Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

System and method for playing community hand poker games utilizing dealer qualifying criteria

System and method for playing community hand poker games utilizing dealer qualifying criteria description/claims

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/412,257 filed on Apr. 27, 2006, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/686,020 filed Oct. 15, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,468 issued on May 16, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

This invention relates in general to card games, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for facilitating play of a poker game utilizing community cards and dealer qualification criteria that impact the manner in which the game proceeds.

Card games such as poker have long been enjoyed by people as a means for entertainment. The popularity of casino gambling with wagering continues to increase, both in live table versions as well as electronic/computer-based casino gaming machines. Whether played in a gaming environment, or in a non-wagering environment such as a computer game, society's fascination with card games and gaming activity is unfaltering.

In one traditional cardroom poker game, players gather to compete against each other, by waging bets that their poker hand will have a higher poker rank than the other players' hands. The highest poker rank in each played hand is the winner of the hand, and if bets were made, the winner collects the bets made by the losing players for that hand.

Other table games are similar in that players place their bets, and the player with the winning hand wins the pot. One such poker game is known as “Hold'em,” where each player at the table is dealt, face-down, a hand of two cards. After a betting round, the dealer turns face-up three communal cards known as the “flop.” Bets are made, and additional communal cards are turned face-up, ultimately exposing the entire communal card hand known as the “board.” Thus, each of the players uses his/her two-card face-up hand in connection with the board to determine the resulting poker rank, and the highest poker rank identifies the winner of the hand. The winner collects the pot.

Hold'em is among the most popular, if not the most popular, live poker game played today. It would therefore be desirable to provide a manner of simulating such games in a casino environment involving a dealer, and also to provide a new game involving additional excitement and anticipation, and more intricate and interesting betting strategies. The present invention provides such a poker game, and offers other advantages over existing poker games.

To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses an apparatus and method for participating in a card game utilizing starting hands and community hands, and implementing qualifying criteria for dealer hands where the qualifying criteria at least in part dictates the manner in which the game proceeds.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for playing a card game. Such a method may be played in a live table version or in electronic embodiments. The method includes dealing a starting hand to a player(s) and to the dealer, where each starting hand represents a potential portion of a resulting poker hand. A bet is placed by the player. It is determined whether the dealer's starting hand meets certain qualifying criteria. If so, the dealer places a bet (e.g., calls the bet, physically presents a bet, etc.) responsive to the player's bet, and the dealer deals a community hand. A player poker rank for the player's resulting poker hand is determined, where the player's resulting poker hand is derived from cards including the player's starting hand and the community hand. Similarly, a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand is determined, where the dealer's resulting poker hand is derived from cards including the dealer's starting hand and the community hand. A winning poker is hand is identified among the player's resulting poker hand and the dealer's resulting poker hand. Such a method may analogously be applied to any number of players participating in the game.

In more particular embodiments of such a method, the player and dealer starting hands are provided as two-card starting hands, and the community hand is provided as a five-card community hand. This, however, is not a requirement, as the number of cards associated with the starting hands and/or community hand may be adjusted as desired. Further, determining the player poker rank for the player's resulting poker hand may involve determining a player poker rank for a five-card player resulting poker hand derived from the player's two-card starting hand and the five-card community hand, and determining the dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand may involve determining a dealer poker rank for a five-card dealer resulting poker hand derived from the dealer's two-card starting hand and the five-card community hand. The winning poker hand may be identified by determining the highest poker rank of the player poker rank and the dealer poker rank. In other particular embodiments of such a method, initial bets or “ante” bets are placed by the player(s) and by the dealer prior to dealing the starting hands. In such case, the dealer/player with the winning poker hand collects the bets and antes. The player may have the opportunity to forgo placing the bet and consequently the opportunity to obtain a player's resulting poker hand, i.e. the player folds, in which case the player's ante is forfeited. The dealer does not place a post-ante bet and does not have the opportunity to stay in the game to obtain a dealer's resulting poker hand if the dealer's starting hand does not meet the qualifying criteria, in which case the dealer forfeits the dealer's ante.

In still other particular embodiments of such a method, the player may place a fixed bet of a predetermined amount. In other embodiments, placing a bet by the player involves wagering, by the player, one of a number of wager amounts available to the player. For example, in one embodiment, the player can select one of a number of fixed bets each associated with a particular predetermined amount. In such cases, some embodiments of the invention involve establishing different qualifying criteria dependent on the wager amount selected by the player. For example, the qualifying criteria may include a qualifying poker rank, where establishing different qualifying criteria involves increasing the qualifying poker rank relative to an increase in the player's wager amounts. Such a “relative” increase does not necessarily mean the increase in qualifying poker rank has to be precisely proportional to the increase in the player's wager amount (although it may be), but rather indicates that generally the qualifying poker rank will increase as the player's wager amount increases. An example would be that the qualifying poker rank may increase as the player's wager amount increases from $5 to $15, but the qualifying poker rank may increase at, for example, five dollar increments rather than precisely mathematically proportional (although such an embodiment may be feasible and/or practical in an electronic embodiment).

In still other embodiments of such a method, the player may be awarded with bonus amounts, based on the poker rank of the player's resulting hand. For example, one or more predetermined poker ranks may be identified as bonus levels, where each of these predetermined poker ranks is associated with a particular bonus payout. When the player's resulting hand reaches one of the bonus levels, the player may be awarded a bonus amount corresponding to that bonus level.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for electronically providing a card game. A player starting hand and a dealer starting hand are displayed to the player, where each starting hand includes one or more cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand. A bet is placed by the player, such as via a user interface. It is determined whether the “virtual” dealer's starting hand meets certain qualifying criteria, and if so, the virtual dealer calls the player's bet and presents a community hand. A player poker rank for the player's resulting poker hand is determined, where the player's resulting poker hand is derived from cards including the player's starting hand and the community hand. Similarly, a dealer poker rank for the virtual dealer's resulting poker hand is determined, where the dealer resulting poker hand is derived from cards including the virtual dealer's starting hand and the community hand. A winning poker hand is identified among the player's resulting poker hand and the virtual dealer's resulting poker hand.

In another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for playing a game, where initial bets such as antes are placed by the player(s) and the dealer. The method involves, dealing a two-card starting hand to the player(s) and dealer, where each two-card starting hand represents a potential portion of a resulting poker hand. The method further involves placing a second bet by the player; if the player opts to remain in the card game based on the player's two-card starting hand. It is determined whether the dealer's two-card starting hand meets predetermined qualifying criteria, and if so, placing a second bet by the dealer in response to the player's second bet, and dealing a multi-card community hand. A player poker rank for the player's resulting poker hand is determined, which is derived from the player's two-card starting hand and the multi-card community hand. Similarly, a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand is determined, which is derived from the dealer's two-card starting hand and the multi-card community hand. A winning poker hand is identified between the player's resulting poker hand and the dealer's resulting poker hand, where the winning poker hand is based on the highest poker rank between the player poker rank and the dealer poker rank.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a computer-implemented poker apparatus is provided for allowing player participation in a card game. The poker apparatus includes a display device to display player and dealer starting hands, each of which include one or more cards representing a potential portion of corresponding player and dealer resulting poker hands. The apparatus includes a user interface to accept an ante bet by the player, and to accept a second bet placed by the player if the player chooses to continue in the card game. A processing system is configured to determine whether the dealer starting hand meets qualifying criteria, and if so, to call the player's second bet and cause the display device to display a community hand. The processing system is further configured to determine a player poker rank for the player's resulting poker hand derived from the player starting hand and the community hand, and to determine a dealer poker rank for the virtual dealer's resulting poker hand derived from the dealer starting hand and the community hand. Further, the processing system is configured to identify a winning poker hand between the player's resulting poker hand and the virtual dealer's resulting poker hand. The processing system can then settle bets. Such a poker apparatus may be provided via a casino gaming machine housing the display device, user interface, and processing system, or other computing-based system including a desktop computer, workstation, etc.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for playing a card game, where multiple community hands are concurrently played. The method involves dealing a starting hand to at least one player and to the dealer, where each starting hand includes one or more cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand. A bet is placed by the player for each concurrent hand desired for participation. It is determined whether the dealer's starting hand meets qualifying criteria, and if so, a responsive bet is placed by the dealer and multiple community hands are dealt. Different community hands are dealt for each of the concurrent games to which the player is participating. The player poker ranks for each resulting poker hand are determined, using each of the multiple community hands in connection with the player's starting hand. Similarly, dealer poker ranks are determined for each resulting poker hand, using each of the multiple community hands in connection with the dealer's starting hand. A plurality of winning poker hands are identified based on the player resulting poker hands and corresponding dealer resulting poker hands.

These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described various examples in accordance with the invention.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws