Gaming device and method for providing multiple-hand poker game

• US 8,353,751 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2007
• Issued: 01/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Bickley, Jeffery S., Nicely, Mark C., Ennis, Damien C.
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agostino, Paul A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DOSHI, ANKIT B
• Application Number:
  US11/733,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20080252011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,107 Days
• Field of Search: 463/10, 463/11, 463/12, 463/13, 273/292
• US Class Current: 463/11
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

A gaming device having a multi-player poker game includes a plurality of two-card hands dealt to a player and to a virtual opponent. First, the player has an option to place a wager on or fold each of the player hands. Then, the gaming device folds a number of dealer hands corresponding to the number of folded player hands and contributes a wager to the pot for each remaining virtual opponent hand in play. A primary award is provided if at least one of the active player hands outranks all of the non-folded virtual opponent hands. A bonus award is provided to the player if the rank of the player'"'"'s winning hand is a predetermined rank.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gaming device, said method comprising:

(a) enabling a player to use at least one input device to designate a wager amount for a play of a single card game;

(b) causing a display device to display a plurality of cards face-down to form a plurality of two-card player hands and a plurality of two-card house hands from a virtual deck of playing cards for the play of the card game, wherein the play of the single card game includes each of the plurality of two-card player and two-card house hands;

(c) sequentially for each two-card player hand;

(i) revealing the cards in said two-card player hand;

(ii) if said two-card player hand is not a final player hand or if the player has already placed a wager on a previous two-card player hand, enabling the player to either;

(A) place a wager of the designated wager amount on said two-card player hand, or

(B) fold said two-card player hand;

(iii) if said two-card player hand is the final player hand and the player has not already placed a wager on a previous two-card player hand, requiring the player to place a wager of the designated wager amount on said two-card player hand; and

(iv) for each two-card player hand folded by the player, folding one of the two-card house hands,

(d) if the player places the wager of the designated wager amount on each and every one of the plurality of two-card player hands formed, cause the gaming device to play each and every one of the two-card house hands;

(e) displaying five community cards face-up;

(f) determining the rank of each wagered on two-card player hand and each non-folded two-card house hand by;

(i) forming, for each of said two-card player hands, a final player hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in each said respective two-card player hand and the five community cards; and

(ii) forming, for each of said non-folded two-card house hands, a final house hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in each said respective two-card house hand and the five community cards; and

(g) providing a primary award to the player if the rank of at least one of the wagered on final player hands is greater than the rank of all of the non-folded final house hands, the primary award based, at least in part, on the total value of the placed wagers.

2. The method of claim 1, which includes enabling the player to use the at least one input device to place an optional bonus wager.

3. The method of claim 2, which includes

providing a bonus award to the player if the player placed the optional secondary wager and if the rank of one of the wagered on final player hands is one of a plurality of designated ranks.

4. The method of claim 1, which includes providing a bonus award to the player if the rank of at least one of the wagered on final player hands is greater than the rank of all of the final house hands, and if the rank of said wagered on final player hand is one of a plurality of designated ranks.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of designated ranks include:

a Full House;

a Four-Of-A-Kind;

a Straight Flush; and

a Royal Straight Flush.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus award is based on the value of the primary award.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus award is based on the value of the designated wager amount.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus award is based on the rank of the wagered on final player hand.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

(a) enabling a player to place a secondary wager up to the value of any provided bonus award;

(b) causing a display device to display;

(i) cards face-up to the player to form a two-card player hand, and

(ii) cards face-up to form a two-card house hand;

(c) displaying five community cards face-up;

(d) determining the rank of a final player hand and a final house hand by;

(i) forming the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card player hand and the five community cards; and

(ii) forming the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card house hand and the five community cards; and

(e) providing a secondary award to the player if the rank of the final player hand is greater than the rank of the final house hand.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the value of the secondary award is the same as the value of the secondary wager.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of two-card house hands is greater than the number of two-card player hands.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of two-card house hands is four and the number of two-card player hands is three.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of two-card house hands is equal to the number of two-card player hands.

14. The method of claim 1, which includes providing the primary award to the player if the rank of at least one of the wagered on final player hands is greater than the rank of some of the final house hands, the primary award based, at least in part, on the number of final house hands ranking below the wagered on final player hands.

15. The method of claim 1, which includes providing a bonus award to the player if the rank of at least one of the final player hands meets a predetermined criteria, where the bonus award is based on a paytable.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein folding one of the two-card house hands includes selecting and folding one of the two-card house hands having a rank closest to the rank of the most recently folded two-card player hand.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein folding one of the two-card house hands includes randomly selecting and folding one of the two-card house hands.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein folding one of the two-card house hands includes selecting and folding the lowest ranking two-card house hand.

19. The method of claim 1, which is provided through a data network.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the data network is an internet.

21. A gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a single poker game, to;

(a) enable the player to place a primary wager on said play of the poker game;

(b) display a plurality of two-card player hands face-down and a plurality of two-card dealer hands face-down from a virtual deck of playing cards, wherein the play of the single poker game includes each of the plurality of two-card player and two-card house hands;

(c) select one of the two-card player hands by enabling the player to select one of the plurality of two-card player hands by displaying one of the two-card player hands and allowing the player to accept or reject said hand, for each of the plurality of two-card player hands until the player accepts one of the player hands, a player hand being automatically selected if the player rejected all of the previous player hands;

(d) select one of the plurality of two-card dealer hands by displaying one of the two-card dealer hands and accepting or rejecting said hand, for each of the plurality of two-card dealer hands until one of the plurality of dealer hands has been accepted, a dealer hand being automatically selected if all of the previous two-card dealer hands are rejected, wherein for each and every one of the two-card player hands is selected, one of the two-card dealer hands is also selected;

(e) for each two-card player hand folded by the player, folding one of the two-card dealer hands;

(f) display five community cards face-up;

(g) determine the rank of the selected two-card player hand and the selected two-card dealer hand by;

(i) forming a final player hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in said selected player hand and the five community cards; and

(ii) forming a final dealer hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in said selected dealer hand and the five community cards; and

(h) provide a primary award to the player if the rank of the final player hand is greater than the rank of the final dealer hand.

22. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to provide a bonus award to the player if the rank of the final player hand is greater than the rank of the final dealer hand and is one of a plurality of predetermined ranks.

23. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein the plurality of predetermined ranks include:

a Full House;

Four-Of-A-Kind;

a Straight Flush; and

a Royal Straight Flush.

24. The gaming device of claim 23, wherein the bonus award is based on the value of the primary wager.

25. The gaming device of claim 23, wherein the bonus award is based on the relative probability of achieving a hand having one of the plurality of predetermined ranks.

26. The gaming device of claim 22, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

enable the player to place a secondary wager up to the value of any provided bonus award;

display cards to the player face-up to form a two-card player hand and display cards face-up to form a two-card dealer hand;

display five community cards face-up;

determine the rank of the two-card player hand and the two-card dealer hand by;

forming the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two-card player hand and the five community cards; and

forming the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two-card dealer hand and the five community cards; and

provide a secondary award to the player if the rank of the two-card player hand is greater than the rank of the two-card dealer hand.

27. The gaming device of claim 26, wherein the value of the secondary award is the same as the value of the secondary wager.

28. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein the number of two-card dealer hands is four and the number of two-card player hands is three.

29. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein the number of two-card dealer hands is equal to the number of two-card player hands.

30. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

provide the primary award to the player if the rank of at least one of the wagered on final player hands is greater than the rank of some of the final dealer hands, the primary award based, at least in part, on the number of non-folded final dealer hands ranking below the wagered on final player hands.

31. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

provide a bonus award to the player if the rank of at least one of the final player hands meets a predetermined criteria, where the bonus award is based on a paytable.

32. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

select from the non-folded two-card dealer hands the hand having a rank closest to a rank of the most recently folded two-card player hand, and fold the selected two-card dealer hand.

33. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

randomly select one two-card dealer hand from the non-folded two-card dealer hands, and fold said randomly selected two-card dealer hand when the player folds one of the two-card player hands.

34. The gaming device of claim 21, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to:

fold the lowest ranking non-folded two-card dealer hand when the player folds one of the two-card player hands.

35. A gaming system comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device, for a play of a single poker game, to;

(a) enable the player to place a primary wager on the play of the poker game;

(b) display a plurality of two-card player hands and a plurality of two-card dealer hands from a virtual deck of playing cards, wherein the play of the single poker game includes each of the plurality of two-card player and two-card dealer hands;

(c) enable a player to select one of the plurality of two-card player hands by displaying one of the two-card player hands and allowing the player to accept or reject said hand, for each of the plurality of two-card player hands until the player accepts a two-card player hand;

(d) select one of the plurality of two-card dealer hands by displaying one of the two-card dealer hands and accepting or rejecting said hand, for each of the plurality of two-card dealer hands until one of the plurality of two-card dealer hands has been accepted, wherein for each and every one of the two-card player hands selected, one of the two-card dealer hands is selected;

(e) for each two-card player hand folded by the player, folding one of the two-card dealer hands;

(f) display five community cards;

(g) determine the rank of the selected two-card player hand and the selected two-card dealer hand by;

(i) forming a final player hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card player hand and the five community cards; and

(ii) forming a final dealer hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card dealer hand and the five community cards; and

(h) provide a primary award to the player if the rank of the final player hand is greater than the rank of the final dealer hand.

36. The gaming system of claim 35, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to display five community cards by:

displaying three community cards face-up, and enabling the player to place another optional wager;

displaying a fourth card community card face-up and enabling the player to place another optional wager; and

displaying a fifth card community card face-up and enabling the player to place another optional wager.

37. A method of operating a gaming device, said method comprising:

(a) requiring a player to use an input device to place an initial ante wager for a play of a single card game;

(b) causing at least one display device to display the card game;

(c) causing the at least one display device to display cards face-down to form a plurality of two-card player hands and a plurality of two-card house hands from a virtual deck of playing cards, wherein the play of the single card game includes each of the plurality of two-card player and two-card house hands;

(d) sequentially for each player hand;

(i) revealing the cards in said two-card player hand;

(ii) enabling the player to either place a wager on the two-card player hand or fold the two-card player hand; and

(iii) if the player folds the two-card player hand, folding one of the two-card house hands;

(e) if each and every one of the two-card player hands have been wagered on, cause the gaming device to play each and every one of the two-card house hands; and

(f) for any two-card player hands that have been wagered on;

(i) displaying five community cards face-up;

(ii) sequentially for each wagered on two-card player hand and each wagered on two-card house hand, determining the rank of said hand by;

(A) forming a final player hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card player hand and the five community cards; and

(B) forming a final house hand including the highest ranking five card poker hand from the two cards in the two-card house hand and the five community cards; and

(iii) providing a primary award to the player if the rank of at least one of the wagered on final player hands is greater than the rank of all of the final house hands, the primary award based on the total value of the placed wagers and the value of the initial ante wager.

38. The method of operating a gaming device according to claim 37, wherein the initial ante wager and any subsequent wagers by the player are added to a pot.

39. The method of operating a gaming device according to claim 38, further including increasing the pot, for each wagered on two-card player hand, by the amount of the wager for the respective two-card player hand.

40. The method of operating a gaming device according to claim 39, wherein the primary award is the total value of the pot.