Four-card poker game with variable wager

• US 9,126,102 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Snow, Roger M., Castle, Louis J. II
• Primary Examiner(s): DENNIS, MICHAEL DAVID
• Application Number:
  US14/034,287
• Publication Number:
  US 20140087805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 273/292, 463/13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/00 Card games aspects of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions showing representations related to the game A63F13/00; card games played on a gaming machine G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

An online casino game utilizes at least one deck of playing cards. Each player places an initial wager. A first and a second number of cards are dealt to a dealer and to each player, respectively. The first and second numbers are greater than the number of cards to be used in determining a poker rank hand for the dealer and for each player, respectively. The dealer and each player discard at least one card to form a dealer hand and a player hand, respectively, having an equal number of cards. Each player hand is resolved against the dealer hand according to predetermined game rules. The initial wager must be at least matched with a game wager (play wager), which may be a multiple of the initial wager (e.g., 1× to 5×, at the option of the player), for the player to remain in the game after receiving his cards.

Claims

1. A method of administering a wagering game over a network, comprising:

providing a game server and a user interaction server of a gaming system;

providing, by the user interaction server, a client for execution on a user device connected to the network and associated with a player, the user device being remote from the game server;

the client receiving from the user device, and communicating to the game server, an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager to enter the player to participate in the wagering game;

the game server determining a set of player cards including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards;

the game server communicating to the user interaction server the set of player cards;

the user interaction server communicating to the user device the set of player cards for display on the user device;

the game server determining a set of dealer cards including six randomized playing cards from the set of playing cards;

the game server receiving from the client, a game play election selected from a fold election and a play wager election, an amount of a play wager associated with the play wager election being at least equal to the ante wager;

the game server determining a best player four-card poker hand using the set of player cards;

the game server determining a best dealer four-card poker hand using the set of dealer cards;

the gaming system adding to a game pot any received wagers of the play wager, the ante wager, and the bonus wager;

the game server resolving the ante wager and the bonus wager, comprising;

the game server comparing the best player four-card poker hand to the best dealer four-card poker hand; and

the game server determining at least a portion of the game pot to be distributed from the game pot to the player based upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

2. The method of claim 1:

further comprising, before the client receiving from the user device, and communicating to the game server, an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager, providing virtual wagering elements to the player associated with the user device; and

wherein the client receiving from the user device, and communicating to the game server, the indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager comprises the client receiving from the user device the indication of the ante wager, the ante wager being of an amount of the virtual wagering elements.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing virtual wagering elements to the player associated with the user device comprises providing play-for-fun credits to the player associated with the user device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising awarding a quantity of the virtual wagering elements to the player associated with the user device based on a hierarchy of players.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the client receiving from the user device, and communicating to the game server, an indication of a poker wager;

the gaming system adding the poker wager to a poker pot; and

the game server identifying a winner of the poker pot, the winner of the poker pot being a player, of a plurality of players including the player associated with the user device, holding a highest-ranking hand in a round of the wagering game.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the poker pot has no house advantage.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the client receiving from the user device, and communicating to the game server, an indication of a super bonus wager; and

the gaming system adding the super bonus wager to the game pot.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the gaming system collecting a rake on the any received wagers added to the game pot.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the game server determining at least a portion of the game pot to be distributed from the game pot to the player based upon the occurrence of a predetermined event comprises the game server determining at least the portion of the game pot to be distributed from the game pot to the player based on a predetermined event of the best player four-card poker hand meeting a qualifying hand or better.

10. A system for managing play of a wagering game, comprising:

a user interaction server in communication between a user device of a plurality of user devices and a game server of the system, the user devices of the plurality being remote from the game server of the system, the system defining and configured to execute instructions; and

a set of the instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of a storage device of the system, the set of instructions configured to, when executed by the system, cause the user interaction server to;

receive, from the user device, an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager to enter a player associated with the user device to participate in the wagering game;

receive, from the game server, a set of player cards including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards;

provide the set of player cards to the user device for display on the user device;

receive, from the game server, a set of dealer cards including six randomized playing cards from the set of playing cards;

receive, from the user device, a game play election selected at the user device from the group consisting of a fold election and an indication for a play wager, the play wager being of an amount at least equal to an amount of the ante wager;

receive, from the game server, a best four-card poker player hand for the player associated with the user device, the best four-card poker player hand using the set of player cards;

provide the set of dealer cards to the user device for display on the user device;

receive, from the game server, a best four-card poker dealer hand using the set of dealer cards;

receive, from the game server, game outcomes resolving each wager of the ante wager, the bonus wager, and the play wager for which a respective indication was received;

add to a game pot each of the ante wager, the bonus wager, and the play wager for which the respective indication was received;

provide the game outcomes to the user device for display on the user device; and

award at least a portion of the game pot to the player upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions is further configured to, when executed by the system, cause the game server to determine the game outcomes resolving each wager of the ante wager, the bonus wager, and the play wager for which the respective indication was received, the game outcomes comprising

a game outcome resolving the ante wager based at least in part on a comparison, by the game server, of the best four-card poker player hand to the best four-card poker dealer hand;

and

a game outcome resolving the play wager based at least in part on the comparison, by the game server, of the best four-card poker player hand to the best four-card poker dealer hand.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of the instructions, when executed by the system, further cause the user interaction server to provide a quantity of the virtual wagering elements to the plurality of user devices based on a hierarchy of players associated with the plurality of user devices, the plurality of players including the player associated with the user device.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions configured to, when executed by the system, cause the game server to award at least a portion of the game pot to the player upon the occurrence of a predetermined event comprises the set of instructions configured to, when executed by the system, cause the game server to award the game pot to the player upon the occurrence of the predetermined event.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions is further configured to, when executed by the system:

cause the user interaction server to;

receive, from the user device, an indication of a poker wager; and

communicate, to the game server, the indication of the poker wager; and

cause the game server to;

add the poker wager to a poker pot; and

allocate the poker pot to one of a plurality of players, associated with the plurality of user devices and including the player associated with the user device, the one being associated with a highest-ranking hand in a round of play of the wagering game.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of instructions is further configured to, when executed by the system, cause the game server to add to the game pot a super bonus wager, received from the user device via the user interaction server.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event is selected from the group consisting of a predetermined number of hands, a predetermined number of rounds, a predetermined time limit, and a predetermined amount in the game pot.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the game pot is a progressive pot.