Amusement devices: games – Card or tile games – cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-10
2001-03-06
Chapman, Jeanette (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Card or tile games, cards or tiles therefor
C273S139000, C463S013000, C463S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196547
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to electronic card games. Specifically, the present invention relates to a banked electronic card game wherein a player plays against at least one computer opponent which plays according to an optimal game strategy when drawing cards.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Electronic card gaming systems and processes are well known in the prior art. Such gaming systems typically include a computer processor for executing game instructions, a computer readable memory for storing the instructions and data, a computer monitor for displaying cards and related images, and a player interface. In such systems, the card game is a computer implemented process. Such gaming systems may also include logic circuits dedicated to implementing the card game.
Typically, in electronic card games, an initial player hand including a number of cards, having corresponding card values, is dealt to a player with the card values being displayed on a display unit. Typically, the player is provided with an opportunity to draw a number of cards by selecting which cards of the initial player hand to hold and which to discard. Discarded cards are replaced with new cards, having new values, to develop a final player hand. Eventually, the player hand is evaluated and a payout is made. Evaluation of the player hand may be made by solely evaluating the card values of the player hand, by comparing the final player hand to that of another user-player, or by comparing the final player hand to that of a computer opponent which employs a strategy based on a set of strategy rules.
Some prior art electronic card games are used in casino gaming wherein the player wagers against the house or against other players. Where players plays against the house, the game is referred to as a banked game. In prior art banked electronic card games, a computer opponent is dealt an initial opponent hand and is provided with an opportunity to draw a number of cards by selecting which cards of the initial opponent hand to hold and which to discard. In such prior art systems, the computer opponent selects which cards of the initial opponent hand to hold and which to discard based on a simple set of dealer draw rules which do not guarantee that the computer opponent will play optimally. Some such systems may assume that the sub-optimal play of the computer opponent approximately matches the sub-optimal play of the average human player. However, without additional measures, if a computer opponent does not play optimally, a player employing an optimal strategy would enjoy an advantage over the house. To prevent this, one prior art system employs additional wagering rules, which are not included in traditional card games to make the playing of the game more advantageous to the house. However, such untraditional wagering rules make the game more difficult for a player to understand how the game is played and therefore make the game less appealing to a player familiar only with standard draw poker For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,134, filed Nov. 27, 1989, entitled “Electronic Poker Game”, if the banker has less than an Ace-King combination, the banker cannot play further and each remaining player is paid one to one odds based on only his ante. The player does not receive any payment for his additional wager, or bet, which the player had to risk in order to advance to that point in the game. If the banker has at least an Ace-King combination and the player wins, then the player collects his additional bet. In this manner, the sub-optimal play of the banker is compensated to make the game more advantageous to the house.
What is needed is a method and apparatus for playing a banked draw poker card game wherein a computer opponent plays optimally and wherein no additional wagering rules are required to make the playing of the game more advantageous to the house.
What is also needed is a card gaming process which allows a player to play against multiple computer opponents.
What is further needed is a card gaming process wherein the player plays a card game as a bonus round to a primary game.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a process of implementing optimal game strategy for discarding and drawing cards on behalf of a computer opponent in an electronic card game
Briefly, a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a process of implementing a draw poker game played between a player and a computer opponent in an electronic card gaming system including processing means, display means, and player interface means. Cards, having card values, are dealt from an imaginary card deck which is typically implemented using a random number generator (RNG). In accordance with the present invention, an initial player “hand” including N cards, is dealt to the player from the imaginary deck, each of the cards having a card value which is displayed on the display means. An initial opponent hand including N cards is then dealt face down to the computer opponent from the imaginary deck with only card backs visible to the player. The player and the computer opponent are provided with opportunity to draw cards. The gaming system allows for the player to “draw” cards by implementing steps including: allowing the player to select certain cards to hold, and other cards to discard, from the player hand using the player interface means; dealing a card to the player from the imaginary deck for each discarded card; and displaying the card values of the present player hand via the display unit.
The gaming system determines which cards of the initial opponent hand to hold and which to discard using a play strategy-lookup table in accordance with the present invention. The look-up table is addressed using an address set including all possible hands that could be dealt in an N card poker game. Each address of the address set stores a corresponding optimal hold scenario which provides information indicating which of the particular N cards of a given opponent hand to hold and which to discard in order have the greatest probability of winning. Cards are discarded from the initial opponent hand according to the look up table. A replacement card is dealt to the computer opponent from the deck for each card discarded from the initial opponent hand to develop a final opponent hand which is later revealed and a winning hand is determined.
A process of creating various play strategy look-up tables is provided. All possible hands that could be dealt in an N card poker game are determined. All possible hold scenarios are determined for each of the possible hands. An “expected payback value” is determined, based on optimal play strategy for the game, for each of the possible hold scenarios. A game designer sets a computer opponent efficiency target value expressed as a percentage of optimal play strategy, wherein the efficiency target value is representative of a level of expertise with which the computer opponent is to play. The hold scenario with a corresponding expected payback value closest to the efficiency target value is determined for each of the possible hands. The look-up table is created wherein the look-up table includes, for each of the possible hands, a hold scenario closest to the computer opponent efficiency target value.
In the preferred embodiment, the card game is draw poker. However, processes of dealing, displaying, and drawing cards in accordance with the present invention may be used in any card game requiring the dealing and drawing of cards. These processes of the present invention may be used in various other embodiments and in combinations of embodiments of various card games. As examples: the draw order may be varied based on whether the player has won a previous game; the player may play against supplementary computer opponents in addition to the one computer opponent; the player may be provided with opportunity to increase a wager or be required to increase his wager either before after the drawing of cards; the player may get an aw
Burns Robert (Eagle)
Glusker Sharon
Kelly John
Nicely Mark
Pascal Andrew
Boyce Justin F.
Chapman Jeanette
Collins D
Hamrick Claude A. S.
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
LandOfFree
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