Poker-type card game   

Abstract: A method of playing a poker-type card game comprises: dealing four player cards to at least one player; dealing three community cards face-up; and determining a best five-card poker hand for said at least one player, said best five-card poker hand comprising between one and four player cards dealt to said at least one player and at least one card from said three community card.

The present patent application is related to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application entitled, “POKER-TYPE CARD GAME”, filed Oct. 30, 2009, having U.S. Ser. No. 61/256,729, in the name of the same inventor, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to card games and methods therefor and, more particularly, to a poker-type card game that provides players with the ability to play a greatly increased number of hands per period of time as compared to standard Texas Hold\'em and Omaha games.

2. Description of Prior Art

The card game of poker, with its many variations, has become an extremely popular form of entertainment. Poker is now a common social pastime for both gamblers and non-gamblers. The general aim of poker is to either collect a five card hand that is better than the five card hand of one or more opponents, or to try to bet in such a way as to cause opponents to believe that their hand is inferior and subsequently “fold” (concede or turn in) their hand. Typically, the game of poker involves several players competing against one another for one cumulative “pot” or sum of money. In casinos, the dealer or “house” draws a percentage, otherwise known as “the rake”, of each pot, thus generating revenue regardless of which player wins each hand.

Two of the most popular poker games are Texas Hold\'em and Omaha. In Texas Hold\'em, each player receives an initial hand of two cards. Typically, there is a betting round followed by the dealing of three community cards face-up, known as “the flop.” After another betting round, a fourth community card, known as “the turn” is dealt face-up. After yet another round of betting, the final community card, known as “the river” is dealt face-up. After the river, there is a final round of betting, assuming two or more players remain in the game. In Texas Hold\'em, a player can use any combination of the two initial cards dealt to each player and the five community cards to form the best five-card poker hand. In fact, in Texas Hold\'em, it can be possible to use neither of the two cards dealt to the player, and form a best five-card hand solely from the five community cards.

In Omaha, each player receives four playing cards, rather than two as in Texas Hold\'em. The community card distribution and betting structure remain the same. In Omaha, however, each player must use exactly two cards out of the four they initially receive in combination with exactly three of the five community cards to form their best five-card hand. Omaha therefore lacks the flexibility of Texas Hold\'em when it comes to forming a best five-card poker hand. However, Omaha does provide for more numerous and therefore exciting opportunities to form a best five-card hand, as there are a total of nine playing cards to choose from, as opposed to the seven in Texas Hold\'em. Much of Omaha\'s popularity comes from the increased frequency of high-quality poker hands that result from forming a five-card hand from nine cards instead of seven. In the game of Omaha, this attractive feature comes with the restriction that limits a player to the use of exactly two of the four cards dealt to the player.

Both Hold\'em and Omaha have four separate betting rounds. In either game, therefore, if a player chooses to fold after the player receives his/her initial playing cards, the player must then wait for the completion of four additional betting rounds with no personal stake in the outcome. In such a circumstance, players often are impatient as they must wait for the start of the next hand.

Further, while both Texas Hold\'em and Omaha offer separate, but intriguing benefits to poker players, while each game also has certain limitations that may make it less intriguing to different types of poker players

Therefore, a need exist to provide a poker type game that overcomes the above problems. The improved poker game would have a greatly increased frequency of poker hands while simultaneously providing each player with increased flexibility with respect to the player\'s individual hand.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved poker card game.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved poker card game that provides a player with four individual cards and a single flop of three community cards from which the player can form a five card poker hand.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved poker card game that provides a player with two betting rounds instead of the standard four.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved poker card game that provides a player with the ability to use between two and four individual cards in combination with one to three community cards to form a five card poker hand.

A method of playing a poker-type card game is disclosed. The method comprises: dealing four player cards to at least one player; dealing three community cards face-up; and determining a best five-card poker hand for said at least one player, said best five-card poker hand comprising between one and four player cards dealt to said at least one player and at least one card from said three community card.

A method of playing a poker-type card game is disclosed. The method comprises: dealing four player cards to at least one player face down; dealing three community cards face-up; turning over said four player cards to at least one player; and determining a best five-card poker hand for said at least one player, said best five-card poker hand comprising between one and four player cards dealt to said at least one player and at least one card from said three community card.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a flowchart show the method of playing the poker-type game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application describes a method of playing a poker-type card game having many of the attributes of popular poker games such as Texas Hold\'em and Omaha, but with other distinct advantages. Typical embodiments of the game can use a single fifty-two card standard deck. One or more decks can also be used. Other types of decks can be incorporated into the game as well. Known to those skilled in the relevant art, the game can be implemented on a number of different platforms such as a card table, computer, or other casino-type machine. If this game were played as a live table game with other players then preferably, as in Texas Hold\'em and Omaha, a standard betting structure, such as the “big blind” and “small blind,” can be used to establish the minimum bet by which any player must call to remain in the game. The game may also be played as an interactive video game wherein the computer acts as a dealer and players log in to play. The players may be located remotely or all at a video game table. Alternatively, the game can be played as a “video” poker game in which there is only a single player against the machine, or the “house”. In this embodiment, the player will simply try to achieve a hand having a poker value that corresponds to a pre-determined payout schedule.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the method of playing the poker type card game will be disclosed. Depending on the limit and betting structure, participating players will place out blinds and antes so there is an initial amount to get things started. This is generally called a posting. Posting may generally be done regardless if it is a live casino game or a video/computer interactive game.

Once the posting is made, each participating player may be dealt at least four cards. The four cards dealt to each participating player are generally dealt face down in live play. In a computer game, the cards are generally dealt face-up so that the players may see them. Once the four player cards are dealt, there may be a round of betting starting with the participating player to the left of the blinds. This is the pre-flop betting round. Like most games of poker, players may call, raise, fold. Check, or the like.

After the pre-flop betting round, a group of three community cards are dealt face-up. In one embodiment of the present invention, the dealer may discard the top card of the deck prior to dealing the community cards. This is called a burn card and may be done to prevent cheating.

In live table play, this step would be followed by an additional betting round. In this betting round, at least one player places at least one wager. Participating players may generally check, call, raise, fold, etc.

After the additional betting round, participating players who have not folded will show their four cards. Each participating player can combine as few as two and as many as four of their four player cards initially dealt to each player with between one and three of the group of three community cards to create the best five card poker hand. In a video format, the computer program will automatically select the combination that creates the five-card poker hand having the highest poker value. Alternatively, a dealer may make this identification during live play.

One of the significant benefits of the present invention is that it reduces the number of betting rounds from four to two as compared to Texas Hold\'em or Omaha. As a result, a player that is not happy with his/her individual playing cards will wait on average half as long than he/she would have to wait for the next hand as compared to Texas Hold\'em or Omaha. In addition, by permitting each player to use as many as all four individual cards in combination with a single community card, a player who receives three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, three or four cards to a flush or three or four cards to a straight can now utilize all beneficial cards without having to be forced to use only a sub-set of those quality cards.

While, in the preferred embodiment, the poker-type card game of the present invention is played at a casino with a betting structure that allows players to wager, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which there is an alternative betting structure, or no wagering at all. For example, if this poker-type card game were to be played on a video gaming machine, over the internet, or against a computer, it may be beneficial to have a different betting structure, no wager at all, or a single wager that would allow the player to qualify for a payout if his or her hand corresponded to a pre-determined poker value.

While embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims.