System for playing a game

• US 20060063593A2
• Filed: 05/23/2005
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cork Group Trading Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Waterleaf Limited
• Inventors: Moshal, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 8,047,913 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure

A system for playing a zero-sum game includes a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress one or more instances of the zero-sum game such as multiplayer poker, and a number of portal websites on the World Wide Web of the Internet. The gaming server is also accessible on World Wide Web and enables participation in the instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined number of players. The gaming server initiates further instances of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players. Each player is able to access the gaming server by means of a corresponding Internet-enabled computer workstation, access for each player occurring through a respective one of the number of portal websites. The system maintains a register of players participating in the instance of the game. The register includes, for each participating player, data representative of a corresponding portal website through which the player accessed the gaming server. The gaming server provides a wagering facility operable by each player to place a wager on the instance of the zero-sum game, as well as a discrimination facility responsive to progress of the instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether any wager placed by anyone of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful. The gaming server maintains a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portal websites and each portal maintains a credit account for each player who is participating in the instance of the zero-sum game through that portal. The gaming server credits the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the instance of the game with an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn.

Claims

1. A system for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising:

a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game, the gaming server enabling participation in the at least one instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players;

a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by means of a communication network;

a user access facility corresponding to each player, each user access facility being operable by a player to access the gaming server along the communication network through a selectable one of the number of portals;

a register of players participating in the at least one instance of the game, the register including, for each participating player, data representative of a corresponding portal through which the player accessed the gaming server;

a wagering means operable by each player to place a wager on the at least one instance of the zero-sum game; and

discrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placed thereon by any one of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the gaming server is operable under program control to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 which includes an administration facility operable to legislate access at any time to any instance of the game by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as a function of a number of players currently participating in that instance of the game.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3 in which the administration facility enables participation in any instance of the game by players requesting participation through any one of the number of portals.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4 in which the register includes data corresponding to each participating player in every instance of the game, the data being representative of an instance of the game in which that player is participating, and representative of a corresponding portal through which that player accessed the gaming server.

6. A system as claimed in claim 3 that includes a clearing account facility having a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portals.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6 in which each portal includes a corresponding sub-register of players participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.

8. A system as claimed in claim 7 in which each portal has a corresponding credit account facility having a credit account corresponding to each player in its sub-register of players.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8 that includes credit-dispensing means capable of dispensing purchased credit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, the credit account facility being operable to credit the credit account of any player who has purchased credit through the credit dispensing means with an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.

10. A system as claimed in claim 6 in which the clearing account facility is controllable by the discrimination means to debit the clearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on a turn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player'"'"'s wager.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10 in which the administration facility withholds a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake.

12. A system as claimed in claim 11 in which the clearing account facility is controllable by the discrimination means to credit the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.

13. A system as claimed in claim 12 in which the credit account facility of each portal debits the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of the wager.

14. A system as claimed in claim 13 in which the credit account facility of each portal credits the credit account of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

15. A system as claimed in claim 10 in which the clearing account facility adjusts the individual clearing account balances of the portals only after a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of the plurality of turns.

16. A system as claimed in claim 6 in which each clearing account balance has a corresponding minimum threshold.

17. A system as claimed in claim 16 in which the administration facility suspends from further participation in any instance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimum threshold.

18. A system as claimed in claim 11 in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance of the game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as a function of a proportion of players participating in the turn through that portal.

19. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the communication network is an open communication network.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19 in which the open communication network is the Internet.

21. A system as claimed in claim 20 in which each portal is a website on the World Wide Web of the Internet.

22. A system as claimed in claim 21 in which the website is an on-line casino website.

23. A system as claimed in claim 21 in which the website is a poker room website.

24. A system as claimed in claim 21 in which the user access facility is a computer workstation connectable to the World Wide Web of the Internet.

25. A system as claimed in claim 11 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagers on each turn of the game is zero.

26. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayer poker.

27. A server system for a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising:

a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game in which a predetermined plurality of players can participate, the gaming server being communicable with a number of portals by means of a communication network and accessible by any one of the plurality of players through a selectable one of the number of portals;

a register of players participating in the at least one instance of the game, the register including, for each participating player, data representative of a corresponding portal through which the player accessed the gaming server; and

discrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placed thereon by any one of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful.

28. A server system as claimed in claim 27 in which the gaming server is operable under program control to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players.

29. A server system as claimed in claim 28 that includes an administration facility to be operable to legislate access at any time to any instance of the game by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as a function of the number of players currently participating in that instance of the game.

30. A server system as claimed in claim 29 in which the administration facility enables participation in any instance of the game by players requesting participation through any one of the number of portals.

31. A server system as claimed in claim 30 in which the register includes data corresponding to each participating player in every instance of the game, the data being representative of an instance of the game in which that player is participating, and representative of a corresponding portal through which that player accessed the gaming server.

32. A server system as claimed in claim 30 that includes a clearing account facility having a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portals.

33. A server system as claimed in claim 32 in which each portal includes a sub-register of players participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.

34. A server system as claimed in claim 33 in which each portal has a corresponding credit account facility having a credit account corresponding to each player in its sub-register of players.

35. A server system as claimed in claim 34 that includes credit-dispensing means capable of dispensing purchased credit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, the credit account facility being operable to credit the credit account of any player who has purchased credit through the credit dispensing means with an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.

36. A server system as claimed in claim 32 in which the clearing account facility is controllable by the discrimination means to debit the clearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player'"'"'s wager.

37. A server system as claimed in claim 36 in which the administration facility withholds a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake.

38. A server system as claimed in claim 37 in which the clearing account facility is controllable by the discrimination means to credit the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.

39. A server system as claimed in claim 38 in which the credit account facility of each portal debits the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of the wager.

40. A server system as claimed in claim 39 in which the credit account facility of each portal credits the credit account of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

41. A server system as claimed in claim 36 in which the clearing account facility adjusts the individual clearing account balances of the portals only after a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of the plurality of turns.

42. A server system as claimed in claim 32 in which each clearing account balance has a corresponding minimum threshold.

43. A server system as claimed in claim 42 in which the administration facility suspends from further participation in any instance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimum threshold.

44. A server system as claimed in claim 37 in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance of the game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as a function of a proportion of players participating in the turn through that portal.

45. A server system as claimed in claim 37 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagers on each turn of the game is zero.

46. A server system as claimed in claim 27 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayer poker.

47. A method of operation of a system for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising the steps of:

controlling a gaming server to regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game, the gaming server enabling participation in the at least one instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players;

providing a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by means of a communication network;

establishing access to the gaming server for each player along the communication network through a corresponding one of the number of portals;

maintaining a register of players participating in the at least one instance of the game, the register including, for each participating player, data representative of the corresponding portal through which the player accessed the gaming server;

accepting a wager from any participating player on the at least one instance of the zero-sum game; and

determining whether a wager placed by any one of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful in response to progress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game.

48. A method as claimed in claim 47 that includes the step of controlling the gaming server to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players.

49. A method as claimed in claim 48 that includes the additional step of legislating access at any time to any instance of the game by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as a function of a number of players currently participating in that instance of the game.

50. A method as claimed in claim 49 in which participation is enabled in any instance of the game by players requesting participation in the game through any one of the number of portals.

51. A method as claimed in claim 50 in which data corresponding to each participating player in every instance of the game is included in the register, the data being representative of an instance of the game in which that player is participating, and representative of a corresponding portal through which that player accessed the gaming server.

52. A method as claimed in claim 49 that includes the step of maintaining a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portals.

53. A method as claimed in claim 52 that includes the additional step of establishing a sub-register corresponding to each portal, the sub-register containing details of players participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.

54. A method as claimed in claim 53 in which a credit account is maintained corresponding to each player included in the sub-register of players.

55. A method as claimed in claim 54 that includes the steps of dispensing purchased credit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, and crediting the credit account of any player who has purchased credit by an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.

56. A method as claimed in claim 52 in which the clearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player'"'"'s wager.

57. A method as claimed in claim 56 in which a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the game is withheld as a rake.

58. A method as claimed in claim 57 in which the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game is credited with an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.

59. A method as claimed in claim 58 in which the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of the wager.

60. A method as claimed in claim 59 in which the credit account of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game is credited by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

61. A method as claimed in claim 56 in which the individual clearing account balances of the portals are adjusted only after a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of the plurality of turns.

62. A method as claimed in claim 52 that includes the step of determining a corresponding minimum threshold associated with each clearing account balance.

63. A method as claimed in claim 62 in which all players whose associated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimum threshold are suspended from further participation in any instance of the zero-sum game.

64. A method as claimed in claim 57 in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance of the game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as a function of a portion of players participating in the turn through that portal.

65. A method as claimed in claim 57 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagers on each turn of the game is set to be zero.

66. A method as claimed claim 47 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayer poker.

67. A method of operation of a server system for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising the steps of:

controlling a gaming server to regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game, the game server enabling participation in the at least one instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players;

providing a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by means of a communication network;

establishing access to the gaming server along the communication network through a corresponding one of the number of portals;

maintaining a register of players participating in the at least one instance of the game, the register including, for each participating player, data representative of the corresponding portal through which the player accessed the gaming server;

accepting a wager from any participating player on the at least one instance of the zero-sum game; and

determining whether a wager placed by any one of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful in response to progress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game.

68. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 67 that includes the step of controlling the gaming server to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game when all the prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players.

69. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 68 that includes the additional step of legislating access at any time to any instance of the game by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as a function of a number of players participating in that instance of the game.

70. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 69 in which participation is enabled in any instance of the game by players requesting participation in the game through any one of the number of portals.

71. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 70 in which data corresponding to each participating player in every instance of the game is included in the register, the data being representative of an instance of the game in which that player is participating, and representative of a corresponding portal through which that player accessed the gaming server.

72. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 69 that includes the step of maintaining a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portals.

73. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 72 that includes the additional step of establishing a sub-register corresponding to each portal, the sub-register containing details of players participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.

74. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 73 in which a credit account is maintained corresponding to each player included in the sub-register of players.

75. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 74 that includes the steps of dispensing purchased credit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, and crediting the credit account of any player who has purchased credit by an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.

76. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 72 in which the clearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player'"'"'s wager.

77. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 76 in which a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the game is withheld as a rake.

78. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 77 in which the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game is credited with an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.

79. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 78 in which the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of the wager.

80. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 79 in which the credit account of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game is credited by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

81. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 76 in which the individual clearing account balances of the portals are adjusted only after a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of the plurality of turns.

82. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 72 that includes the step of determining a minimum threshold associated with each clearing account balance.

83. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 82 in which all players whose associated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimum threshold are suspended from further participation in any instance of the zero-sum game.

84. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 77 in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance of the game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as a function of a proportion of players participating in the turn through that portal.

85. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 77 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagers on each turn of the game is set to zero.

86. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 67 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayer poker.