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  Poker game methodUSPTO Application #: 20060087082Title: Poker game method Abstract: A method is set forth for playing a Poker game where each player makes a wager and a dealer is dealt N cards and each player is dealt N−1 cards, where N is greater than or equal to 4. The wager placed may be split into a first wager and a second wager. Each player has the option to discard and receive replacements for his best hand of N−1 cards. Replacement cards may be dealt as community cards, with a number of sets of cards being dealt, and the player having the choice of the best set of cards to use. The dealer reveals his hand and assembles the highest ranking hand of N−1 cards which are compared to the player's hand to determine the outcome of wagers placed according to a paytable associated with each wager. Where the wager has been split, the first wager is paid at even money or better, and the second wager is paid at even money or less. If the dealer's hand does not have at least a predetermined ranking, each player is paid based upon each of their wagers at odds based upon the player's hand. The player may make an optional dealer hand wager that the dealer hand will be of a rank below a predetermined ranking. The player may also make a player hand side wager that the player's hand will be one of a predetermined schedule of winning hands. (end of abstract)
Agent: Morishita Law Firm, L.L.C. Suite 850 - Las Vegas, NV, US Inventor: Shenli Ko USPTO Applicaton #: 20060087082 - 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 20060087082. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATION DATA [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/783,670, filed Feb. 20, 2004 by applicant herein, entitled "Poker Game Method" which, in turn, claimed the priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/449,256 filed Feb. 21, 2003, entitled "4Fun Poker (Four Card Draw Poker)" and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/449,310 filed Feb. 21, 2003, entitled "Fun 3 Poker (Three Card Poker)." FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to card games. More specifically, the present invention is a method for conducting a card game against a dealer in which at least one player places a wager and forms a final hand, the dealer forms a final hand, each player receiving a reward for having a final hand outranking the dealer hand. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] There has been a proliferation of new poker derivatives since the advent of Caribbean Stud Poker, described in Suttle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 issued Jun. 6, 1989. In this game, the player makes a first ante wager and a hand of five cards is dealt to the dealer and to each of the players. If the player, after looking at his hand, wants to play, the player places a second bet. If the player wishes to fold, he forfeits his ante wager. The dealer and player hands are then revealed. If the dealer's hand does not have a qualifying holding, e.g. Ace-King or higher, the player is paid on the ante wager and the second wager is returned to the player. If the dealer's hand is at least of the qualifying holding, the player hand and dealer hands are resolved by comparing the rankings. If the dealer hand outranks the player hand, the player loses both bets. If the player hand outranks the dealer hand, he is paid a first amount based upon the ante wager and a second amount based upon the second bet and the ranking of the player hand. [0004] Folding is an option that can be exercised in Caribbean Stud Poker and Three Card Poker (disclosed in Webb, U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774). When the player thinks he has a poor hand, he can fold and forfeit the bet. A Caribbean Stud Poker player will fold 46.97% of the time, almost every other hand. A Three Card Poker player will fold 32.58% of the time, almost one in three hands. Although it is an option that gives the player a chance to cut his loss, it takes all the fun away from the game. [0005] When a player folds, not only will he lose his bet but he also must wait until all other players complete their hands and the dealer resolves their bets. While in a lousy mood and bored, the player sits there hoping the next round will begin soon so that he can win it back. [0006] Also, the fact that the games require risking additional bets may intimidate some conservative players who do not want to put more money on the table. In Three Card Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker, the players must put up one or two additional bets to stay in the game. These players may lose more often than they should because they often deviate from the optimal strategy. [0007] Another problem with Three Card Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker is the dealer hand qualifier. A dealer hand qualifier is built into a game to give the house an edge over the player. In Caribbean Stud Poker the dealer must qualify with an Ace-King, or the dealer cannot open his hand to compete against the player. When the dealer fails to qualify, the player automatically wins the ante and the raise bet pushes. The house edge is obvious. When the dealer gets a poor hand that can be beat most of the time, the dealer won't compete against the player and the player will be paid less. In Three Card Poker the dealer must qualify with a Queen-high or the dealer cannot play against the player. When the dealer fails to qualify, the ante is paid but the "play" bet pushes. It evidently looks unfair if you don't pay or "short pay" the player when they beat you since you take all their money when you beat them. Neither game pays the raise bet when the dealer disqualifies. It spoils the excitement if you don't pay them when they have increased their bet on a good hand that can beat you. [0008] Four Card Poker is a new table game played in some casinos in Mississippi. All players must place an ante wager at the start of each hand. The players are dealt five cards face down and the dealer gets six cards face down. Each player and the dealer will use the best four cards in their hand to make a four-card hand. If the player dislikes his hand, he can fold and forfeit the ante. Otherwise, he must make the play bet in order to stay in the game. Due to the huge advantage the six-card dealer hand has over the five-card player hand, the player has to fold 47.4% of the time, almost every other hand. Also, the player will be stuck with a poor hand since they cannot replace any card to improve it. [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,162 issued Jan. 28, 1997 to Franklin discloses a card game that allows the player to replace one card twice in succession. Each player places a first bet. A dealer deals himself four cards, only the last of which is dealt face-up; the dealer also deals each player three cards. Each player may then elect to stay or trade one of his three cards. Each player may then elect to stay or trade a card again. If the player elects to trade a card, he must place a second bet. Each player hand is then compared to the best three-card hand of the dealer, with the party having the highest hand winning the bet. [0010] There are some drawbacks with this card game. First, trading a card twice not only slows the game down very much but also makes the playing strategy too complex. A slow game will reduce the casino's profit because the time to cycle each hand of play is slowed reducing the amount of money per unit time put at risk in the game. A slow game also annoys the players especially when they are dealt a premium hand and have no patience to wait for other players to complete trading their cards. Second, when trading a card the first time, the player must consider how to "pave the way" for the second trade so that he has a better chance of improving his hand. Consequently, the playing strategy becomes unobvious and difficult to memorize. Third, the fact that the second trade requires risking an additional bet may intimidate some conservative players who do not want to put more money on the table. These players may lose more often than they should because they often deviate from the optimal strategy. Fourth is that novice players may become intimidated by the game and either slow the play or choose not to play at all. [0011] There is an additional drawback with games in which the dealer gets more cards than the player, even where the player is then given a card replacement option. The dealer advantage in such cases is considerable and, even where the player may recoup some of the edge by appropriate paytables, player interest is lost when the dealer wins a large predominance of the hands. A method is needed which allows the player to win a reasonable percentage of the hands, and which still maintains a house advantage which justifies the game to a casino. [0012] There is a need for a game which provides entertainment instead of boredom and frustration. The suspense and excitement aroused during play should never be stripped off of any gambling game. One should try to keep the player in the game to the end. The player should always have a hope that they have a chance to win. [0013] In addition, unlike Blackjack where there is a common "enemy" (the dealer), when a dealer qualifier is required, some players may be hoping the dealer has a hand good enough to qualify, while others want the dealer to have a bad hand, so they can win with their own poor hand. Thus, the camaraderie present in many other games is often missing. [0014] It is an object of the present invention to improve upon the above card games. The game of the present invention does not allow for a second trade nor does it require any additional bet just to stay in the game. In addition, it may enhance player appeal by paying the player automatically when the dealer has a preset poor hand. It may also enhance player appeal by allowing the player: (1) to bet that the dealer will receive a poor hand and (2) to increase their bet against a poor dealer up card. Furthermore, in one embodiment, it will enhance player appeal by letting the player's wager push if the player hand worsens with the replacement cards after trade. Finally, it may enhance player appeal by allowing the player to win a larger percentage of the hands played, using wager bifurcation and specialized paytables to create the proper house edge. [0015] Unlike Three Card Poker where the player's additional raise bet cannot win if the dealer hand is less than queen-high, in the card game of the present invention the player's bet is always in action. Furthermore, if the dealer hand is worse than a predetermined minimum, e.g., 10-high, the dealer automatically loses and all players are paid, potentially at odds greater than 1-to-1. So, the invention can turn a disappointment into a pleasant surprise when both the player hand and the dealer hand are less than 10-high. [0016] Unlike Three Card Poker or Caribbean Stud where the player has no choice but to fold a poor hand, the player of the invention can draw a card to improve his hand. [0017] Unlike any other side bets that do not allow the player to increase his bet once the bet is made, the player not only can double his side bet but they can also do it after seeing a weak dealer up card. This is kind of like doubling down in blackjack, but is more exciting and straightforward because the doubling is on a poor dealer hand without the player hand having to beat the dealer hand to get paid. [0018] Unlike other games in which the dealer wins the vast majority of the hands, under the present invention, the player replacement methodology is such that the player has a substantial probability of winning any given hand. In fact, in some optional embodiments, the player's probability of winning a hand may actually exceed that of the house. [0019] Finally, unlike 5-card games, a game which only involved three cards, particularly where there is a replacement, cannot offer a large jackpot, as the universe of potential hands is not sufficiently large. (While there are nearly 2.6 million five-card hands, there are just over 22 thousand three-card hands.) A method by which additional cards are implicated, thereby justifying a large jackpot, would help create excitement and interest in the game. [0020] The card game of the invention not only is rid of the bad design found in many poker games today, but also adds more fun. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Continue reading... Full patent description for Poker game method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Poker game method 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. 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