forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of any benefit which may accrue to the player for winning the game.

21. A facility as claimed in Claim 19, which is connectable to an electronic communication network.

22. A facility as claimed in Claim 21 , in which the network is a computer network, and the facility includes a computer server which is connectable, via the network, to a remote client computer operated by the player.

23. A facility as claimed in Claim 19 or Claim 21 , in which the game one in which the object is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof.

24. A facility as claimed in Claim 23, in which, in terms of the undertaking which is offered, the insurer shall acquire the benefit associated with the insured player's hand, which is the consideration, and the insurer shall pay the insured player an insurance amount which is less than the aggregate of the players' bets.

25. A facility as claimed in Claim 24, in which, in terms of the undertaking which is offered, the insurer shall acquire the risk associated with the insured player's hand.

26. A facility as claimed in Claim 24 or Claim 25, which includes an insurance amount calculating means for calculating the insurance amount due to the insured player's hand taking into account the statistical probability of the insured player winning the game.

27. A facility as claimed in Claim 26, in which the insurance amount is paid to the insured player immediately upon acceptance of the offer by the insured player.

28. A facility as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 27 inclusive, in which the game is a "Hold 'Em" poker game, some cards which are dealt being dealt to players (known as "hole cards") and being only capable of being used to achieve a hand by the player to whom they are dealt, and other cards which are dealt (known as "community cards") being capable of being used by all players to achieve their respective hands, the winner of the game being the player who thus achieves the highest ranked hand.

29. A facility as claimed in Claim 28, in which the game is Texas Hold ¹Em poker, each player being dealt two hole cards and three community cards (known as the "flop") also being dealt, the players being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting after the flop is dealt, a fourth community card (known as the "turn") thereafter being dealt and the players then being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting, and a final community card (known as the "river") thereafter being dealt.

30. A facility as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 29 inclusive, which includes a card exposure determining means for determining whether the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game, the offer only being provided when the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game.

31. A facility as claimed in any one of Claims 23 to 30 inclusive, which includes a probability calculating means for calculating the statistical probability that a player's hand will win the game.

32. A facility as claimed in Claim 31 , in which the probability calculating means calculates the statistical probability that a player's hand will win the game by taking into account only the cards which have already been dealt that are visible to the player.

33. A facility as claimed in Claim 32, in which the offer is provided only to the player which the probability calculating means has calculated to have the highest statistical probability of winning the game.

34. In a game of cards in which the object of the game is for a player to win by achieving a hand of cards which has a higher rank than the hand achieved by any other player, the hands being rankable in terms of the rules of the game, and each player is required, in order to remain in the game, to place a bet that the player's hand will win the game, the winner of the game being provided with an award which includes payment of the aggregate of the players' bets or a portion thereof, an improvement which comprises providing, in return for a consideration, an undertaking to one of the players, from an insurer, to mitigate a loss that the player would suffer if the game is won by another player.

35 A game as claimed in Claim 34, in which the consideration includes payment of a fee or a partial or total forfeiture, in favour of the insurer, of any benefit which may accrue to the player for winning the game.

36. A game as claimed in Claim 34, in which the insurer acquires the benefit associated with the insured player's hand, which is the consideration, and the insurer pays the player an insurance amount which is less than the aggregate of the players' bets.

37. A game as claimed in Claim 36, in which the insurer acquires the risk associated with the insured player's hand.

38. A game as claimed in Claim 36 or Claim 37, in which the insurance amount is calculated having regard to the statistical probability of the insured player's hand winning the game.

39. A game as claimed in any one of Claims 34 to 38 inclusive, in which the game is a "Hold 'Em" poker game, some cards which are dealt being dealt to players (known as "hole cards") and being only capable of being used to achieve a hand by the player to whom they are dealt, and other cards which are dealt (known as "community cards") being capable of being used by all players to achieve their respective hands, the winner of the game being the player who thus achieves the highest ranked hand.

40. A game as claimed in Claim 39, in which the game is Texas Hold ¹Em poker, each player being dealt two hole cards and three community cards (known as the "flop") also being dealt, the players being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting after the flop is dealt, a fourth community card (known as the "turn") thereafter being dealt and the players then being provided with an opportunity to engage in betting, and a final community card (known as the "river") thereafter being dealt.

41. A game as claimed in Claim 40, in which the undertaking is offered only when the values of all of the players' cards are exposed to the view of all of the players of the game.

42. A game as claimed in Claim 41 , in which the undertaking is offered only to the player who has been calculated to have the highest statistical probability of winning the game.