HK1141750A - Card game - Google Patents

Description

Card game

Technical Field

The present invention relates to card games (card games). In particular, the present invention relates to card games suitable for playing in casinos and to apparatus suitable for playing card games.

Background

Many card games have been designed for casino use. To be a successful casino game, all card games should preferably be both playable and relatively easy for players to learn in order to incentivize new players. The present invention relates to a card game developed for the purpose of satisfying these principles.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a card game, comprising the steps of:

each player places a bet (place a wager);

the dealer (dealer) deals at least four cards to each player and four cards to the dealer;

each player and the dealer hand the four cards into a high hand (high hand) and a low hand (low hand), wherein the high hand comprises:

if the player has two pairs (pair), the high hand is the highest ranked (highest ranked) pair;

if the player has a pair, the high hand is the pair;

if the player has no pairs, the high hand is the two cards that can receive the highest point from two of the four cards, where the point is a function of the numeric value of the cards;

and the lower hand includes the remaining two cards;

comparing the dealer's high hand to each player's high hand, comparing the dealer's low hand to each player's low hand, and determining whether each player wins or loses the high and/or low hands according to:

a pair wins any lower ranked pair or any number of points;

the points win any lower ranked points;

the player is paid awards (winnings) associated with their wager if the player has more winning hands than the dealer, or the player loses their wager if the player has less winning hands than the dealer, or returns the wager to the player in any other event.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a card game comprising the steps of:

providing a playing area having a wagering area for each player, a high hand area for each player, a low hand area for each player, a high hand area for the dealer and a low hand area for the dealer;

each player places a bet in its betting area;

the dealer deals at least four cards to each player and four cards to the dealer;

each player and the dealer arrange four cards into a high hand in a high hand area and a low hand in a low hand area, wherein the high hand comprises:

if the player has two pairs, the high hand is the highest ranked pair;

if the player has a pair, the high hand is the pair;

if the player has no pairs, the high hand is the two cards that can receive the highest point from two of the four cards, where the point is a function of the numeric value of the cards;

and the lower hand includes the remaining two cards;

comparing the dealer's high hand to each player's high hand, comparing the dealer's low hand to each player's low hand, and determining whether each player wins or loses the high and/or low hands according to:

the pairs win any lower ranked pairs or points;

the points win any lower ranked points;

if the player has more winning hands than the dealer, the player is paid an award related to his wager, or if the player has fewer winning hands than the dealer, the player loses his wager, or in any other case returns the wager to the player.

In one embodiment, where the player's high and/or low hands are ranked the same as the dealer's corresponding hands:

the dealer's high hand wins the high hand of the same ranked player; and

the player's low hand wins the low hand of the dealer ranked the same.

In another embodiment, where the player's high and/or low hands are ranked the same as the dealer's corresponding hands:

if the dealer's high and low hands are ranked the same as both the player's high and low hands, the dealer's high and low hands are ranked higher than the player's high and low hands;

if the dealer's high and low hands are ranked the same as only one of the player's high and low hands, those hands ranked the same are considered ranked equal.

Preferably, the points are calculated by summing the numerical values of the cards and subtracting 10 if the sum is greater than or equal to 10. Preferably, where the player wins more hands than the dealer, the player is paid an amount equal to his initial wager.

Preferably, the method further comprises the steps of: each player may optionally place a secondary wager prior to dealing, and if the player's high and/or low hands comprise pairs, the player is paid a prize based on the secondary wager. Preferably, the secondary wager is placed in a secondary wager area provided for each player.

In one embodiment, the prize paid for the second wager may be paid at different odds depending on whether the player's high and low hands include one pair, two pairs of different rankings, or two pairs having the same rankings.

Preferably, the card game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards, with the Jack, Queen and King removed. Preferably, the Ace is ranked higher than any remaining cards for sub-rank considerations, and counts as one for calculating points.

In one embodiment, each player is dealt five cards and then is asked to discard one of the cards before the high and low hands are dealt. The player may be required to pay for additional cards to obtain five cards.

In another embodiment, a point bet may be made by the player, who selects a value for the difference in points between the player's high and/or low hand and the dealer's high and/or low hand. Also, progressive bet may be provided where a player bets to qualify for a jackpot (jackpot) or bonus prize (bonus prize).

The method may be implemented on an electronic gaming machine.

Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a playing area for playing a poker game in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of a player area of the playing area of FIG. 1; and

figure 3 is a view of the dealer (dealer) area of the playing area of figure 1.

Detailed Description

The present invention includes a card game played by one or more players against a dealer. The game is played on a playing area 10, the playing area 10 including a dealer playing area 12 and one or more player playing areas 14. The playing area 10 may be provided on a gaming table (gaming table).

The game is preferably played using a standard deck of cards with the human head (jack, Queen, King) removed. That is, a deck of 40 cards including 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and Ace. The suit of cards (suits of cards) is irrelevant for gaming reasons.

Each player is provided with a playing area 14, a wagering area 16, a high hand area 18 and a low hand area 20. The dealer's playing area 12 is also provided with a high hand area 22 and a low hand area 24.

At the start of a round of play, each player places a bet in their betting area 16. The wager is preferably limited to one of a plurality of predefined acceptable amounts. Once each player places an initial wager (initial wager) in the wager area 16, they are dealt four cards. The dealer is also dealt four cards. Preferably, each player and the dealer are dealt one card at a time in a clockwise manner until each player and the dealer have four cards.

Each player then arranges their four cards into a high hand and a low hand. The high hand card is placed face down in the player's high hand area 18 and the low hand card is placed face down in the player's low hand area 20. The dealer also arranges his four cards into a high hand located in the dealer's high hand area 22 and a low hand located in the dealer's low hand area 24.

When the high and low hands are discharged, all pairs of cards are put together. If a player or dealer has two pairs, then the higher ranked pair is the high hand and the lower ranked pair is the low hand. If the player or banker has only one pair, then that pair is the high hand and the remaining two cards are the low hand. If the player or dealer has no pairs, then the four cards are arranged such that the high hand includes the two cards with the highest point count, where the point count is based on the numeric value of the cards.

The value of any two pairs of cards is calculated by adding the numerical values on the cards and subtracting 10 if the result is 10 or more. Although a pair a will be ranked higher than any number card pair, a is considered to be 1 for the purpose of calculating points. For example, if the hands are 8, 6, 4, and 3, then the possible points are 4(8+6), 2(8+4), 1(8+3), 0(6+4), 9(6+3), and 7(4+ 3). Thus, the high hands are 6 and 3, and the number of points is 9. The low hand consists of the remaining two cards, so in this example the low hand is 8 and 4, and the point is 2.

To determine whether each player wins, loses or remains with their wager in the wagering area 16, the dealer exposes the dealer's high and low hands, which are then in turn the high and low hands of the respective players. When both the player's respective high and low hands are exposed, the player's high hand is compared to the dealer's high hand and the player's low hand is compared to the dealer's low hand.

To determine whether a player's high or low hand wins or loses when compared to the dealer's corresponding hand, any pair of cards will win any hand that includes only points. Any card pair will also win any other lower ranked pair, with the ranking being a, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 in descending order. Any hand that includes a point will win a lower value of points.

If the player wins more hands at the dealer, the player is paid an amount equal to his initial wager. If the dealer wins more hands, the player loses his initial wager. In any other case, the player is returned the wager originally placed by the player.

Thus, if the dealer's high or low hand and the player's corresponding hand rank are not the same, the player is paid an amount equal to his initial wager if the player wins both the high and low hands, and loses his initial wager if the dealer wins both the high and low hands. If the player wins one of the high or low hands and the dealer wins the other hand, the player retains his initial wager without being paid any awards.

The method of deciding the result in case of the same high-hand and/or low-hand ranking may be modified as desired. In one embodiment, a high hand of the dealer is considered to win a high hand of a player of the same rank and a low hand of the player is considered to win a low hand of the dealer of the same rank. Thus, in the case where the high hand of the dealer is ranked the same as the high hand of the player, either the dealer wins when the dealer's low hand is higher than the player's low hand, or the initial wager is returned when the player's low hand is higher than the dealer's low hand (i.e., both the dealer and the player win one hand each). In the case where the low hand of the dealer is ranked the same as the low hand of the player, either the player wins when the dealer's high hand is lower than the player's high hand, or the initial wager is returned when the dealer's high hand is higher than the player's high hand (i.e., both the dealer and the player win one hand each).

As an alternative embodiment, there may be cases where: if the dealer's high and low hands are ranked the same as the player's high and low hands, the dealer's hands are ranked higher (i.e., the player loses their initial wager). In this case, where the player's high or low hand and the dealer's high or low hand are ranked the same, the rankings may be considered equal (i.e., neither win nor loss). Thus, if the dealer wins the other hand, the player loses its initial wager, and if the player wins the other hand, the player wins an amount equal to its initial wager.

As yet another alternative, the dealer's hand wins if the rank of a pair in the dealer's high or low hand is the same as the rank of a pair in the player's corresponding hand, and the dealer's hand wins if the point count of the dealer's high or low hand is the same as the point count of the player's corresponding hand.

The playing area 10 may also include a secondary wagering area 26 in each player area 14. Alternatively, each player may place a second wager in the second wagering area 26 prior to dealing. The second wager is independent of whether the player's high and/or low hands win or lose, and is based solely on whether the player's hands include one pair or two pairs. Each playing area may include an odds listing area 28 in which the odds payable for the winning secondary wager are listed. For example, if the player's high and low hands include one pair, the player may be paid a second wager on the player at a odds of 1: 1, if the player's high and low hands include two pairs of different ranks, the player may be paid a odds of 6: 1, if the player's high and low hands include two pairs of the same rank (i.e., their four cards all have the same value), the player may be paid a odds of 200: 1. These odds may vary according to demand.

The present card game may be played in various variations without departing from the invention. For example, the game may be played with more than one deck or a standard full deck, with the face cards assigned respective point values. Alternatively, each player may be dealt 5 cards and then asked to discard one of the cards before the high and low hands are dealt. Also, the player may choose to "buy" an additional card to obtain 5 cards before dropping one of the cards.

More betting areas may also be provided. For example, a point bet area may be provided on which players may bet at various corresponding odds on the difference in points between the high and/or low hands of the player and the dealer. Progressive bets may also be provided where players bet to qualify for a jackpot (jackpot) or bonus prize (bonus prize).

It will also be appreciated that the invention may be carried out on an electronic gaming apparatus, with the playing area being displayed on a suitable display device, and the dealer's functions being controllable by a computer program. For example, the game may be displayed on an electronic video device suitable for placement in a casino, or on an electronically programmed table game (table game) with a video card and chip, or on a computer over a network such as the Internet.

Claims (19)

1. A method of playing a card game comprising the steps of:

each player places a bet;

the dealer dealing at least four cards to each player and four cards to the dealer;

each player and the dealer arrange the four cards into a high hand and a low hand, wherein the high hand comprises:

if the player has two pairs, the high hand is the highest ranked pair;

if the player has a pair, the high hand is the pair;

if the player has no pairs, the high hand is the two cards that can receive the highest point from two of the four cards, where the point is a function of the numeric value of the cards;

and the lower hand includes the remaining two cards;

comparing the dealer's high hand to each player's high hand, comparing the dealer's low hand to each player's low hand, and determining whether each player wins or loses the high and/or low hands according to:

a pair wins any lower ranked pair or any number of points;

the points win any lower ranked points;

the player is paid an award related to his wager if the player has more winning hands than the dealer, or the player loses his wager if the player has less winning hands than the dealer, or the player is returned the wager made by the player in any other event.

2. The method of playing a card game of claim 1, wherein, where the player's high and/or low hand is ranked the same as the dealer's corresponding hand:

the dealer's high hand wins the high hand of the same ranked player; and

the player's low hand wins the low hand of the dealer ranked the same.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, where the high and/or low hands of the player are ranked the same as the corresponding hands of the dealer:

if the dealer's high and low hands are ranked the same as both the player's high and low hands, the dealer's high and low hands are ranked higher than the player's high and low hands;

if the player's high and low hands are ranked the same as only one of the dealer's high and low hands, those hands ranked the same are considered ranked equal.

4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein points are calculated by summing the numerical values of the tiles and subtracting 10 if the sum is greater than or equal to 10.

5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein a player is paid an amount equal to his initial wager if he wins more hands than the dealer.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises the steps of: each player may optionally place a secondary wager prior to dealing, and pay a prize to the player based on the secondary wager if the player's high and/or low hands comprise pairs.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the award for the second wager payment can be paid at different odds depending on whether the player's high and low hands include one pair, two pairs of different rankings, or two pairs having the same rankings.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the prize is paid at an odds ratio of 1: 1 where the player's high and low hands comprise one pair.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein in the event that the player's high and low hands comprise two pairs of different ranks, the prize is paid at an odds of 6: 1.

10. A method as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein in the event that the player's high and low hands comprise two pairs of equal rank, the prize is paid at an odds of 200: 1.

11. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the card game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards with the Jack, Queen and King removed.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the Ace is ranked higher than any remaining cards for sub-rank consideration, and counts as one for calculating points.

13. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein each player is dealt five cards and then is required to discard one of the cards before the high and low hands are dealt.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the player is required to pay for additional cards to obtain five cards.

15. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the player can place a point bet, the player selecting a value for the difference in points between the player's high and/or low hand and the dealer's high and/or low hand.

16. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein progressive bets are provided where a player bet is eligible for a jackpot or bonus award.

17. A method of playing a card game comprising the steps of:

providing a playing area having a wagering area for each player, a high hand area for each player, a low hand area for each player, a high hand area for the dealer and a low hand area for the dealer;

each player places a bet in its betting area;

the dealer deals at least four cards to each player and four cards to the dealer;

each player and the dealer arrange four cards into a high hand in a high hand area and a low hand in a low hand area, wherein the high hand comprises:

if the player has two pairs, the high hand is the highest ranked pair;

if the player has a pair, the high hand is the pair;

if the player has no pairs, the high hand is the two cards that can receive the highest point from two of the four cards, where the point is a function of the numeric value of the cards;

and the lower hand comprises the other two cards;

comparing the dealer's high hand to each player's high hand, comparing the dealer's low hand to each player's low hand, and determining whether each player wins or loses the high and/or low hands according to:

the pairs win any lower ranked pairs or points;

the points win any lower ranked points;

the player is paid an award related to his wager if the player has more winning hands than the dealer, or the player loses his wager if the player has less winning hands than the dealer, or the player is returned the wager made by the player in any other event.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein each player is provided with a secondary wager area for placing a secondary wager area prior to dealing the cards, the player being paid a prize based on the secondary wager if the player's high and/or low hand comprises a pair.

19. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the method is implemented on an electronic gaming machine.