REMOTE CARD GAME WITH DUPLICATE HANDS

• US 20080169605A1
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IdeaFlood, Inc.
• Original Assignee: IdeaFlood, Inc.
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark, Shuster, Gary Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 8,545,301 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 273/292
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

Duplicate hands are dealt in a remote game of poker or other card game of chance. Simulated cards or game pieces are dealt to players with the order of suits changed for each player. A map is maintained in a computer memory between a reference set of indices corresponding to card suits, and differently-ordered sets of playing suits for dealing in the game. A reference game is maintained at a server computer to track game status according to the reference set of indices. Game play is translated between the reference game and individual playing suits so that players are unaware of the order of suits used for other players.

Claims

1. In a computer-implemented system for playing a game of chance using a set of simulated game pieces associated with game symbols separable info subsets characterized by common types, a method for managing game play comprising:

maintaining a map in a memory operatively associated with a computer, wherein the map defines one-to-many relationships between each type of a reference set of game symbol types and each type of a plurality of different playing sets of game symbol types;

randomly allocating simulated game pieces to a plurality of players according to rules of a game of chance;

maintaining a reference game record of simulated game pieces during play of the game of chance, wherein the reference game record comprises information associating simulated game pieces according to the reference set with each of the plurality of players; and

translating at least a portion of the reference game record using the map to provide different ones of the plurality of players with information about allocated game pieces using corresponding different ones of the plurality of different playing sets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulated game pieces used in the method represent a pack of playing cards, and the game symbol types correspond to suits of a deck of playing cards.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising preventing the plurality of players from having access to the reference game record.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving inputs from the plurality of players indicative of game play moves.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising updating the reference game record in response to the inputs.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising randomly selecting, for each of the plurality of players, the different ones of the plurality of playing sets translated in the translating step.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocating step further comprises allocating duplicate sets of simulated game pieces to different ones of the plurality of players.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the duplicate sets are allocated at substantially the same time to the different ones of the plurality of players playing in separate player groups.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the duplicate sets are allocated at substantially different times to the different ones of the plurality of players.

10. A computer-implemented method for managing a plurality of poker games, comprising:

communicating via a computer network with a plurality of players to manage a plurality of poker games;

randomly allocating simulated hands of cards to the plurality of players in a computer memory operatively connected to the computer network, wherein the simulated hands of cards comprise duplicate hands of cards allocated to players engaged in separate ones of the poker games; and

determining a game result in each of the separate poker games.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the allocating step further comprises allocating the hands such that a plurality of different player groups are allocated the same hands of playing cards at substantially the same time.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising ranking players based on comparative results achieved by players allocated the same hand across different groups.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising ranking players based on an aggregate of the comparative results across multiple different games.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the allocating step further comprises allocating the hands such that at least one player group is allocated the same hands of playing cards at substantially different times, the same hands being distributed to different players of the group at the different times.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising ranking players based on an aggregate of comparative results achieved by players allocated the same hand across multiple different games.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

maintaining a map in the computer memory, wherein the map defines one-to-many relationships between an ordered reference set of indices corresponding to suits of a set of simulated playing cards and a plurality of differently-ordered sets of suits;

maintaining a reference game record of simulated cards during play of the poker game, wherein the reference game record comprises information associating simulated cards according to the reference set with each of the plurality of players; and

translating at least a portion of the reference game record using the map to provide different ones of the plurality of players with information about allocated cards appearing in corresponding different ones of the plurality of differently-ordered sets of suits.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising preventing the plurality of players from having access to the reference game record.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving inputs from the plurality of players indicative of game play moves.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising updating the reference game record in response to the inputs.

20. A computer-implemented method for managing a plurality of poker games, comprising:

randomly allocating simulated hands of cards to a plurality of players in a computer memory according to rules of a poker game,

maintaining a map in the computer memory, wherein the map defines one-to-many relationships between an ordered reference set of indices corresponding to suits of playing cards and a plurality of differently-ordered sets of playing suits;

maintaining a reference game record of simulated cards during play of the poker game, wherein the reference game record comprises information associating simulated cards according to the reference set with each of the plurality of players; and

translating at least a portion of the reference game record using the map to provide different ones of the plurality of players with information about allocated cards appearing in corresponding different ones of the plurality of differently-ordered sets of playing suits.