Methods and apparatus for playing a poker game
First Claim
1. A method of playing a poker game, comprising:
- defining a qualifying hand;
dealing an initial hand of at least one card to each of one or more players;
accepting a bet into a pot from at least one of the players; and
awarding the pot to any betting player who has a lowest hand that comprises a qualifying hand, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, repeating the dealing an initial hand and the accepting a bet, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Representative embodiments provide a method for playing poker, including defining a qualifying hand and collecting an ante from one or more players. The method also includes dealing an initial hand to each player, accepting a bet into a pot from at least one player, and dealing at least one additional card to the betting players. The method includes awarding the pot to a player who has a lowest qualifying according to a lo-ball ranking of poker hands. If no player has a qualifying hand, the method includes repeating collecting an ante and dealing an initial hand and accepting a bet and dealing at least one additional card, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded. Also provided are a gaming table and individual gaming machines for playing the poker games of the present invention.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method of playing a poker game, comprising:
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defining a qualifying hand;
dealing an initial hand of at least one card to each of one or more players;
accepting a bet into a pot from at least one of the players; and
awarding the pot to any betting player who has a lowest hand that comprises a qualifying hand, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, repeating the dealing an initial hand and the accepting a bet, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A gaming table, comprising:
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a plurality of user interfaces; and
an electronic controller coupled in signal communication with each of the user interfaces, the electronic controller configured to;
define a qualifying hand;
deal an initial hand of at least one card to each of at least two players by way of the user interface corresponding to the player;
record a bet into a pot from each of at least one of the players by way of the corresponding user interface;
deal at least one later card to each of one or more betting players by way of the corresponding user interface; and
award the pot to any betting player who has a lowest hand that comprises a qualifying hand by way of the corresponding user interface, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, repeat the dealing an initial hand and the recording a bet and the dealing at least one later card, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A computer-accessible storage media including an executable program code, the executable program code configured to cause a processor to:
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define a qualifying hand;
deal an initial hand of at least one card to each of one or more players by way of a respective user interface coupled to the processor;
record a bet into a pot from at least one of the players by way of the respective user interface;
deal at least one later card to each betting player by way of the respective user interface; and
award the pot to any betting player who has a lowest hand that comprises a qualifying hand by way of the respective user interface, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, repeat the dealing an initial hand and the recording a bet and the dealing at least one later card, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of playing a poker game, comprising:
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defining a qualifying hand;
collecting an ante from each of one or more players;
dealing an initial hand of at least one card to each of the players;
accepting a bet into a pot from at least one of the players;
dealing at least one additional card to one or more of the betting players; and
awarding the pot to any betting player who has a lowest hand that comprises a qualifying hand in accordance with a predetermined lo-ball ranking of poker hands, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, repeating the collecting an ante and the dealing an initial hand and the accepting a bet and the dealing at least one additional card, and including in the pot at least a portion of any previously unawarded pot or pots until the pot is awarded. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method of playing a poker game, comprising:
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defining a qualifying hand;
dealing an initial hand of at least one card to each of one or more players;
accepting a bet into a pot from at least one of the players; and
awarding the pot to any betting player who has a hand that comprises a best qualifying hand, or, if no player has a qualifying hand, awarding a predetermined portion of the pot to any betting player who has a best hand that does not comprise a qualifying hand and then repeating the dealing an initial hand and the accepting a bet, and including in the pot any previously unawarded portion of the pot. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51)
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52. A method of playing a game of chance for multiple players in a player-versus-player environment, wherein the game of chance is hosted by a house, the method comprising:
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accepting from each player wishing to engage in the game a bet which is added to a pot;
providing each player who placed a bet with media from which those players each determine whether or not to continue play;
for each player wishing to continue play, providing those players with one or more additional media, and accepting additional bets from players wishing to continue play and who have a predefined qualifying position;
adding the additional bets to the pot; and
awarding the pot to a player have a predefined best position from among players having the predefined qualifying position, or, if no player has the predefined qualifying position, awarding a portion of the pot to a player having a predefined best non-qualifying position and placing the remainder of the pot in a rolls-over pot to be applied to a next event of play of the game. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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Specification