Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a game requiring strategy or problem solving by a...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-17
2003-06-03
Argenbright, Tony M. (Department: 3747)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a game requiring strategy or problem solving by a...
C463S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06572470
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus and method for playing a card game.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Card games are a very popular form of entertainment and are sometimes played for money by players known as gamblers or “punters”. Cards may also be played for social relaxation purposes.
There are a number of card games which can be played for money, and examples of these games include bridge, poker, blackjack and euchre. Typically such games are often played with five or six people.
Card games played for monetary gain are often played through regulated gambling organisations, such as in licensed casinos. However, in recent years with the emergence of the Internet, a number of web sites have been developed which facilitate the ability for punters to gamble on line.
Additionally, gambling with card games, can also be facilitated using machines which are provided with computer chips that simulate “virtual” card games such as poker, on a display. Such devices are known colloquially as “pokie” machines.
Pokie machines allow a punter to wager money by inserting money into a slot provided in the machine, afterwhich the punter then pushes a button to randomly draw a hand of virtual cards. If the draw is a winning combination of cards, then the punter receives money from the machine, otherwise the money wager is kept by the machine.
Pokie machines usually does not allow the player to have an option to choose which of a range of different hands, they would like to wager money on and hence such machines do not test a punter's ability to estimate which combination of cards is likely to generate a win.
The applicant does not concede that the prior art discussed in this specification forms part of the common general knowledge in the art at the priority date of this application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a virtual card game that may provide an enjoyable playing experience to one or more players.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for playing a virtual card game on a computer, with one or more players, the method including the steps of:
(A) providing a central processing unit having;
(i) means to define a virtual deck of cards:
(ii) means to set up a series of quality combinations according to a predefined set of game criteria which a given hand must achieve in order to win, each hand comprising a predetermined number of cards;
(iii) means to deal from the deck, a plurality of hands of cards;
(iv) means to determine whether any hand has achieved a quality combination, and if not, assessing for each hand, which cards in that hand best assist the hand in achieving one or more of said quality combinations;
(v) means to discard from each hand, the cards which do not assist in achieving one of the said quality combinations;
(vi) means to establish a betting value for each hand based on the likelihood of that hand achieving a said quality combination when the discarded cards are replaced with new cards from the deck;
(vii) means to replace the discarded cards for each hand;
(B) providing at least one display device connected to the central processing unit for displaying the plurality of hands to one or more of the players;
wherein, the steps (iii) to (vii) are repeated by the central processing unit until at least one hand achieves a quality combination.
Advantageously the method includes a further step of providing a bet input means connected to the central processing unit, for allowing the players to input a bet based on the betting value of one or more of the hands.
Optionally, a win based on the betting value is paid to those players which bet on the hand which achieves the highest value of these hands which achieve a quality combination, and in which the bets for the other hands collected from the players. In such an embodiment, the bet input means may be a display board having areas marked thereon, which represent each of the hands and on which a value of money can be placed.
A win based on the betting value may be paid to those players which bet on the hand which achieves a highest value of the plurality of hands based upon the quality combinations. The bets for the other hands may be collected from the players.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for playing a virtual card game with one or more players, the apparatus including:
(A) a central processing unit having;
(i) means to define a virtual deck of cards;
(ii) means to set up a series of quality combinations according to a predefined set of game criteria which a given hand must achieve in order to win, each hand comprising a predetermined number of cards;
(iii) means to deal from the deck, a plurality of hands of cards;
(iv) means to determine whether any hand has achieved a quality combination, and if not, assessing for each hand, which cards in that hand, best assist the hand in achieving one or more of said quality combinations;
(v) means to discard from each hand, the cards which do not assist in achieving one of the said quality combinations;
(vi) means to establish a betting value for each hand based on the likelihood of that hand achieving a said quality combination when the discarded cards are replaced with new cards from the deck;
(vii) means to replace the discarded cards for each hand;
(B) at least one display device connected to the central processing unit for displaying the plurality of hands to one or more of the players;
wherein, the means (iii) to (vii) are repeated by the central processing unit until at least one hand achieves a quality combination.
Advantageously the apparatus may include a bet input means connected to the central processing unit, for allowing the players to input a bet based on the betting value of one or more of the hands.
Optionally a win based on the betting value is paid to those players which bet on the hand which achieves the highest value of the plurality hands which achieve a quality combination, and in which the bets for the other hands collected from the players.
One or more players may be able to view the plurality of hands from their own display device which may be may be connected to the central processing unit via a computer network such as the Internet.
Preferably the discarded cards are returned to the deck prior to the deck betting value for each hand being established. The cards in the deck are preferably shuffled, that is, the portion of the cards in the deck is randomised, prior to cards being drawn from the deck at any stage.
The win may be calculated by multiplying the bet by the betting value.
The bets collected for the hands which do not win can be kept by a game facilitator. If however, there were no bets made by a player for the winning hand, then all bets are kept by the game facilitator.
A value of money may be used to place the bet, such as cash or money tokens, but could equally be a numerical value which may or may not be representative of actual money.
Advantageously the deck of cards consists of a visual representation of a pack of 52 playing cards of the type 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Jack, Queen, King, and Ace and being of the following suites: spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts. The deck may comprise a plurality of such packs.
Advantageously the quality combinations for a particular hand includes any one of the following:
(1) any five cards in sequence and defined as a “straight”
(2) any five cards of the same suit and defined as a “flush”
(3) any five cards sequence of the same suit and defined as a “straight flush”
(4) three cards of the same kind and a pair and defined as a “full house”
(5) four cards of the same kind and defined as “four of a kind”
In a preferred embodiment, an Ace is not recognised as a one in a hand of cards, hence there is no straight set for a hand of cards comprising: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Preferably there are 2 to 8 hands for which a random selection of virtual cards is made at (iii). More preferably there are 6 hands for which a random selection of virtual cards is made at (
Argenbright Tony M.
Famularo Kevin James
Merchant & Gould P.C.
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