PAYTABLE RESOLUTION WITH VARIABLE IN-ROUND PLAYS

Abstract

A card game is played against a pay table, wherein a player receives a partial hand that is preferably completed by community cards, but may be completed by cards dealt directly to a hand or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card. After placement of an ante wager, each player will have an opportunity to place a game wager before receiving another card for the player's hand (whether dealt directly to the player or as a community card revealed to all players). At least some or all game wagers may be an amount within a range of multiples of the player's ante wager. The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community card revealed to the players.

Claims

1. A method of operating a table with a physical deck of cards, a round of the method comprising: after receiving an Ante associated with a player, distributing two cards from the physical deck of cards to form an initial partial player hand; administering three in-round Play events to form a complete player hand, each comprising, absent prior receipt of a fold from the player: receiving from the player an election selected from an option group consisting of: the fold, and a Play selected by the Player from a limited set of multiples consisting of 1, 2, and 3 the Ante; and after receiving the election from the player of the Play, distributing an additional card, from the physical deck of cards, designated as a community card; and after administering the three in-round Play events and forming the complete player hand, resolving all received of the Ante and the Play based on application of the complete player hand to a paytable.

2. The method of claim 1, not comprising distributing any cards for a dealer hand.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the paytable defines winning hand rankings for five-card hands.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the winning hand rankings comprise at least one winning combination of two cards.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one winning combination of two cards comprises face card pairs.

6. A method of operating a table with a deck of physical playing cards, the table bearing a table layout illustrated to define at least one player position with an Ante position and three Play positions, the method comprising: operating the table in a round of the method according to a set of rules defining an ordered combination of steps, the ordered combination of steps comprising: receiving, at the Ante position, at least one physical token for an Ante and to indicate participation by a player in the round; after receiving the at least one physical token for the Ante: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, an initial partial player hand consisting of two cards; and after the player reviews the initial partial player hand, receiving a first player-made election from a first election set consisting of: a fold, and a first Play in the form of at least one first other physical token occupying a first of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of first Play multiples consisting of 1, 2, and 3 the Ante; after receiving the first player-made election of the first Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a first community card; and receiving a second player-made election from a second election set consisting of: the fold, and a second Play in the form of at least one second other physical token occupying a second of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of second Play multiples consisting of 1, 2, and 3 the Ante; after receiving the second player-made election of the second Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a second community card; and receiving a third player-made election from a third election set consisting of: the fold, and a third Play in the form of at least one third other physical token occupying a third of the three Play positions and of an amount from a limited set of third Play multiples consisting of 1, 2, and 3 the Ante; and after receiving the third player-made election of the third Play: distributing, from the deck of physical playing cards, a third community card to complete a player hand; and resolving, against only a paytable, all received of the Ante, the first Play, the second Play, and the third Play.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein resolving, against only the paytable, all received of the Ante, the First Play, the Second Play, and the third Play is not preceded by distribution of cards available for a dealer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines at least one winning hand ranking based on a two-card combination.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the first player-made election from the first election set comprises receiving the first player-made election after identifying the initial partial player hand as meeting at least one of the at least one winning hand rankings.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines a plurality of odds-based payouts.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the paytable defines five-card winning hand rankings.

12. A method of operating a player-versus-paytable token collecting game with a deck of physical playing cards initially comprising 52 physical playing cards, the method comprising: providing a physical table layout designating player positions and a dealer position, each of the player positions visually defining an Ante position and three Play positions; and operating the player-versus paytable token collecting game in a round of the method according to a set of rules, the round comprising: receiving, from a player in the Ante position, at least one physical token as an Ante; dealing, on the physical table layout and from the deck of physical playing cards, two cards designated for the player and forming an initial partial player hand; after the player reviews the initial partial player hand, administering a plurality of Play events each comprising: receiving, from the player an election, chosen by the player, from a fold and Play amounts of 1, 2, and 3 the Ante; and after receiving the election of a Play of one of the Play amounts, dealing, on the physical table layout and from the deck of physical playing cards, one additional card designated as a community card and available to complete a player hand; and after completing the player hand from the initial partial player hand and the community cards dealt during the administration of the plurality of Play events, resolving all received of the Ante and the Play comprising applying the player hand against a paytable.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein administering the plurality of Play events comprises providing the player an opportunity to add Play amounts totaling up to 9 the Ante.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the physical table layout defining player positions comprises providing the physical table layout defining six of the player positions.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein administering a plurality of Play events comprises administering three of the Play events, absent prior receipt of the fold.

16. The method of claim 12, not comprising dealing, on the physical table layout, any dealer cards from the deck of physical playing cards.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the paytable defines winning hand rankings for a five-card hand.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the paytable defines at least one of the winning hand rankings based on only two cards of the five-card hand.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the paytable defines winning payouts for the player hand comprising at least a face-card pair.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0019] In the drawing, which illustrates what is currently considered to be the best mode for carrying out the invention:

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a table layout 2 for a game according to one embodiment of the present teachings. The table layout 2 is shown with an example of six player positions 4, with each player position 4 having a set of wager positions 6 comprising at least an ante wager position 8 and three play bet wager positions 14. Each player position has at least a card receiving area 10 and the dealer position has a community card receiving area 12. Rules of the game and payout tables are shown as an optional area 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] There are at least some generic elements and combinations of elements of play within the scope of the game and technology disclosed. An exemplary card game is played only against a pay table. In other forms of the invention, additional side bets against a dealer hand are played simultaneously with the game against a pay table, as described below. The pay table may be against only a final hand (e.g., best five-card hand out of five, six or seven cards), or may be against intermediate hands as well as the final hand (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,988,643; 6,206,780; 6,705,943; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/815,181, filed Mar. 22, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,522, issued Feb. 13, 2007; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,015, filed Jun. 23, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,799, issued Jul. 24, 2007; and Ser. No. 10/646,670, filed Aug. 22, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,514, issued Jan. 17, 2006), the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0022] In the play of the present games, the players placing at least an ante wager (e.g., bonus, play against a dealer hand and/or jackpot wagers may be separately placed, but need not be compulsory) and receive a partial hand. By a partial hand is meant that in the play of the game, additional cards are available or necessary to complete a final hand in the game. The partial hand is preferably completed by community cards (but may be completed by additional cards dealt directly to a hand, dealer cards, randomly generated virtual cards, additional bonus cards or a combination of cards dealt directly to a hand and at least one community card or wild card). Community cards are cards dealt and displayed on the table that are used by all players in the construction of intermediate and final hands.

[0023] After placement of an ante wager and review of only their initial partial hands, each player will have an opportunity to place a first game or play wager before receiving another card for the player's hand (whether dealt directly to the player, assigned as a community card revealed to all players or assigned otherwise such as by random display of a virtual card). At least some or all game wagers (including the first game wager) may be an amount within a range of multiples that may be chosen from the range by the player (such as within a range of one times, two times, three times, four times, or five times or higher times or fractional times the amount of the ante wager). It is possible to allow the player to pass, making no wager and yet remain in the game, but this is less preferred. The range of wagers may remain the same or vary with the number of dealt cards or community cards revealed to the players. For example, the first play wager may be any of one times to five times, or only one times to two times, and a second play wager (later discussed) may be limited to the size of the first play wager actually made, or may again be one times to five times, only one times to two times, or only one times or two times according to the house rules.

[0024] One series of play elements in the game described herein could be practiced as follows. A method of playing a casino table card game against a pay table comprises a player placing a first ante wager to play the card game against the pay table. In one example of the game, five-card poker rankings are used as the basis of constructing the pay table. The player receives an initial partial player's hand of cards, which the player views. Ordinarily, the initial partial hand of cards comprises enough cards to give the player at least a feeling or some basis for evaluating the potential quality of the final player's hand. This will usually require the player to view at least two cards, although if no play wager is required before receiving at least a first additional card after receiving the initial partial player's hand, a single card may be initially dealt. The player reviews the initial partial player's hand and makes an election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place an additional wager (either preferably a compulsory wager or less preferred an optional wager) before seeing any additional cards used to complete the initial partial player's hand. The player, after executing his decision, then views at least one first additional card from a set of additional cards to only partially complete the initial partial player's hand, forming a second partial player's hand.

[0025] The additional play wager, before seeing the first additional card, is selected by the player from a preferred range of amounts comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager. The method would then allow viewing the at least one first additional card as viewing a first additional, or preferably, a first community card. After placing the additional play wager and viewing the first community card, the player makes a second election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place a second additional wager before seeing any second additional card used to complete or partially complete the second initial partial player's hand. The second additional wager is again preferably selected by the player from a range of amounts comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager, although as indicated above, different ranges or limits may be imposed based upon other events or other rules, but there should still be an optional range available to the player. Again, it is preferred that viewing at least one second additional card comprises viewing a second community card. After placing the second additional wager and viewing the second community card, the player makes a third election to fold, to stay with no additional wager, or to place a third additional wager before seeing any third additional card used to complete the initial partial player's hand. The third additional wager is again selected by the player from a range of amounts, for example, comprising one times, two times, and three times the ante wager.

[0026] The preferred game is played with two initial cards in the players' initial partial hands. There may then be three, four, or five community cards, with three community cards being preferred (as four and five cards would allow for a very high rank hand to be completed with one or two wagers still remaining, forming a five-card poker hand). The cards may be revealed one at a time or multiple cards at a time (especially with four or five community cards) to control the number of play wagers that may be available in the game. For example, with three community cards, there could be three play wagers when cards are revealed one card at a time, or two play wagers when a single card is revealed before one play wager (e.g., before the first or second play wager) and two cards are revealed before another play wager (e.g., before the second or first play wager, respectively). After the hand is complete (assuming that the player has placed all wagers necessary to remain in the game until conclusion of the disclosure of all community cards), all wagers are resolved against at least one pay table. There may be a single pay table (preferred) for all wagers, or different pay tables for each wager. The ante wager may be paid at 1:1 if the player remains in the game until the revelation of the community cards is complete, or if the player attains at least a minimum hand (which may be less than the minimum hand on a typical pay table, such as an A-K), or may be paid at the pay table rate as are the other wagers.

[0027] An example of a pay table with two initial cards and three community cards revealed one at a time could be as follows:

TABLE-US-00001 PAY TABLE I FINAL HAND PAYOUT ODDS ROYAL FLUSH 100:1 STRAIGHT FLUSH 50:1 FOUR OF A KIND 12:1 FULL HOUSE 7:1 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE OF A KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1 PAIR OF SIXES OR BETTER 1:1

[0028] Another example of a pay table for the ante wager and the play wagers, with two initial player cards and three community cards revealed, first one card and then both cards could be:

TABLE-US-00002 PAY TABLE II FINAL HAND PAYOUT ODDS ROYAL FLUSH 150:1 STRAIGHT FLUSH 70:1 FOUR OF A KIND 15:1 FULL HOUSE 8:1 FLUSH 5:1 STRAIGHT 4:1 THREE OF A KIND 3:1 TWO PAIR 2:1 PAIR OF SIXES OR BETTER 1:1

[0029] In addition to these pay tables, as noted before, the payout for the ante wager may be different than for the remaining wagers. In addition, there may be an automatic ante bonus payout (one times or two times) for any initial pair in the first two cards.

[0030] The following example will show the physical steps of an exemplary play of a game of the present invention.

[0031] A game played according to the following teachings herein is referred to as MISSISSIPPI STUD poker, which is a casino table card game that can also be played on a video system, a home computer, on a multiplayer platform gaming system, as a hand-held practice game, or as a game offered on the Internet. The game is essentially a five-card stud poker game played against a pay table, with specific rules and game play elements. There is no player versus dealer competition.

Example 1

[0032] There are four players at a gaming table. Each player places an initial ante wager of $10, $10, $25, and $50, respectively, and the following initial two card hands are dealt to each player, with their initial decisions on play wagers shown beneath the hands. In Example 1, the players may make play bets up to three times the ante, according to house rules. The three (3) community cards may be dealt at this time, face down.

TABLE-US-00003 Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10 10 6 4 J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. A 9 $30 (3X) Fold, no play wager $50 (2X) $50 (1X)

[0033] Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0034] Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the hand being improved.

[0035] Player 3 has a good working hand, with two high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight. Player 3 places an intermediate play wager of two times the ante.

[0036] Player 4 has a decent working hand, with two cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win. Player 4, however chooses to make a play wager that is one times the ante.

[0037] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and it is a K.diamond-solid.. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table:

TABLE-US-00004 Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 + $50 $25 + $25 10 10 K.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid.9 $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $25 (1X)

[0038] Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0039] Player 2 has folded.

[0040] Player 3 has a good working hand, with three high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair. Player 3 chooses a play bet that is three times the ante.

[0041] Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with three cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. Player 4 makes a play wager of one times the ante.

[0042] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and it is a 10.diamond-solid.. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

TABLE-US-00005 Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4 $75 10.diamond-solid. 10 10 K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. 9 $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $50 (1X)

[0043] Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0044] Player 2 has folded.

[0045] Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with four high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair. Player 3 wagers three times the ante, hoping for a very big payout.

[0046] Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with four cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet. He bets one times the ante.

[0047] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the third community card is dealt, and it is a Q. The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in the following table.

TABLE-US-00006 Player 1 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 Player 3 $225 Player 4 $125 10.diamond-solid. 10 10 10.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. 9 K.diamond-solid. Q K.diamond-solid. Q Q $300 (3X) Won Folded $225 (1X) Won $0 All Bets Lost

[0048] As can be seen, Player 1 has won three times each of his wagers (in an amount of $100) with three of a kind; Player 2 lost his initial ante wager of $10; Player 3 still won $225, even though the potential very high hand was not achieved; and Player 4 lost $125, as the hand did not end up with a pair of sixes or higher. The three times multiple was taken from Pay Table I above.

Example 2

[0049] An optional format is for there to be two community cards and either a wild card (the presence of which would necessitate a change in the pay table to lower payouts) or an individual additional card dealt to each hand. In this form of the game, the player can bet up to three times the ante.

[0050] The game will otherwise be played similarly, using much the same beginning cards as in Example 1. There are four players at a gaming table. Each player places an initial ante wager of $10, $10, $25, and $50, respectively, and the following initial two-card hands are dealt to each player, with their initial decisions on play wagers shown beneath the hands. The two (2) community cards may be dealt at this time, face down, and the final card for each is retained in the dealing shoe or shuffler, to be delivered after the two community cards are exposed.

TABLE-US-00007 Player 1 $10 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $25 Player 4 $50 10 10 6 4 J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. A 9 $30 (3X) Fold, no play wager $50 (2X) $50 (1X)

[0051] Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0052] Player 2 will fold, as there is an extremely low likelihood of the hand being improved.

[0053] Player 3 has a good working hand, with two high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight.

[0054] Player 4 has a decent working hand, with two cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win.

[0055] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the first community card is dealt, and it is a K.diamond-solid.. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

TABLE-US-00008 Player 1 Player 3 Player 4 $10 + $10 Player 2 $10 $25 + $50 $25 + $25 10 10 K.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid. 9 $30 (3X) Folded $75 (3X) $25 (1X)

[0056] Player 1 will make the maximum wager, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0057] Player 2 has folded.

[0058] Player 3 has a good working hand, with three high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair.

[0059] Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with three cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

[0060] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the second community card is dealt, and it is a 10.diamond-solid.. The hands of the players and their next wagers are shown in the following table.

TABLE-US-00009 Player 1 $70 Player 2 $10 Player 3 $150 Player 4 $75 10.diamond-solid. 10 10 10.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. 9 $30 (3X) Folded $75 (7X) $50 (1X)

[0061] Player 1 will make a maximum wager equal to three times the ante, as his hand is a guaranteed win on all wagers.

[0062] Player 2 has folded.

[0063] Player 3 has an excellent working hand, with four high cards, in suit, and a base for a straight, a flush, a straight flush or a royal flush, as well as a high pair.

[0064] Player 4 still has a decent working hand, with four cards above the minimum pairs needed for a win, but no winning hand yet.

[0065] After all of these wagers have been made (and without yet resolving the automatic win for player 1), the third additional card is dealt to each player's hand, and the individual cards are shown below in the table. The hands of the players and their next awards are shown in the following table.

TABLE-US-00010 Player 1 $100 Bet Player 2 $10 Player 3 $225 Bet Player 4 $125 Bet 10.diamond-solid. 10 10 K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. J.diamond-solid. Q.diamond-solid. K.diamond-solid. 9.diamond-solid. A K.diamond-solid. 10.diamond-solid. 9 6 Q $300 (3X) Won Folded $11,225 (50X) $0 All Bets Lost Won

[0066] As can be seen, Player 1 has won three times each of his wagers with three of a kind; Player 2 lost his initial ante wager of $10; Player 3 has won $11,225, with a straight flush achieved; and Player 4 lost $125, as the hand did not end up with a pair of sixes or higher.

[0067] If a wild card were present in the deck, either as a potential community card or as an individual card, the pay tables would have to be significantly altered to accommodate the likelihood of more winning hands and higher winning hands. For example, in the above case, if the third community card had been a wild card, Player 1 would have had a four of a kind, Player 3 would have had a royal flush, and Player 4 would have had a pair of aces.

[0068] One specific mode of play of a game within the concepts described herein includes events where after placing an ante wager, the players receive two cards face down (which they may view) and then three community cards are dealt face down. The players may view their hands to decide the likelihood of success of their hand against the pay table, and may fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, a first and second of the three community cards is revealed. The players then analyze their hands in combination with the revealed first and second community cards, and may again fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, a third of the three community cards is revealed. The players then analyze their hands in combination with the three revealed community cards, and may again fold or place a wager of from one times to three times the amount of the ante wager. After all players at the table have acted on their individual decisions, the third of the three community cards is revealed. This offers the opportunity on certain of the wagers to make wagers on hands that are known to be winning events. It also offers an opportunity for as much as an additional seven times the ante to be wagered during the course of the game (one times+three times+three times).

[0069] As previously noted, the present games and rules may be played as a live casino table card game, as a hybrid casino table card game (with virtual cards or virtual chips), on a multi-player platform (as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/764,827; 10/764,994 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,676, issued Feb. 16, 2010); and Ser. No. 10/764,995, all filed on Jan. 26, 2004, which applications are incorporated herein by reference), on a personal computer for practice, on a hand-held game for practice or on a legally authorized site on the Internet.

[0070] Although specific rules, steps, numbers of cards and the like have been presented at various points in this disclosure, those specific examples are not intended to limit the generic concepts disclosed and described herein. Those examples are not intended to be limiting, but supportive of the generic concepts disclosed and claimed.