Method for displaying an interactive game having a pre-determined outcome

• US 7,387,568 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2004
• Issued: 06/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Millerschone, Norman H.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US10/864,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20040237118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,470 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements

Abstract

An interactive game having a pre-determined outcome (e.g., a game of finite poker) that displays an initial hand of cards, receives a player-specified designation as to which cards are to held and which are to be discarded, and then displays an intermediate hand generated in accordance with the player-specified designation. Then a final hand is shown, and in those cases where the player-specified designation (Hold/Discard) is inconsistent with a transition from the intermediate hand to the final hand, an entertaining display is shown, such as a sequence of alternative playing cards. In some cases, the initial hand is a winning hand according to a predetermined payout schedule, and the final hand is a winning hand with a higher payout than the initial hand according to the same payout schedule. The disclosed methods can be used with other games, including reel-type games.

Claims

1. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive game, wherein for each interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined designation associated with at least one of said first playing cards, wherein said predetermined designation is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards which correspond to the first poker hand;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the displayed playing cards which correspond to the predetermined game outcome include at least one of the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

6. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

7. The gaming device of claim 6, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

8. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive game, wherein for each interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined designation associated with at least one of said first playing cards, wherein said predetermined designation is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards which correspond to the first poker hand;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying at least one of the first playing cards, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

9. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein the displayed playing cards which correspond to the predetermined game outcome include at least one of the first playing cards.

10. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

11. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

12. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

13. The gaming device of claim 8, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

14. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

15. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive game, wherein for each interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined designation associated with at least one of said first playing cards, wherein said predetermined designation is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards which correspond to the first poker hand;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) displaying the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards designated by the player to be replaced;

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying at least one of the first playing cards, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(e) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

16. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the displayed playing cards which correspond to the predetermined game outcome include at least one of the first playing cards.

17. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

18. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

19. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

20. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

21. The gaming device of claim 20, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

22. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive game, wherein for each interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined designation associated with at least one of said first playing cards, wherein said predetermined designation is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards which correspond to the first poker hand;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) displaying the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards designated by the player to be replaced;

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(e) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing card is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

23. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the displayed playing cards which correspond to the predetermined game outcome include at least one of the second playing card associated with at least one of the first playing cards.

24. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

25. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

26. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than said set of second playing cards.

27. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

28. The gaming device of claim 27, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

29. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive poker game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards;

at least one predetermined designation which is either a hold designation or a replace designation associated with said first playing cards;

a predetermined game outcome in the interactive poker game, wherein said predetermined game outcome is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, and wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with a plurality of said playing cards;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards to a player;

(b) enabling the player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying said plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

30. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

31. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from a set of second playing cards.

32. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from a set of second playing cards.

33. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

34. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

35. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

36. The gaming device of claim 29, wherein said predetermined game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes.

37. The gaming device of claim 36, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

38. The gaming device of claim 37, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

39. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive poker game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards, a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

at least one predetermined designation which is either a hold designation or a replace designation associated with said first playing cards;

a predetermined game outcome in the interactive poker game, wherein said predetermined game outcome is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, and wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with a plurality of said playing cards;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards to a player;

(b) enabling the player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) display a subset of the second playing cards associated with the subset of the first playing cards designated by the player to be replaced;

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying said plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(e) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

40. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

41. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

42. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

43. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

44. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

45. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

46. The gaming device of claim 39, wherein said predetermined game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes.

47. The gaming device of claim 46, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

48. The gaming device of claim 47, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

49. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined game outcome in the interactive game, wherein said predetermined game outcome is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, and wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with a plurality of said playing cards;

a plurality of predetermined designations associated with a plurality of said first playing cards, wherein each designation is either a hold or a replace;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards to a player;

(b) enabling the player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) for each of the first playing cards associated with one of said predetermined designations;

(i) determining if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card,

(ii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a hold designation, continue displaying said first playing card,

(iii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a replace designation, displaying said second playing card associated with said first displayed playing card, and

(iv) if the player'"'"'s designation is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card, displaying a modification wherein said modification causes at least one of said playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome to be displayed, and

(d) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

50. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

51. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

52. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

53. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a predetermined designation.

54. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

55. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

56. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

57. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein said predetermined game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes.

58. The gaming device of claim 57, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

59. The gaming device of claim 58, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

60. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive poker game;

a plurality of playing cards in the interactive poker game, wherein for each play of said interactive game, a set of first playing cards which corresponds to a first poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards and a set of second playing cards which corresponds to a second poker hand is formed from a plurality of said playing cards, wherein each of said second playing cards is associated with a respective one of said first playing cards;

a predetermined game outcome in the interactive game, wherein said predetermined game outcome is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, and wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with a plurality of said playing cards;

a plurality of predetermined designations associated with a plurality of said first playing cards, wherein each designation is either a hold or a replace;

a display device adapted to display the interactive poker game; and

a processor operable with said display device to control the play of the interactive poker game by;

(a) displaying the set of first playing cards to a player;

(b) enabling the player to designate zero, one or a plurality of the displayed first playing cards to replace;

(c) for each of the first playing cards associated with one of said predetermined designations;

(i) determining if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card,

(ii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a hold designation, continue displaying said first playing card,

(iii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a replace designation, displaying said second playing card associated with said first displayed playing card, and

(iv) if the player'"'"'s designation is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card, displaying a modification wherein said modification causes at least one of said playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome to be displayed, and

(d) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

61. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

62. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

63. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

64. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a predetermined designation.

65. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

66. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

67. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

68. The gaming device of claim 60, wherein said predetermined game outcome is obtained from a finite pool of game outcomes.

69. The gaming device of claim 68, wherein said finite pool of game outcomes is stored in a memory device of said gaming device.

70. The gaming device of claim 69, wherein said memory device is selected from the group consisting of a magnetic disk, a read only memory, a compact disk read only memory and a random access memory.

71. A method for operating a gaming device having an interactive poker game with a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, said method comprising:

(a) displaying a set of first playing cards to a player, wherein said set of first playing cards are associated with at least one predetermined designation which is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

73. The method of claim 71, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from a set of second playing cards.

74. The method of claim 71, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from a set of second playing cards.

75. The method of claim 71, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

76. The method of claim 71, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

77. The method of claim 71, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

78. The method of claim 71, which includes obtaining said predetermined game outcome from a finite pool of game outcomes.

79. A method for operating a gaming device having an interactive poker game with a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, said method comprising:

(a) displaying a set of first playing cards to a player, wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a second playing card and said set of first playing cards are associated with at least one predetermined designation which is either a hold designation or a replace designation;

(b) enabling a player to designate at least one of said displayed first playing cards as either a hold or a replace;

(c) display a subset of the second playing cards associated with the subset of the first playing cards designated by the player to be replaced;

(d) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player, and

(e) if the player'"'"'s designation of said first displayed playing cards is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing cards;

(i) displaying a modification of said first displayed playing card, wherein independent of the player'"'"'s designation, said modification causes the displayed playing cards to correspond to the predetermined game outcome, and

(ii) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

81. The method of claim 79, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

82. The method of claim 79, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

83. The method of claim 79, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

84. The method of claim 79, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

85. The method of claim 79, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

86. The method of claim 79, which includes obtaining said predetermined game outcome from a finite pool of game outcomes.

87. A method for operating a gaming device having a game with a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, said method comprising:

(a) displaying a set of first playing cards to a player wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a second playing card and a plurality of said first playing cards are associated with a plurality of predetermined designations which are each either a hold designation or a replace designation;

(b) enabling the player to designate zero, one or a plurality of the displayed first playing cards to replace;

(c) for each of the first playing cards associated with one of said predetermined designations;

(i) determining if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card,

(ii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a hold designation, continue displaying said first playing card,

(iii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a replace designation, displaying said second playing card associated with said first displayed playing card, and

(iv) if the player'"'"'s designation is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card, displaying a modification wherein said modification causes at least one playing card associated with said predetermined game outcome to be displayed, and

(d) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

88. The method of claim 87, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

89. The method of claim 87, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

90. The method of claim 87, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

91. The method of claim 87, wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a predetermined designation.

92. The method of claim 87, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

93. The method of claim 87, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

94. The method of claim 87, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

95. The method of claim 87, which includes obtaining said predetermined game outcome from a finite pool of game outcomes.

96. A method for operating a gaming device having a game with a predetermined game outcome which is either a winning game outcome or a losing game outcome, said method comprising:

(a) displaying a set of first playing cards to a player wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a second playing card and a plurality of said first playing cards are associated with a plurality of predetermined designations which are each either a hold designation or a replace designation;

(b) enabling the player to designate zero, one or a plurality of the displayed first playing cards to replace;

(c) displaying a subset of the second playing cards associated with the subset of the first playing cards designated by the player to be replaced;

(d) for each of the first playing cards associated with one of said predetermined designations;

(i) determining if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card,

(ii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a hold designation, continue displaying said first playing card,

(iii) if the player'"'"'s designation is consistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card and said designation is a replace designation, displaying said second playing card associated with said first displayed playing card, and

(iv) if the player'"'"'s designation is inconsistent with the predetermined designation associated with said first playing card, displaying a modification wherein said modification causes at least one playing card associated with said predetermined game outcome to be displayed, and

(e) providing said predetermined game outcome to the player.

97. The method of claim 96, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards.

98. The method of claim 96, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

99. The method of claim 96, wherein said predetermined game outcome is associated with at least one playing card from said set of first playing cards and at least one playing card from said set of second playing cards.

100. The method of claim 96, wherein each of said first playing cards is associated with a predetermined designation.

101. The method of claim 96, wherein the set of first playing cards has a different number of playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

102. The method of claim 96, wherein the set of first playing cards has more playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predetermined game outcome.

103. The method of claim 96, wherein the set of first playing cards has less playing cards than the plurality of playing cards associated with said predet ermined game outcome.

104. The method of claim 96, which includes obtaining said predetermined game outcome from a finite pool of game outcomes.