Amusement devices: games – Card or tile games – cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-07
2003-12-30
Wong, Steven (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Card or tile games, cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669198
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to card games and methods therefor and, more particularly, to a method of playing multiple-draw poker that would provide players with a bonus hand and provide players with the opportunity to progressively build poker hands by duplicating held cards from a previous hand into a new hand.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many card games have been developed over the years for both social and gambling purposes. Poker, with all of its variations, is perhaps the most popular gambling card game. When playing against opponents, the general aim of poker is to collect a five card hand that is superior to opponents' five card hands or to try to bet in such a way (called “bluffing”) as to cause opponents to believe that their hand is inferior and subsequently “fold” (concede or turn in) their hand. In video poker, however, there are often no opponents and therefore no bluffing. Winning at video poker generally means collecting a five card hand of at least a minimum predetermined value.
Many people find that the basic game of poker has become somewhat stale and boring. Attempts have been made to liven up the game in several different ways. In video poker machines, for example, variations on the game of poker exist which cannot be found in casino poker rooms (e.g., wild cards and jokers). In addition, some video poker machines allow the player to play multiple hands of poker simultaneously. In one popular variation known as Triple Play® the player receives three hands of poker. One Triple Play® variation is covered in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,873 issued to Moody. In that variation, after receiving an initial hand of five cards, the player can choose to select as few as zero and as many as all of the five cards as cards to be held. All held cards from the initial hand immediately show up in the remaining two hands. When the player then selects the draw function, the video poker machine completes all three hands up to five cards, making a five card hand in each of the three hands. Similar variations allow as many as 10 hands of poker to be played simultaneously in the same fashion.
However, when playing against opponents in a live game, or playing video poker gaming machines (including Triple Play® and its variations) the player is generally limited to exercising his or her discretion in the selection process only during the initial hand of a single game, and before the player draws cards to complete the hand. The player therefore cannot progressively build future poker hands based on previously completed (i.e., post-draw) poker hands. In Triple Play® and its variations, it is generally only with the initial hand that the player may choose which cards to hold and which cards to discard. After the cards in the initial hand have been selected, those same cards are automatically selected in all remaining hands, eliminating the opportunity for any future selection process in any of the remaining hands which could lead to building progressively better poker hands. For example, in prior art games, if an initial hand in multiple-draw poker includes two Jacks and the player selects them as cards to be held (while at the same time discarding the three other cards) then the second hand and all other subsequent hands will include those same pair of Jacks. In these prior art games, if, in the second hand, the player draws three more cards to complete his or her hand and receives a third Jack (and two other cards of no poker value) this player has no ability to make that third Jack a held card for a third hand, and so on. The prior art does not allow a player to progressively build poker hands by continuing to duplicate cards to be held from previously completed (i.e., after the draw) hands.
Additionally, when a player selects less than five cards according to the Moody patent, not only are those cards duplicated for all remaining hands, but every hand, including the first hand are dealt new cards to complete their hand. However, subsequent hands are more likely to have better poker hands than the initial hand because subsequent hands have the benefit of the best kept cards of the initial hand. Players, therefore, have a greater chance of achieving good poker hands in subsequent hands rather than in the initial hand. Applicant has determined that contrary to the disclosure of the Moody Patent, it is in the player's best interest, therefore, to receive replacement cards for subsequent hands before receiving replacement cards for the initial hand, since one would rather receive a helpful card (e.g., another Jack) in the second hand which could be passed on to the third hand (e.g., which might give the player an opportunity to receive four Jacks for the third hand because the third hand will have received the three Jacks from the second hand) than in the first hand (e.g., which might only give the player for that first hand only three Jacks).
Another popular form of poker is known as Caribbean Stud Poker, in which players compete against the dealer for the best poker hand. The players and the dealer are each dealt five cards, and neither the players nor the dealer are permitted to draw any additional cards. If the player's hand is better than the dealer's hand in Caribbean Stud Poker, the player can be paid a multiple of his or her wager based on the poker hand value of his or her hand (for example, three of a kind typically pays 3 to 1 and a straight flush typically pays 50 to 1.) Unlike classic draw poker, one of the main distinguishing characteristics of Caribbean Stud Poker is its emphasis on the dealt hand, with no possibility of improvement by drawing additional cards. A single dealt hand with no re-draws is a simple way in which one can be paid a multiple of a wager based on a pre-determined list of poker hand values. Currently, the simplicity of Caribbean Stud Poker has not been incorporated into a video or multiple-draw poker game. Applicant has determined that a single, Carribean Stud-like hand of five cards could be dealt as a bonus hand at the end of a multiple-draw poker hand, allowing a player, in addition to trying to win with each one of the draw-poker hands, to receive a single five-card hand that could be paid a multiple of the player's wager or a jackpot payoff for achieving one of a pre-determined list of poker hand values.
A need therefore existed for providing a new, exciting method of playing multiple-draw poker that would provide players with the opportunity to progressively build poker hands by duplicating held cards from a latest completed hand into a new hand while at the same time receiving a bonus hand in the form of a five-card poker hand, with no re-draws, that would enable a player to win a predetermined amount of money (or other prize) based on the poker hand value of the bonus hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a new method for playing multiple-draw poker in which a player has the opportunity to select which cards to hold in each hand of a multiple-draw poker game, and receive replacement cards for subsequent hands, but not for the initial hand until after the replacement cards are received for the subsequent hands.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new method for playing multiple-draw poker in which a player has the opportunity to progressively build poker hands by duplicating held cards from a latest completed hand into a new hand such as from the second hand into the third hand.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new method for playing multiple-draw poker in which a player has the opportunity to wager separate amounts on each hand of a multiple-draw poker game.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a new method for playing multiple-draw poker in which a player receives a “bonus hand” of five cards after receipt of the multiple draw five card hands, thereby enabling the player to be paid a predetermined amount of money or a jackpot payoff based on the poker hand value of the f
Collins Dolores
Weiss Harry M.
Weiss, Moy & Harris P.C.
Wong Steven
LandOfFree
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