CA2237438A1

CA2237438A1 - Electronic video poker games

Info

Publication number: CA2237438A1
Application number: CA002237438A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Ernest W. Moody
Original assignee: Ernest W. Moody; Action Gaming, Inc.; Igt
Current assignee: International Game Technology
Priority date: 1997-07-25
Filing date: 1998-05-12
Publication date: 1999-01-25
Also published as: EP1421979A1; EP1407802A1; ZA986611B; AU7842498A; CA2838243A1; CA2829933A1; EP1410829A1; EP1410830A1; EP0893147A3; EP1410828A1; EP0893147A2; US5823873A; EP1406220A1; EP1419806A1

Abstract

The method of the present invention involves a card game in which at least two rows of cards, and preferably three rows, are dealt to a player. The player makes a wager for each row of cards. One row of five cards are dealt all face up. The player selects none, one or more of the face up cards from the first row as cards to be held. The cards that are held are duplicated from the first row into all of the other rows. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt into the first row. Additional cards are also dealt to all of the other rows so that each row is a five card hand. The poker hand ranking of each five card hand by row is determined. The player is then paid for any winning poker hands based on a pay table and the amount of the player's wager.

Description

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 ELECTRONIC VIDEO POKER GAMES

S

g Background ofthe Invention This invention relates primarily to electronic video poker games, and more particularly to electronic video poker games that are based on poker hand rankings and allow the player 2 to discard and replace unwanted cards with replacement cards. The present invention has 13 many versions with the common thread being that the player is shown possible replacement 14 cards face up at the time the player must make his decision as to which cards to hold and which cards to discard. Th,e invention also involves features which may apply to casino table 16 games as well.

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18 Summarv ofthe Invention 19 The method ofthe present invention involves a card game in which at !east two rows 2 o of cards, and preferably three rows, are dealt to a player. The player makes a wager for each 21 row of cards. One row of five cards are dealt all face up. The player selects none, one or CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 more of the face up cards from the first row as cards to be held. The cards that are held are 2 duplicated from the first row into all of the other rows. Replacement cards for the non-3 selected cards are dealt into the first row. Additional cards are also dealt to all of the other 4 rows so that each row is a five card hand. The poker hand ranking of each five card hand by row is determined. The player is then paid for any winning poker hands based on a pay table 6 and the amount ofthe player's wager.

8 Brief Description of the Drawings g Figure I shows the screen display for Version #l of the present invention after the initial deal of the cards.
11 Figure 2 shows the screen display for Version t~l and shows a result that could occur 12 during the play of the game.
13 Figure 3 shows a modification to the method of play of Version #1.
14 Figure 4 shows the screen display for Version #2A of the present invention after the irlitial deal of the cards.
16 Figure 5 shows the screen display for Version #2A after the player has selected a 17 replacement card from the bottom row.
18 Figure 6 shows the screen display for Version #2A after the player has received a 19 replacement card from the top row.
2 o Figure ~ shows the screen display for Version #2B after the initial deal of the cards.
21 Figure 8 shows the screen display for Version #2C a~er the initial deal of the cards.
2 2 Figure 9 shows the screen display for Version #2D after the initial deal of the cards.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Figure 10 shows the screen display for Version #2E after the initial deal of the cards.
2 Figure 11 shows the screen display for Version #2F after the initial deal of the cards.
3 Figure 12 shows the screen displayfor Version i~2G after the initial deal of the cards.
4 Figure 13 shows the screen display for Version #2G after the player has selected the s cards he wishes to hold from the center row.
6 Figure 14 shows the screen display for Version #2H after the initial deal of the cards.
7 Figure 15 shows the screen display for Version #2H after the player has selected the 8 cards he wishes to hold from the top row and a replacement card has been dealt to the top g row.
Figure 16 shows the screen display for Version #3H after all three row have been11 completed and show five card hands.

13 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments 14 The present invention includes a variety of electronic video poker games. Each electronic video poker game is designed to be played by having the hands displayed on a 16 video screen to a player. By manipulating the buttons on the gaming device or by using 17 conventional touch screen technology, the player selects which cards he wishes to play, which 18 cards he wishes to move from one location to another on the screen display and which cards 19 he wishes to discard. Replacement cards are then displayed for the discarded cards and the 2 o outcome of the play of the hand is determined.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Version #l -- Super Poker I
2Version #1 of the invention is a poker-type game in which two horizontal rows of five 3cards each are displayed on a video screeri. Figure 1 shows the screen display for this game 4at the point in which the two initial five card hands are dealt and displayed to the player. A
5conventional deck of fifty-two cards is used. Two five card hands are dealt to the player.
6The first hand 20 is a five card stud poker hand dealt face down. The second hand 40 is a five 7card draw poker hand dealt face up. In the prefell ed embodiment of the present invention, 8the second hand 40 is aligned card-for-card over the first hand. In the preferred embodiment 9of the present inventiorL the player makes two wagers -- one for the stud poker hand and one 10for the draw poker hand.
11As an example, Fi~re 1 shows the first hand 20 comprising five cards 21, 22, 23, 24 12and 25 all displayed face down. The second hand 40 comprises five face up cards -- the Ace 3of Spades 41, the King of Spades 42, the Ten of Spades 42, the Four of Hearts 44 and the 14Three of Clubs 45.
15The player first plays the five card draw poker hand. The player seiects which of the 16five cards he wishes to discard and replacement cards for the discarded cards come from the 17stud poker hand. In the preferred embodiment ofthe present irlvention, the replacement cards 18are selected by using the card from the first hand 20 that is vertically aligned with the 19discarded card from the second hand 40.
2 oAgain with reference to Figure 1, the player would most likely discard the Four of 21Hearts 44 and the Three of Clubs 4~ and attempt to draw into a Royal Flush in Spades. The 2 2cards that the player would receive as repl~c~m~nt cards for his discard are card 24 and card CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 25 from the first hand 20.
2 Electronically card 44 would be removed from the screen and card 24 would be 3 reproduced at the screen location where card 44 formerly was. Likewise, card 45 would be 4 removed from the screen display and card 25 would be reproduced at the screen location where card 45 formerly was.
6 At same time that this is occurring, all five cards from the first hand 20 are turned face 7 up and displayed to the player. This results in two five card hands being displayed to the 8 player on the screen display as shown in Figure 2. Any cards from the first hand 20 that are g also used as replacement cards in the second hand 40 are therefore displayed twice on the screen display.
11 Following along with the example from Figure 1, Figure 2 shows results that could 12 occur. Assuming the player discarded the Four of Hearts 44 from the second hand 40, the 13 replacement card for card 44 is card 24 (since card 24 is vertically aligned with card 44 on the 14 screen display) from the first hand 20 which turned out to be the Queen of Spades when card ~4 is turned face up. Likewise, assuming the player discarded the Three of Clubs 45 from the 16 second hand 40, the replacement card for card 45 is card 25 (since card 25 is vertically 17 aligned with card 45 on the screen display) from the first hand 20 which turned out to be the 18 Jack of Spades when card 25 is turned up.
19 Thus, the draw hand 40 resulted in a hand having a poker rank of a Royal Flush in 2 o Spades. Likewise, when the first hand 20 is turned face up, it resulted in a hand having a 21 poker rank of Four Jacks. The Queen of Spades 24 and Jack of Spades 25 are used in both 2 2 the first hand 20 and the second hand 40.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Payout schedules are provided for both the five card stud hand 20 and the five card 2 draw hand 40 and a player is paid amounts based on the amount of his wager on each hand 3 according the payout schedule which isbased on poker hand rankings as in conventional 4 video or electronic poker machines.
Suitable payout schedules are used for both the stud hand and the draw poker hand.
6 The payouts can be fixed or fat jackpot amounts being multiples of the amount of the wager.
7 Alternatively, progressive jackpot amounts can be provided for winning combinations. For 8 exarnple, a first progressive jackpot amount can be provided for achieving a Royal Flush in 9 the stud poker hand 20 and a second progressive jackpot amount can be provided for achieving a Royal Flush in the draw poker hand 40.
11 The above-described method of play can be modified in that any cards from the first 12 hand 20 that are used as replacement cards in the second hand would themselves be replaced 13 by new cards from the original deck of fi~y-two cards. For example, Figure 3 shows this 1~ modification. A~er discarding from the second hand 40, the Queen of Spades 24 and the Jack of Spades 25 are physically moved from the first hand 20 to their corresponding vertically 16 aligned locations in the second hand 40. Replacement cards are dealt from the original fifty-17 two card deck resulting in the Six of Hearts 24R and the Six of Clubs 25R being added to the 18 first hand 20. The resulting hands in this example are a Royal Flush in Spades in the draw 19 poker hand 40 and a Full House in the stud poker hand 20.
2 o This version may also be modified with the use of certain optional features. These 21 features may apply as an option to standard five card video poker, as well. One optional 2 2 feature is a "Double Down" feature in which the player may double the amount of his original CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 wager if the player achieves certain cards on the initial deal. For example, if a player is dealt 2 one pair in the draw poker hand 40, the player may exercise the option of doubling the 3 amount of his initial wager.
4 Another optional feature is the "Split" feature. In this feature, the player has the option of splitting the face up cards of the draw hand 40 into two five card hands. This may 6 be done according to rank or suit or any other strategy that the player may wish to employ.
7 For exarnple, if the initial draw hand 40 contains a pair of 6's and a pair of 7's, the player may 8 elect to split these pairs into two separate draw hands. A first draw hand would contain the 9 pair of 6's and the second draw hand would contain the pair of 7's. The initial fifth card would be discarded. The three replacement cards that are now needed to complete each draw hand 11 come from the stud hand and would be the same three cards used in both the first draw hand 12 and the second draw hand. An additional wager would be required for the additional draw 3 hand.

Version ~2 -- Super Poker rI (Super Slot Poker) 16 Version #2 of the present invention is a poker-type card game in which three 17 horizontal rows of cards are displayed to the player. This version has a number of variations 18 which will be explained as follows:
19 Version #2A. This version of the present invention uses a standard fifty-two card 2 o deck. A player makes an initial wager to activate the game. After the wager is made, three 21 horizontal rows of five cards each are displayed to the player on the screen display. The 22 center row is displayed face up, the bottom row is displayed face up and the top row is CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 displayed face down. (Alternatively, the top row is displayed face up and the bottom row is 2 displayed face down, as the ~l ~r~, l ed embodiment is that two of the rows are face up and one 3 of the rows is face down; it is most prefe"-ed that the center row be one of the face up rows 4 as that makes the game easiest to play and understand for the player).
Figure 4 shows an example ofthe cards displayed to the player on the initial deal. All 6 fifteen cards are dealt from a single fifty-two card deck of standard playing cards.
7 The center row 110 is the draw hand to be played by the player and is displayed face 8 up and in this example the player received as the draw hand 1 10 the Ace of Spades 1 1 1, the g Jack of Spades 1 12, the Ten of Spades l 13, the Six of Clubs 1 14 and the Four of Hearts 1 15.
At the same time as the center row 1 10 is displayed to the player, the bottom row 120 is also 11 displayed on the screen with all cards face up. The cards in the bottom row 120 are vertically 12 aligned with the corresponding cards in the center row 110. In the example shown in Figure 13 4, the cards in the bottom row 120 are the Five of Diamonds 121, the Eight of Hearts 122, 14 the Ace of Clubs 123, the King of Spades 124 and the Queen of Clubs 125.
.~lso, at the same time that the center row 110 and the bottom row 120 cards are16 dealt, the top row 130 cards are dealt. Five cards 131, 132, 133, 134 and 135 are displayed 17 on the video screen face down and are vertically aligned with the corresponding cards in the 18 center row 110 and the bottom row 120.
19 The object of the method of play is for the player to attempt to achieve a winning 2 o poker hand combination on the five cards in the center row draw hand 1 10. A~er the initial 21 deal, the player can first deterrnine whether he wishes to discard up to five cards in the center 2 2 row 110 and replace the discarded cards, if any, with an exposed card from the bottom row CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 120. Only cards that are vertically aligned made be used as replacement cards for cards 2 discarded from the center row 110. In the example shown in Figure 5, the player would 3 discard the Six of Clubs 114 from the center row 110 and replace this card with the 4 corresponding vertically aligned card, the King of Spades 124 from the bottom row 120 in hopes of achieving a Royal Flush in the center row 110.
6 The player effects this discarding and replacement by manipulating buttons on the 7 gaming device or be using touch screen technology to touch the card locations on the screen.
8 In the pl ~fe~ I ed embodiment of the present invention, the King of Spades 124 is physically g moved on the screen display to the center row 110 and the discarded card, the Six of Clubs 114, is physically moved to the top row 130 on the screen display.
11 After the player has determined whether to use any one or more of the face up cards 12 from the bottom row 120 as replacement cards for center row 110 cards, the player 13 determines if he wishes to use any one or more of the face down cards from the top row 130 4 as replacement cards for center row 110 cards. Again by either pressing buKons or using touch screen technology, the player selects which center row 110 cards are to be discarded 16 and replaced by top row 130 cards. Again, only vertically aligned corresponding top row 130 17 cards can be selected as replacement cards for those cards to be discarded from the cent .er 18 row 110.
19 Figure 6 shows in the example that the player has determined to replace the Four of 2 0 Hearts 11 5 from the center row 110 with the corresponding top row card 13 5. The Four of 21 Hearts 115 is physically moved to the bottom row 120 and the top row card 135 is moved 22 to the center row 110 to replace the Four of Hearts. The top row card may itself be replaced CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 by a duplicate of itself or a new face down card. This would allow the player to make a 2 separate bet on the face down stud hand in the top row. The play of the game would be 3 similar to Version #1 except that any face up cards that were moved into the top row would 4 be replaced by new cards when the player presses the "Deal" button.
When the player has completed replacing center row cards with either top or bottom 6 cards and has selected his final five card arrangement for the center row 110, the player 7 presses the 'Ldeal" button and all face down cards are tumed face up. If the five cards in the 8 center row 110 achieve a winning combination, the player is paid an amount based on the g amount of his wager according to a pay table based on poker hand rankings.
lo In the example, if the face down card 135 when turned face up is the Queen of Spades, the center row 110 cards would achieve a Royal Flush and the player would be paid 2 according to the pay table for a Royal Flush. If the player did not wish to risk trying to 13 achieve a Royal Flush, the player could have taken a lesser payout by using the Queen of 14 Clubs 125 from the bottom row 120 and achieve a simple Straight on the center row and receive the lesser payout from the pay table associated with a Straight.
16 Version #2B: This version plays the same as Version #2A. The center row 140 is 17 dealt face up and the top row 160 is dealt face down. The two face up replacement cards at 18 each end of the bottom row 150 are elimin~ted as shown in Figure 7. Thus the player only 19 has three face up repl~cçment cards in the bottom row 150 and the player will have fewer 2 o options for repl~c.~m~nt cards in this version.
21 Version #2C: Again, this version plays the same as Version #2A. As shown in Figure 22 8, the center row 170 has its two end cards 171 and 175 dealt face down with the three CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 .; .P center row cards dealt face up. The top row 190 has only three cards all dealt face 2 down and the bottom row 180 has only three cards all dealt face up. After the player has 3 made his selections regarding replacement cards, the face down cards 171 and 175 in the 4 center row 170 are then revealed. There are no repl~cçm~nt cards for the two end cards 171 and 175 of the center row 170.
6 Version #2D: This version plays the same as Version #2A As shown in Figure 9, the 7 center row 210 has its two end cards 211 and 215 dealt face down. The bottom row 220 has 8 only three cards, all dealt face up. The top row 230 also has only three cards, all dealt face g up. A~er the player has chosen the repl~cPm~nt cards, the two face down end cards 171 and 1 o 175 are revealed. There are no replacement cards for the two ends cards 211 and 215 of the 11 center row 210. This version gives the player full disclosure to select the best middle three 12 hands, but the two end cards are left to chance.
13 Version #2E: This version again plays the same as Version #2A. The initial deal 4 layout is shown in Figure 10. The center row 240 has four face up cards and the fifth card 245 is dealt face down. The bottom row 250 has only four cards, all dealt face up and the top 16 row 260 has only four cards, all dealt face down. There is no replacement card for the fifth 17 center row card 245.
18 Version #2F: This version also plays the same as Version #2A The initial deal layout 19 is shown in Figure 11. The center row 270 has four face up cards and the fifth card 275 is 2 0 dealt face down. The bottom row 280 has only three cards, all dealt face up and the top row 2 1 290 has only four cards, all dealt face down. There is no repl~cem~nt card for the fifth center 2 2 row card 275. This version gives the player less options for the replacement of cards.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Version #2G: This version is somewhat sirnilar to Version #2A, but is more 2 complicated. Figure 12 shows the layout for the initial deal of this version. Three rows of 3 cards are initially dealt. The center row 31a is dealt face up; the bottom row 320 and the top 4 row 330 are dealt face down. Also, a face down card 311A, 312A, 313 A, 314A and 31 ~A
is dealt underneath each ofthe respective face up cards 311, 312, 313, 314 and 315 in the 6 center row 310.
7 The player makes one, two or three wagers: the first wager is on row 310, the second 8 wager is on row 320 and the third wager is on row 330. Thus, the player is playing one, two g or three hands at a time.
0 The player selects those cards in the center row 310 that he wishes to hold. The 11 player effects this se~ection by pressing buttons or, using touch screen technology, by simply 12 pressing the cards on the screen that the player wishes to hold. Each card that is held by the 13 player from the center row 310 is duplicated in the corresponding vertically aligned position 14 in both the boKom row 320 and the top row 330. Therefore, three copies ofthe held card are now displayed on the screen. The player may hold from zero to five cards from the center 16 row 310.
17 Figure 13 shows an example of the play of the hand when the player has held card 8 311, card 312 and card 313 from the center row 310. Card 311, the Ace of Spades, is 19 duplicated in the same aligned position in top row 330 and in boKom row 320. Likewise, 2 0 card 312, the Jack of Spades, and card 313, the Ten of Spades, are both duplicated in the 2 1 same aligned positions in top row 330 and bottom row 320.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 APter the player is satisfied with his selection of repl~c~rnent cards, the player presses 2 the "deal" button and the two face down cards 324 and 325 in bottom row 320 are revealed.
3 Similarly, the two face down cards 334 and 335 in top row 330 are revealed. The two unheld 4 cards 314 and 315 in the center row 310 are replaced with the face down cards underneath them, cards 314A and 315A, and these two cards 314A and 315A are also revealed.
6 Each row is treated as a separate hand for payout purposes. Each row is evaluated 7 for poker hand ranking and the player is paid based on the amount of his wager on each row 8 depending on the poker hand ranking achieved for that row.
9 Thus, the player has effectively played three hands at once. The player could win on all three hands, could lose on all three hands, could win on two hands and lose on one hand 1 1 or could lose on two hands and win on one hand.
12 In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the method of play uses a standard 13 fifty-two card deck. One or more cards may also be designated as wild cards. If a player 14 holds less than five cards from the center row, each hand will have di~el ent replacement cards so that player has the possibility of achieving various winning combinations. This game may 16 also be dealt using three separate decks of cards -- the first row being dealt using a first 17 standard fif'~y two card deck while the second row is dealt using a second deck of forty-seven 18 cards which comprises a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up 19 cards shown in the first row omitted therefrom and the third row is dealt using a third deck 2o offorty-seven cards which comprises a standard fifty-tvvo card deck having the player's five 2 1 initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted thel efi Olll. This would allow the player, 2 2 for example, to theoretically make three Royal Flushes at the same time.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Special bonus payouts can be added if the player achieves three high ranking hands 2at the same time. These bonus payouts could be fixed amounts or progressive payouts. For 3example, the player could win a progressîve payout for achieving three Full Houses at the 4same time.
5Version #2H: This version is played similarly to Version #2G in that the player can 6play three hands at once, except for a modification to the manner in which the cards are dealt 7to the display screen. Figure 14 shows the layout for the initial deal ofthis version. Three 8rows of cards are initially dealt. The top row 410is dealt face up; the center row 420 and the gbottom row 430 are dealt face down. Alternatively, any one of the three rows can be the face 10up cards with the other two rows being the face down cards. Another alternative would have 11all three hands dealt face up with each hand having the same five cards shown face up.
2In one embodiment ofthe present invention, the player has the option to make one, 3two or three wagers: the first wager is on row 410, the second wager is on row 420 and the 14third wager is on row 430. Thus, the player is playing one, two or three hands at a time.
15Alternatively, it could be mandatory that the player must wager on all three hands.
16As shown in Figure 14, the cards dealt to the top row 410 are the Four of Diamonds 17411, the Six of Spades 412, the Six of Hearts 413, the Queen of Spades 414 and the Queen 8of Clubs 415.
19The player selects those cards in the top row 410 that he wishes to hold. The player 2 oeffects this selechon by pressing buttons or, using touch screen technology, by simply pressing 21the cards on the screen that the player wishes to hold. Each card that is held by the player 2 2from the top row 410 is duplicated in the corresponding vertically aligned position in both the CA 02237438 1998-0=,-12 center row 420 and the boKom row 430. Therefore, three copies of each of the held cards 2 are now displayed on the screen. The player may hold from zero to five cards from the top 3 row 410.
4 Figure 15 shows an example of the play of the hand when the player has held card 412, card 413, card 414 and card 415 from the top row 410. Card 412, the Six of Spades, 6 is duplicated in the same aligned position in center row 420 and in bottom row 430.
7 Likewise, card 413, the Six of Hearts; card 414, the Queen of Spades; and card 415, the 8 Queen of Clubs are also duplicated in the same aligned positions in center row 420 and 9 bottom row 430.
In the alternative embodiment of the present invention in which all three hands are 11 displayed face up with the same cards shown in each hand, when the player selects which 12 cards to hold from one row, the same cards in the other two rows are automatically held.
13 A~er the player is satisfied with his selection of the held cards for each of the three 14 hands, the player presses the "draw" button, the cards to be discarded are removed from the 1 5 screen display and replacement cards are dealt for the discarded cards to complete each of the 16 three hands. With regard to the hand in the top row 410, a replacement card is dealt for card 17 411 which was discarded by the player. As shown in Figure 16, the new card is the Jack of 18 Clubs 416 which does not improve the player's hand in the top row 410 which has a final 1~ hand ranking of Two Pair.
2 o With regard to the hand in the center row 420, the last card 421 added to this hand 2 1 is the Six of Diamonds giving the hand in the center row 420 a final hand rankin, of a Full 2 2 House. Wlth regard to the hand in the bottom row 430, the last card 431 added to this hand CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 is the Ace of Spades giving the hand in the boKom row a final hand ranking of Two Pair.
2 Each row is treated as a separate hand for payout purposes. Each row is evaluated 3 for poker hand ranking and the player is paid based on the amount of his wager on each row 4 depending on the poker hand ranking achieved for that row. A suitable pay table is provided as is conventional for electronic video poker games with the amount of the player' s winnings 6 being based on the poker hand ranking achieved and the amount wagered by the player on 7 each hand.
8 In the preferi ed embodiment of this version of the present invention, the amount of g the player's wager on each hand would be the same. Alternatively, the player could be allowed to make wagers of different amounts on each hand.
11 Thus, the player has effectively played three hands at once. The player could win on 12 all three hands, could lose on all three hands, could win on two hands and lose on one hand 13 or could lose on two hands and win on one hand.
14 In the preferred embodiment ofthis invention, the game is dealt using three separate decks of cards -- the first row being dealt using a first standard fifty two card deck while the 16 second row is dealt using a second deck of forty-seven cards which comprises a standard 17 fi~y-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first row omitted 18 therefrom and the third row is dealt using a third deck of forty-seven cards which comprises 19 a standard fifty-two card deck having the player's five initial face up cards shown in the first 2 o row omitted therefrom. This would allow the player, for example, to theoretically make three 21 Royal Flushes (or any other three hands of the same rank) at the same time. This is 2 2 accomp!i~h~d using the computer controls that operate the gaming machine with the software CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 being written so that the second and third decks used to deal the second and third hands, 2 respectively, have removed therefrom the five cards initially dealt.
3 Altematively, the method of play can also use only one standard fifty-two card deck.
4 In this alternative, each of the three rows will receive different replacement cards from the deck for those cards that are discarded. For example, if a player holds less than five cards 6 from the top row 410, each hand will receive di~ere.l~ repl~cçmçnt cards so that player has 7 the possibility of achieving various winning combinations.
8 In either the multiple deck embodiment or the single deck embodiment, one or more g cards may alternatively be decign~ted as wild cards or one or more Jokers may be added to 0 the deck or decks and designated as wild cards This allows the methods of the present invnetion to be applied to any of the various wild card video poker games that are known in 2 the art, such as Deuces Wild or Joker's Wild.
13 - Special bonus payouts can be added if the player achieves, either on the deal or a~er 14 the draw, three hands ofthe sarne rank at the same tirne These bonus payouts could be fixed amounts or progressive payouts. For example, the player could win a progressive payout for 16 achieving three Full Houses at the same time. As another example when three decks are used, 17 the player can receive a large fixed or progressive payout if the player achieves the same 18 poker hand in each of the three rows--such as a Royal Flush in Spades in all three rows.
19 Another alternative to Version #2H would be to reduce the three rows shown to only 2 o two rows and otherwise practice the method of this version as described. The player would 21 make two wagers to play the two rows and select the cards initially dealt that would be used 2 2 in each of the two rows. ~epl~c~ nt cards would be provided to complete the hands in each CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 of the two rows and winning and losing hands would be determined in the same manner as 2 described above with reference to the three rows.
3 Likewise, the method of play described in Version #2H could also be modified by 4 increasing the number of rows to four or more, with five rows being the pl ere" ed number of rows for this alternative. Again if four or more rows are used, the method of play would be 6 the same as that described above with reference to the three rows. In order to show four or 7 more rows of cards at the same time on a video screen display, a larger video monitor may 8 be required.
g In order to adopt this alternative of four or more rows of cards to the smaller video monitors often used in video poker gaming machines, the display of the play of this method 11 can be modified. The player would initially make a multiple coin or credit wager representing 2 the number of rows that the player wishes to play during that round of the game. The 13 minim~lm number of coins or credits wagered would be two with the maximum being any 4 number desired. A first hand of five cards would initially be dealt to the player. The player would select which of five cards, if any, the player wishes to hold and then replacement cards 6 ~ would be dealt for the discarded cards. The winning or losing outcome of this first hand 7 would then be determined.
8 For the second hand, the cards held by the player from the first hand would then be 19 ~ layed on the video screen and additional cards would be dealt to complete the player's second hand. Again, the winning or losing outcome of this second hand would be 21 determined. The steps of redisplaying the held cards from the first hand and the dealing of 2 2 cards to complete the hand would be repeated for each wager made by the player until the CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 total number of hands originally wagered by the player is completed.
2 In this seriatirn altemative method of play, each hand is completed by using a separate 3 deck of cards (which have the first five cards removed theleLol~l so as to elimin~te the 4 possibility of duplicated cards being dealt as replacement cards). Altematively, a single deck of cards can be used as the source for both the initial five cards and the additional cards used 6 to complete each of the multiple hands.
7 Version #2I: In this version, fifteen cards are dealt and displayed on the screen.
8 These fifteen cards are dealt in three rows of five cards each. The player then proceeds to g play three separate five card hands -- each row being a separate hand. The player selects which cards to hold and discard from each row. A~er the player has completed this selection, 11 the player presses the "deal" button and replacement cards are dealt and displayed. Each row 2 is then determined for poker hand ranking and the player wins according to the pay table 13 based on the amount wagered for each row. The player has the advantage of seeing fifteen 14 cards prior to holding and discarding, so the player knows which cards from the deck will not be available as replacement cards on the draw.
16 One modification to these versions involves the addition of bonus round which the 17 player eams based on achieving certain hand col~ inalions. If the player qualifies for a bonus 18 round, the player is dealt five cards at random from the declc. Each card is initially displayed 19 on the video screen face down and are tumed over one at a time. The player is paid if this 2 o bonus hand qualifies for the bonus award pay table. A jackpot, which is either fixed amount 21 of a pro_ressive jackpot, can be paid for a Royal Flush or even a sequential Royal Flush.

' CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 Alternatively, the bonus round may be dealt at the end of or during every round of the 2 game ~ving the player a chance to win the bonus payout each round of the game. Further, 3 the bonus round may require the player to make an additional wager to participate.
4 Other modifications may be made to the method of play of these versions which differ only in the number of rows of cards. These versions can be played using two, four or five 6 rows on five cards each. An example of one of these modifications would be Version #2J.
7 Version #2J. This version is played similar to either Version #2G or Version #2H, 8 except that there are two additional rows of face down cards. Thus, there are a total of five 9 rows of cards with only the center row being face up on the initial deal. As in Version #2G, the center row also has an underlying row of face down cards on the initial deal.
The play of this version is essentially the same as Version #2G except that the player 12 is now effectively playing five hands of video poker at the same time instead of only three 13 hands at a time as in Version #2G. Each card that the player selects to be held is duplicated 4 into the two face down rows directly below the held card as well as the t~,vo face down rows directly above the held card.
6 ~The method of play of this Version #2J also creates additional five card stud hands of 17 replacement cards in each of the vertical columns. Special payouts or progressive or non-18 progressiw jackpots may be awarded for high ranl~ng stud hands that may be formed in these 19 vertical columns such as a Full House, a Royal Flush or even a sequential Royal Flush.
2 o The concept of the present invention may also be extended to other known casino 21 games such as CARIBBEAN STUD~ poker, LET IT RIDE~ or Texas Hold 'Em. Each of 2 2 these known casino games could be modified by the addition of another wager which allows CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 the player to bet on the outcome of the dealer's hand.
2 For example, in CARIBBEAN STUD~ poker, a player would be allowed to make an 3 additional wager on the composition of the dealer' s five card stud hand. The payouts on this 4 additional wager would be made in accordance with a separate pay table which would allow all players the opportunity to win at the same time for certain high ranking hands achieved by 6 the dealer. In effect this would act as a type of insurance bet for those situations in which the 7 player achieves a high ranking hand but is beaten by the dealer's hand.
8 In the case of LET IT R~)E~, a bonus hand for the dealer would be created by g dealing three extra face down cards on the table layout adjacent to the two common cards used in this garne. In addition to making the normal wager on his own hand, the player would 11 also have the option of making a separate wager on the composition of these three extra cards 12 along with the two common cards. This separate wager would pay in accordance with a 13 separate pay table and would allow all players the opportunity to win at the same time. This 14 separate wager could also feature special progressive or non-progressive jackpot awards for a Royal Flush or a sequential Royal Flush achieved by this bonus hand.
16 As applied to Texas Hold 'Em, the player would make a separate wager on the poker 17 hand value of the five community cards themselves. This could be played either with or 18 without an additional progressive or non-progressive jackpot that would pay for a Royal 19 Flush or a sequential Royal Flush. In those situations where more than one player at the table has made this separate wager and a winning hand occurs, any payouts would be shared by 21 those players making the separate wager in pl upOl lion to the amount of their separate wagers.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 An example of a pay table that can be used for the separate wagers described in the 2 last three situations would be as follows as shown in Table l.:

3 Pairof6's orBetter l to l 4 Two Pair 2 to 1 Three of a Kind 3 to 1 6 Straight l0 to 1 7 Flush 20 to 1 8 FullHouse 30 to 1 g Four of a Kind l 00 to l Straight Flush 800to 1 1 Royal Flush Progressive jackpot 13 Table l.
14 Other payout tables could be used depending on the winning hand combinations that are designated and the hold percentage desired.
16 Combined Twentv-One Game and Stud Poker Game 17 Another variation of the present invention involves combining the play of a 18 conventional Twenty-One game with a Stud Poker game. In order to play this combined 19 garne, a player makes two wagers -- a first wager to participate in the conventional Twenty-2 0 One game and a second wager to participate in the Stud Poker game.
21 Version A.
2 2 After the two initial wagers are made, the dealer deals two cards to the player and two 2 3 cards to the dealer. The conventional Twenty-One game is conducted with the player and 2 4 dealer taking hits or st~ntiing according to the conventional manner of play of Twenty-One.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 After the play of the player's hand and the dealer's hand is complete, the dealer pays all 2 winning player hands and collects all losing player hands.
3 The Stud Poker game is then conr~1cte~ The player' s hand is discarded and only the 4 cards from the dealer's hand are used. If the dealer has five cards after the play of his hand s during the conventional Twenty-One game, these five cards are used and evaluated as to the 6 combination that these five cards create using conventional poker hand rankings.
7 If the dealer has less than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional 8 manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then additional cards are dealt to the dealer from 9 the deck of cards that was used in the Twenty-One game to fill out a five card hand for the dealer. If the dealer had more than five cards after the play of his hand during the 11 conventional manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then only the first five cards are used.
12 The player is paid on his second wager for the Stud Poker game based on a payout 13 schedule similar to the payout schedules used in video poker.
4 Version B.
This version of the invention is similar to Version A except that the cards from the 16 player's hand are not discarded but are used to form a Stud Poker hand.
17 A~er the player makes the two initial wagers to be eligible for both the Twenty-One 18 garne and the Stud Poker game, the dealer deals two cards to the player and two cards to the 19 dealer. The conventional Twenty-One game is conducted with the player and dealer taking 2 o hits or st~n~ling acco~ dillg to the conventional manner of play of Twenty-One. After the play 21 of the player's hand and the dealer's hand is complete, the dealer pays all winning player 2 2 hands and collects all losing player hands.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 The Stud Poker game is then con~lucte~. The player's hand is used to create a five 2 card Stud Poker hand. If the player has five cards after the play of his hand during the 3 conventional Twenty-One game, these five cards are used and evaluated as to the combination 4 that these five cards create using conventional poker hand r~nkingc.
If the player has less than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional 6 manner of play of the Twenty-One game, then additional cards are provided to the player 7 from the dealer's hand to fill out a five card hand for the player. For example, if the player 8 had a two card hand, then the first three of the dealer's cards would be combined with the g player's cards to create a five card hand. If the player had a three card hand, then the first two of the dealer's cards would be combined with the player's cards to create a five card 1 1 hand.
12 If the combination ofthe player's hand and the dealer's hand total less than five cards, 13 then additional cards are dealt to the dealer's hand from the deck of cards that was used in 4 the Twenty-One garne so that the dealer's hand will have enough cards to fill out a five card hand for the player.
16 As an alternate method to complete the player's five card hand, if the player has less 17 than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the 18 Twenty-One game, then additional cards are dealt to the player from the deck of cards that 19 was used in the Twenty-One garne to fill out a five card hand for the player. If the player had 2 o more than five cards after the play of his hand during the conventional manner of play of the 21 Twenty-One _ame, then only the first five cards are used.

CA 02237438 1998-0~-12 The player is paid on his second wager for the Stud Poker game based on a payout 2 schedule similar to the payout schedules used in video poker. A representative payout table, 3 based on dealing cards from a shoe of six decks is shown in Table 2.:

4 RoyalFlush lOOOto 1 Five of a Kind 500 to 1 6 StraightFlush 200to 1 7 FourofaKind 25 to 1 8 Full House 1 I to 1 g Flush 8 to 1 lo Straight 6to 1 11 Three of aKind 2to 1 12 Two Pair 3 to 2 13 Pair of Sevens or Better 1 to 1 14 Lesser Hands Loss 16 Table 2.
17 The method ofthis version ofthe present invention can be dealt using any number of 18 ~ decks of cards, but the prefelled embodiment is to utilize a dealing shoe cont~ining six 19 standard decks of fifty-two playing cards shuf~ed together.
2 0 While the invention has been illustrated with respect to several specific embodiments 2 1 thereof, these embodiments should be considered as illustrative rather than limiting. Various 22 modifications and additions may be made and will be appale.ll to those skilled in the art.
23 Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the fo.egoulg descriptlon, but rather 2 4 should be defined only by the following claims.

Claims

Claim 1. A method of playing a card game comprising:
a) dealing a first hand of at least five cards all face up;
b) selecting none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held;
c) duplicating the cards selected to be held from the first hand into a second hand;
d) duplicating the cards selected to be held from the first hand into a third hand;
e) discarding from the first hand the face up cards that were not selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with a face up card;
f) completing the second hand to have at least five cards by dealing additional face up cards;
g) completing the third hand to have at least five cards by dealing additional face up cards;
h) determining the poker hand ranking of the resulting cards of the first hand, the second hand and the third hand.
Claim 2. The method of Claim 1 including the steps of:
a) a player making a first wager on the first hand, a second wager on the second hand and a third wager on the third hand;
b) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the first wager if the resulting cards of the first hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking;
c) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the second wager if the resulting cards of the second hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking;
and d) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the third wager if the resulting cards of the third hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
Claim 3. A method of playing a card game comprising:
a) dealing a first hand of at least five cards all face up;
b) selecting none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held;
c) duplicating the cards selected to be held from the first hand into at least a second hand;
d) discarding from the first hand the face up cards that were not selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with a face up card;
e) completing the second hand and any additional hands to have at least five cards by dealing additional face up cards to each of the second hand and any additional hands;
f) determining the poker hand ranking of the resulting cards of the first hand, the second hand and any additional hands.
Claim 4. The method of Claim 3 including the steps of:
a) a player making a first wager on the first hand, a second wager on the second hand and additional wagers on any additional hands, if any;

b) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the first wager if the resulting cards of the first hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking;
c) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the second wager if the resulting cards of the second hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking;
and d) paying he player a preestablished amount based on the amount of any additional wagers, if any, if the resulting cards of any of the additional hands comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
Claim 5. The method of Claim 3 including the steps of:
a) a player making a first wager on the first hand, a second wager on the second hand and additional wagers on any additional hands;
b) dependent on the number of wagers the player has made, dealing additional sets of face up replacement cards to the player's held cards creating additional five card poker hands;
c) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of each wager if the resulting cards of any of the hands comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
Claim 6. A method of playing a card game comprising:
a) dealing a first hand of at least five cards all face up;
b) selecting none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held;

c) discarding from the first hand the face up cards that were not selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with a face up card;
d) duplicating the cards selected to be held from the first hand into at least a second hand;
e) completing the second hand to have at least five cards by dealing additional face up cards to the second hand;
f) determining the poker hand ranking of the resulting cards of the first hand and the second hand.
Claim 7. The method of Claim 6 including the steps of:
a) a player making a first wager on the first hand and a second wager on the second hand;
b) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the first wager if the resulting cards of the first hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking; and c) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of the second wager if the resulting cards of the second hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
Claim 8. The method of Claim 6 including the steps of:
a) a player making a first wager on the first hand, a second wager on the second hand and additional wagers on any additional hands;
b) dependent on the number of wagers the player has made, dealing additional sets of face up replacement cards to the player's held cards creating additional five card poker hands;
c) paying the player a preestablished amount based on the amount of each wager if the resulting cards of any of the hands comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.