Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a game requiring strategy or problem solving by a...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-21
2001-05-08
O'Neill, Michael (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a game requiring strategy or problem solving by a...
C463S012000, C463S020000, C273S292000, C273S309000, C273S14300R, C273S274000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227969
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to games, including games where symbols are assigned to a player in the play of a game, particularly card games, and more particularly to side bet games which are played in conjunction with primary or underlying games such as poker, whether in a live game or in a video game.
2. Background of the Art
Games have been played throughout history in which symbols are assigned to players, with symbols of particular rank or relationship determining relative value or strength of a player's position within play of the game. Such games include games of chance including the use of instrumentalities such as dice, tiles, cards, spinning wheels and reels (as in slot machines). The advent of computers and associated monitors and their use within the gaming industry has provided essentially unlimited potential for the expansion of games into different instrumentalities as well as providing the older, traditional instrumentalities in a different format. For example, many of the games of chance played with physical instrumentalities are now played in video format, such games including Mah Jong, blackjack, craps, virtual reel slots, dominoes, poker, and games invented specifically for play on video screens.
Many versions of video draw poker have been around for years. Essentially, all electronic versions are played as follows, with minor variations: Five cards are dealt faceup to the player, the cards typically being randomly drawn from a single deck of fifty-two cards. The player selects which cards he or she likes, and discards the rest. To help in executing this selection, there are five “hold/cancel” buttons, one associated with each card position. The player selects a card to keep by pressing the hold/cancel button. If for some reason the player wants to change the card selection, he or she presses the hold/cancel button again. The player selects from zero cards to a maximum of five cards to be replaced in a five card originally dealt hand. The word “hold” is written on the video screen adjacent to (usually above) each selected card. The player discards the cards not indicated as on “hold” by pressing a draw or draw/deal button. New randomly selected cards from the residue of the fifty-two card deck are used to replace the discarded cards. After the player discards, certain final hands result in awards of money or credits. Posted pay tables determine the amount of player wins.
Manufacturers and casinos actively look for new and better versions of games such as video draw poker to maintain the interest of existing players and to introduce new players to exciting variations of the basic game. Some changes that have been tried include at least the following. Jokers and wild cards have been added to the card deck to enable higher hit frequencies for larger value hands to stimulate play. Some versions of video poker allow players to play double-or-nothing with all or a portion of awards after a winning hand. A “Second Chance” game, from Bally Manufacturing, allows the player to make another bet after the original round of card play has concluded. The player obtains one additional (sixth) card with a second chance to win.
Live house banked poker games, also termed pit poker games have encountered a significant revitalization at casinos. Part of the revival is the introduction of varieties of stud and draw poker games and progressive jackpots. Progressive jackpots are represented in the general casino gaming literature in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041; 5,377,973; 5,584,485; and 5,626,341 and specifically to games of Twenty-One in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,077; 5,364,105; and 5,577,731. The underlying theme in the progressive jackpot games is that separate bets are initially made in an underlying game and a side wager on the appearance in the wagering player's hand of a predetermined arrangement of cards. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,964 and 5,795,225 describes a method and apparatus for including a jackpot component as an additional feature in a live casino game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,744 describes a new poker game, specifically a poker game with a draw or card replacement step, in a video game where a specific card is “zapped” or eliminated and a replacement provided, even if it is the intent of the player to zap or replace more than a single card. Rather than committing all cards to replacement, a decision may be made on each card in the sequence of zap and replace. This may provide the player with an option of changing strategies as each replacement card is dealt.
To increase the excitement and entertainment of the player and to offer games to the player, side bet games have been developed, both for live gaming and for video gaming. In some situations, awards for the side bet games may be independent of the rank of the dealt hand in the primary game. A common feature in some poker games is the addition of a progressive jackpot, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041; 5,377,973; 5,584,485; and 5,626,341 and specifically to games of Twenty-One in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,077; 5,364,105; and 5,577,731. These patents generally show that a progressive, and possibly much higher value jackpot, may be won by a player by making a separate and independent wager at the beginning of the primary game (before cards are dealt). This separate wager is won if predetermined arrangements of cards, such as certain poker hands of rated value (usually at least three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush and royal flush), are achieved in the play of the hand. The highest progressive jackpot value is usually won when the player obtains a royal flush, either with the cards in a specific order (e.g., A K Q J 10, also referred to as a “positional win”) or in a random order (e.g., with the cards A K Q J 10 appearing in any arrangement or order). With the separate bet being placed, the jackpot or special award for the player achieving a rated (higher value) hand is paid in addition to awards won in the play of the primary game. This separate wager, however, is still won only when the player exhibits a hand with a relatively high poker value. A predetermined arrangement of cards which is independent of play in the underlying game could be, for example, a rank of a poker hand achieved in the play of a hand of Twenty-One, four aces in a Twenty-One game, or a Twenty-One point count total achieved in a poker hand. An example of a predetermined arrangement of cards which is dependent upon play of the underlying game could be, for example, specific ranks of poker hands (e.g., four-of-a-kind or straight flush) achieved during play of an underlying poker game.
Another type of gaming feature is shown in video poker with the side bet game of “Double Down.” In this type of video poker or electronic poker, after a winning hand is achieved, a player may make a further wager of part or all of the award from the play of the primary game. This further wager may be made, for example, against an arrangement of five cards which appears identical to the back of five cards to be dealt in a five stud poker hand. If the further wager is made, the game is played as follows. Usually the first card (as counted from the left of the five cards whose backs only are displayed) is turned face-up after the wager is made, this card becoming the dealer's or the house's hand. The player may then select any single card from among the four cards which remain face-down, attempting to select a card having a higher face value than the dealer's card or the house's hand. If the card selected by the player exceeds the value of the dealer's card, the wager (an even money bet) is won by the player. Conversely, if the card selected by the player is of lower rank or value than the dealer's hand, the wager is lost. Ties are treated as non-decisions, and another wager based upon the original award from the primary game may be made or waived. This game may usually be played only when the player has achieved a winning hand and has an award w
Hotaling II John M.
Mark A Litman & Associates, P.A.
O'Neill Michael
Shuffle Master, Inc.
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