| Poker game and apparatus for play thereof -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Poker game and apparatus for play thereofUSPTO Application #: 20070241502Title: Poker game and apparatus for play thereof Abstract: A poker card game and apparatus for its play are disclosed, particularly adapted for casino play, in which each player in a given game, using only a single dealt hand, plays simultaneously separately against the dealer (the house) and against the other players. Betting for the two lines of play may be separate or linked, and a player can elect to play only against the dealer or to play both games together. The game is played as a form of five-card stud with betting before each deal. At the end of each game a player's status as to whether he/she beat the dealer, beat the other players or both is determined and displayed, and winners are paid accordingly. Conventional dealing may be used, but it is preferred that a biased deal, which enhances the opportunities for players to be dealt reasonably good poker hands, be used. (end of abstract) Agent: Gordon & Rees LLP - San Diego, CA, US Inventors: Darrell C. Campbell, David J. Richards, Spencer C. Peterson USPTO Applicaton #: 20070241502 - Class: 273292000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Card Or Tile Games, Cards Or Tiles Therefor The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070241502. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention herein relates to table card games. More particularly it relates to poker games and apparatus used for the play thereof, and particularly adapted for use in casinos. [0002] In the past there been numerous poker games played in the conventional manner in which the individual players play against each other and where the position of the dealer rotates among the players. Cardhouse/casino poker games may have a house dealer sit in to deal the cards but the dealer is not involved in the game itself, and the players still play only against each other. Conversely there are other games such as Caribbean poker in which each player plays only against the house dealer and the specific hand held by each of the players is of little consequence to the other players. Games in which a player can play simultaneously with a single hand against both a dealer and the other players are seldom found. However, such games are anticipated to be highly popular with players because the games give them the opportunity to have two winnings with each hand, one against the house dealer and the other against the other players. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0003] The invention herein is a unique poker card game, particularly adapted for casino play, in which each player in a given game, using only a single dealt hand, plays simultaneously separately against the dealer (the house) and against the other players. Betting for the two lines of play may be separate or may be linked, and a player can elect to play only against the dealer or to play both lines together. A player can fold against the other players without also folding against the dealer, but cannot fold against the dealer without thereby also folding against the other players. [0004] The game is played as a form of five-card stud starting with an ante and an initial two-card deal face up to all players and the dealer, and progresses with subsequent one-card deals, also face up, with betting before each deal. At the end of each hand a player's status as to whether he/she beat the dealer, beat the other players or both, is determined and displayed, and winners are paid accordingly. Any or all of the players may be winners against the dealer. With respect to the players' pool pot, several alternatives are possible, and any one may be chosen or two or more combined for specific games at the selection of the house or of the players. The preferred alternative is that only the player with the highest ranking hand will win the pool pot, but only if that player also beats the dealer. Another alternative is that only the player with the highest ranking hand will win the pool pot, but that player need not also beat the dealer. Yet another alternative is that if no player beats the dealer on a hand, the money in the pot rolls over to the next hand and is incorporated into that hand's pot. Still another alternative is that two or more players share the pot, under conditions which may include whether or not one or more has also beaten the dealer on the hand, how the players' hands ranked compared to each other, and whether shares are to be equal or divided in accordance with predetermined ratios based on relative hand rankings. It will be evident that two or more of these alternatives may in some cases be combined, as long as the combination conditions are consistent. [0005] Conventional dealing may be used, but it is preferred that a biased deal, which reduces the proportion of weak poker hands from that produced by normal non-biased deals and thereby enhances the opportunities for players to be dealt reasonably good poker hands, be used to encourage players to play complete hands (i.e., not fold during a hand). [0006] While the game may be played manually with dealt cards laid face up on a poker table surface, the game is primarily intended to be played as an electronic casino game, using a specially configured table with computer monitors built into the table at the dealer's position and at each player's position. All of the monitors are connected to a central (usually dedicated) computer processing unit which may also be built into the table. The software which runs on the processing unit and operates the play of the game is controlled from the dealer's monitor which includes a touch screen controller. The players' monitors can also have touch screens to communicate with the processor, but only for the purpose of indicating that a player wishes to bet or fold prior to a deal. Preferably the players' monitors will be for viewing only and players will announce verbally at the table whether they are betting or folding prior to each deal, and after each player has verbally announced the dealer will enter any folds into the system via his/her touch screen and then activate the deal of the next card, also from the touch screen. [0007] The game as designed has great attractiveness to players because of its ability to generate multiple winners on each hand. Each player has the chance on a single hand to be both a winner against the dealer (house) and also the players' pot winner. Multiple players can win on a single hand against the dealer. If the house or table rules permit, there can also be a variation where multiple players can split the players' pot. The use of a biased deal enhances the attractiveness, since all players can expect to be dealt hands that are good enough in ranking to be worth playing through an entire hand or at least through the first or second additional dealt cards. Because players stay in each hand longer, larger player pots are built, and players find the potential rewards of playing and winning to be a significant enticement to play the game, as compared to prior art casino poker games. [0008] In the description of the invention herein, the term "game" will be used in two senses. In the broad discussion "game" will mean the overall inventive concept of the described variation of poker in which players can obtain two winnings on a single hand of cards. In this sense, players may participate in the "game" over a period of time (e.g., several hours) repeatedly dealing, betting and playing an extended sequence of dealt hands. Thus players would, say, spend an evening "playing the game." Alternatively, in the description of play herein "game" will mean a single round of deals and bets to determine the outcomes of a single hand for each player against the dealer's hand and the other players' hands. In this sense, each round of dealing of a five-card hand to the dealer and each player, with the resultant payout of winnings against the dealer and distribution of the pool pot, constitutes a "game" and the players and dealer thereafter start another "game" with another dealt hand to the dealer and each player. This second usage is to avoid possible confusion with the use of the term "hand" when the latter refers to the cards dealt to each player and the dealer. The distinction is that each player and the dealer receives, evaluates and plays their own individual "hands" within a single "game" and then, following the completion of the "game" using those "hands," they proceed to a next "game" with a new round of "hands." The context will make evident the intended meaning of each of the terms where they appear. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a casino table configured for playing the poker game of the present invention showing the dealer's positions, positions for up to six players and a typical position for the accumulation of the chips in the players' pool pot. [0010] FIG. 2 is a diagram of the dealer's monitor screen prior to start of a game. [0011] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a player's table position prior to start of a game, showing both the player's monitor screen and the markers indicating locations for placement of bets by the player. [0012] FIG. 4 is a diagram of the dealer's monitor screen after the antes have been placed and the initial two cards dealt. The Xs in columns 1 and 6 indicate that there are no players at those positions for this game. [0013] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a typical example of one player's monitor screen and table position (using the example of Player 2) after the antes have been made and the initial two cards dealt. The player's ante chip(s) cover the first bet marker. [0014] FIGS. 6, 7, 10 and 11 are diagrams showing the cards indicated on all of the players' monitor screens and the dealer's monitor screen following, respectively, the ante deal and three subsequent card deals showing the progress of example hands of the game of the present invention. [0015] FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams, respectively, of the monitor screen of a player (here exemplified by Player 4) and the dealer's monitor screen following that player's folding during the example game. [0016] FIG. 12 is a diagram of the monitor screen at the end of the game of a player (in this example Player 3) who has both beaten the dealer and also won the pot against the other players. The monitor screens of the other players who complete the game will be similar with the applicable "WIN" or "LOSE" indicated for each player with respect to the "dealer hand" and the "player pot". [0017] FIG. 13 is a diagram of the dealer's monitor screen following the end of the exemplary game, showing the dealer's final hand and the "WIN", "LOSE" or "FOLD" status of each player upon conclusion of the game. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0018] The present invention is best understood by reference to the Figures and the following recitation of the play of an example game. FIG. 1 shows the typical arrangement of a casino table 20 configured for the present game with up to six players and a dealer. The players' positions are indicated by the circles numbered 1-6 along the curved perimeter of the table 20, proceeding counter-clockwise starting on the dealers right. There may be fewer or more player positions, up to eight (the maximum allowable for single-deck poker), depending on the configuration of the table and space available on the casino floor; five or six positions would be the normal number of table positions in most casinos. Conveniently the conventional half-circle casino card game table 20 is used, although other table configurations are suitable depending on the number of players and the ability of each player to see the other players' and dealer's monitor screens showing their hands. Adjacent to the dealer's position is a conventional poker chip rack 26 and a marked area 28 for collection of chips bet into pool pot. [0019] In front of the dealer's position and each of the players' positions is a computer monitor screen 22 or 24 built into the tabletop. All the players' screens 24 have the same configuration, but the dealers screen 22 is significantly different from the players' screens. The dealers screen 22, which is shown in FIG. 2 in its configuration prior to initial dealing of the hands, is a touch control screen which allows the dealer to operate the computer software which controls the play and flow of the game. The upper portion 30 of the dealer's screen, which is closest to the players, shows the cards being played in the dealer's hand. Three of the four lower rows 32, 34, 36, 38 (the control rows) of the dealer's screen 22 are variable and allow the dealer to run the game. In the initial configuration the upper part 30 of the dealer's screen 22, where the cards in play will be shown during the hand, will either be blank or, as illustrated, show the backs of up to five cards. (Alternatively a casino may elect to have some other indicia shown in portion 30 between games, such as the casino logo or promotional material, but such is not recommended because of the likely effect of being distracting to the players as they prepare for the subsequent game.) The first control row 32 below the card display portion 30 shows the control button 40 for starting a new game as well as the lighted indicators 42 and 44 which show, respectively, whether a new game is in progress or the previous game has ended. The second (34), third (36) and fourth (38) control rows on the dealer's screen 22 are divided into the same number of columns as there are positions at the table 20 for potential players (illustrated in this example as six columns and players), with each player's column designated in the second control row 34 by the player's seating position number 1-6. This row 34 of control buttons does not change its appearance; the buttons are normally used to close out a player's position column if no player is seated at that position or a seated player folds during a hand. Below the position number row 34 in each of the columns there is a touch control button in third row 36 for the dealer to signal to the software as to whether or not the respective player wishes to bet on the next card in the player's individual game against the dealer, and another control button in fourth row 38 for the dealer to signal to the software as to whether or not the player wishes to bet on the next card against the other players in the players pot. If there is no player at a particular position the dealer's control buttons for that player's position in the third and fourth rows 36 and 38 show the letter X (or some other "non-playing" indicia such as the casino logo) as illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 2 for convenience in describing the invention there is shown an asterisk for each of the player position control buttons in rows 36 and 38 at the start of the game, but in actual practice there would probably be some decorative indicia shown such as the casino's logo in place of the asterisk. [0020] In the exemplary play of a game described herein, a game with four players present, seated at positions 2-5, is illustrated. Each player's screen 24 prior to dealing of a hand is normally blank or merely shows the backs of up to five cards, as illustrated in FIG. 3. On the table surface above the each of the players' screens in the area indicated as 46 are marked the letter P and below that a row of the numerals 14. The letter P is the marked location for each player to place his or her chips to bet in the player pool and the numbers 1-4 are the marked locations for placing of the ante and the following bets on the successive individual cards dealt in each player's individual game against the dealer. Continue reading... Full patent description for Poker game and apparatus for play thereof Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Poker game and apparatus for play thereof patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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