US20070194531A1

US20070194531A1 - Spelling poker card game

Info

Publication number: US20070194531A1
Application number: US11/358,473
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth Fujka; Dennis Fujka; Gary Fujka
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-02-21
Filing date: 2006-02-21
Publication date: 2007-08-23

Abstract

A spelling poker card game includes a deck of cards and a plurality of tokens. The deck of cards are a set of poker cards that also include letters of an alphabet. A plurality of wild cards provide additional letters, such as vowels. Each player makes the strongest poker hand or longest word from his hand and indicates which type of hand he will play with a poker token and a word token. A player may play both a poker hand and a word hand at the same time. A point is awarded to the winner of each type of hand. If a player plays both a poker hand and a word hand at the same time and wins both hands, he is awarded four points. If that player fails to win both hands, he is penalized two points. The alphabet may be English or another alphabet.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of card games, and more specifically to a combined word-spelling and poker card game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The game of poker is widely played and known. Numerous poker games are played worldwide and the rules are well-established. Little flexibility is possible in the playing of the games.
Also well known are decks of cards wherein each card bears a letter or letters of an alphabet. Such cards are used to play word games in which players assemble groups of cards in side-by-side relationship so as to spell words. These games may or may not involve awarding point scores for the words created by the different players.
What is desired is a deck of cards that is useful for playing poker in concert with spelling words with the same cards in the same hand. Such cards and game would allow a player to compete in a Poker Mode only, a Spelling mode only, or both modes simultaneously.
It is intended that any other advantages and objects of the present invention that become apparent or obvious from the detailed description or illustrations contained herein are within the scope of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device is a card game which combines the features of a standard deck of playing cards with the 26 letters of the English alphabet. The cards are used to play games, such as poker, and to spell words. These two objectives are accomplished within a single card game. The cards include a standard value (Ace through Deuce) and suit (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades) in the upper left corners, and an inverted letter of the alphabet in the lower right corner. Four additional cards, for a total of 56 cards, include the vowels A, E, I or O in the corners.
Each letter of the alphabet, except for J, Q, X, Z and the four vowels cards, appears at least once in the red suits and once in the black suits.
The cards can be used to play poker in the usual manner, but with a twist. Players can select whether to play a poker hand or to create a word with the letters. Players indicate the type of hand they will play and compete against those play the same type of hand. Poker hands are ranked according to the well-established rules of poker. Words are ranked according to the number of cards and letters used to spell the word. The more cards/letters used, the stronger the hand.
This card game utilizes the concepts and strategies of Poker and adds a new strategy based on the ability to use the dual function cards to spell words. The addition of wild cards for poker hands creates the non-typical poker situation where a 5-of-a-kind can occur. A 5-of-a-kind beats any normal poker hand, and a higher 5-of-a-kind beats a lower 5-of-a-kind.
The following is a discussion and description of the preferred specific embodiments of this invention, such being made with reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/or structure. It should be noted that such discussion and description is not meant to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. is a top view of some cards for a spelling poker card game, according to the present invention;
FIG. 2. is a top view of some cards for the spelling poker card game, according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a top view of some cards for the spelling poker card game, according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a top view of some cards for the spelling poker card game, according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a top view of some cards for the spelling poker card game, according to the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a token for the spelling poker card game, according to the present invention.
The following is a discussion and description of the preferred specific embodiments of this invention, such being made with reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/or structure. It should be noted that such discussion and description is not meant to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are top views of some cards 10 for a spelling poker card game. These views show the poker indicia 12 of each of the cards 10. Two of the cards 10 also reveal their letters 14, which are used within the rules of the game to form words. The cards 10 of each suit in FIGS. 1-4 are shown overlapping each other.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are top views of some cards 10 for a spelling poker card game. These are the same cards as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. These views show the letter indicia 14 of each of the cards 10. Two of the cards 10 also reveal their poker indicia 12. The letters 14 shown are for the English alphabet, but other alphabets can be used, depending upon the preferences of the players. FIGS. 1-4 show one embodiment of the cards 10. The poker indicia 12 and the letter indicia 14 are on the same side of a card 10, but in opposite comers. As shown, the upper left corner has the indicia right-side up while the lower right corner has the indicia upside down. Thus, the player need only invert the cards to switch from viewing poker indicia 12 to letters 14 and back. In one embodiment, the letters of the alphabet are assigned to the cards 10 so that, except for J, Q, X and Z, each letter of the alphabet appears at least once in the red suits and at least once in the black suits. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, 26 red-suited cards and 26 black-suited cards.
The letters are assigned to the cards 10 to create a balance between the distribution of vowels through the red and black suits while trying to maintain the traditional sequence of the alphabet as much as possible. The intent is to optimize the balance between the likelihood of having a good poker hand or a good word spelling hand in one deal of the cards.
FIG. 5 is a top view of some wild cards 16 for the spelling poker card game. The wild cards 16 are different from the cards shown in FIGS. 1-4 in that they have no poker indicia 12. The wild cards 16 include only letters 14. These cards 16 are used to provide a wild card for a poker hand and an additional letter for use in creating words. In one embodiment, the wild cards 16 are vowels, such as A, E, I and O, which usually make it easier for a player to spell words. In one embodiment, there are 56 cards that can be dealt to the players. This includes the 52 poker cards 10 with letters and four wild cards 16. The back of the cards (not shown) is a picture or logo that is identical for all the cards. It should also look the same when inverted to conceal whether the player is looking at the poker indicia 12 or the letters 14.
FIG. 6 shows a token 18 used to indicate which type of hand the player would like to play. In one embodiment, there are two different types of tokens 18, word and poker, so that the user can indicate which type of hand he would like to play.
Rules of the Game
The game starts by distributing a hand of cards to each of a plurality of players. Typically two to eight players can play at once. Each player is dealt five to seven cards, depending upon player or dealer preferences. Each player is also provided with two different tokens. One is a word token and the other is a poker token. Each player proceeds to organize and review his hand to determine which type of hand is strongest.
The strength of a player's hand is easy to determine. Poker players understand the basic hierarchy of poker hands, and these rules are unchanged. However, this game introduces a word-spelling feature to that game. The same cards include letters that can be used to spell words and create a spelling or word hand. The more cards a player uses from his hand to create a word, the stronger his hand.
In some cases a player may believe that both his word hand and his poker hand are strong. If he so desires, he can play both hands at the same time. Once each player has selected one or more hands to play, he indicates to the other players which type of hand will be played.
The tokens are used to indicate the type of hand each player will play. Where the player believes his poker hand is strong, he will place his poker token in his closed hand. Where the player believes his word hand is strong, he will place his word token in his closed hand. Where the player believes both his poker hand and his word hand are strong, he will place both tokens in his closed hand. When all of the players have their selected tokens in their closed hands, the players reveal their selections to each other at the same time.
In one embodiment, the players immediately show their hands to determine the winners for that hand. Alternatively, the players may wager among themselves regarding the strength of their hands. The players may wager against all other players or against only those who are playing the same type of hand. The winner of each type of hand takes half of the pot.
When the players show their hands, a winner is determined for the poker hand and for the word hand. In one embodiment, the winner of each hand is awarded a point value. For example, one point may be awarded to a player who has the strongest poker hand. The same may be done to the player with the strongest word hand. However, a player cannot win a poker hand or a word hand unless he placed his token for the poker hand or the word hand in view of the table.
In the case of a tie between two word-spelling hands, the player with the word beginning with the letter of the alphabet furthest from “A” wins (i.e., a word beginning with “Z” beats any other word of the same length). If two players have the same length word with the same beginning letter, each player gets 1 point.
If a player believes his poker hand and his word hand are both strong, he will place both his tokens in his closed hand (double down) and show both of them to the other players. If he wins both the poker hand and the word hand (double down) he is rewarded with four points. However, if he fails to win both hands he is penalized two points.
If the player loses the Double Down, the remaining players follow the normal process and receive the normal points for the best poker hand and best word-spelling hand. The losing Double Down player receives nothing.
Numerous variations are possible. The game may be played to 12 points with 2 players, 11 points with 3 players, 10 points with 4 players, 9 points with 5 players, 8 points with 6 players, 7 points with 7 players, and 6 points with 8 players. Of course other player number and winning score combinations are possible. If two players reach the winning total points in the same hand, there will be a sudden death playoff until one player has more points than the other.
If at any time a player can spell the name of the game with their hand (SPPOKER™) the player automatically wins the game regardless of the score.
The game can be played with poker chips and wagers can be made on the hands. Bets can be made both before declaring and after declaring. The game can also be played with any variation of conventional poker games, including the popular Texas Hold 'em. Any pot is to be split evenly between the Poker hand and Word-Spelling hand. Any odd chips are left in the pot for the next hand. In the case where there is no winner of the Poker pot, all chips go to the Spelling winner. In the case where there is no winner of the Spelling pot, all chips go to the Poker winner.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A card game, comprising:

a deck of cards comprising a set of poker cards, each of the poker cards further comprising a letter of an alphabet;

a plurality of poker designator tokens; and

a plurality of word designator tokens.

2. The card game of claim 1, where the alphabet is the English alphabet.

3. The card game of claim 2, where the deck of cards further comprises a plurality of wild cards.

4. The card game of claim 3, where each of the plurality of wild cards comprises a different letter of the alphabet.

5. The card game of claim 4, where each of the plurality of wild cards comprises a different vowel.

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

(a) distributing a hand of cards to each of a plurality of players;

(b) distributing a word token and a poker token to each of the players;

(c) determining a strongest type of hand for each player;

(d) selecting a hand to play for each player;

(e) indicating which type of hand will be played by each player;

(f) showing each hand by each player; and

(g) awarding a score to each winner of the hand.

7. The method of claim 6, where step (c) further comprises the steps of:

(c1) determining if a poker hand is strong; and

(c2) determining if a word hand is strong.

8. The method of claim 6, where step (d) further comprises the steps of:

(d1) where the poker hand is strongest, selecting a poker hand to play.

9. The method of claim 6, where step (d) further comprises the steps of:

(d1) where the word hand is strongest, selecting a word hand to play.

10. The method of claim 6, where step (d) further comprises the steps of:

(d1) where both the word hand and the poker hand are strong, selecting both a word hand and a poker hand to play.

11. The method of claim 6, where step (e) further comprises the steps of:

(e1) where the poker hand is strongest, presenting only the poker token.

12. The method of claim 6, where step (e) further comprises the steps of:

(e1) where the word hand is strongest, presenting only the word token.

13. The method of claim 6, where step (e) further comprises the steps of:

(e1) where both the word hand and the poker hand are strong, presenting both the word token and the poker token.

14. The method of claim 6, where step (h) further comprises the steps of:

(h1) if the player presented the word token, awarding one point to the player with the longest word.

15. The method of claim 6, where step (h) further comprises the steps of:

(h1) if the player presented the poker token, awarding one point to the player with the best poker hand.

16. The method of claim 6, where step (h) further comprises the steps of:

(h1) if the player presented both the word token and the poker token, awarding four points to the player with both the longest word and the best poker hand.

17. The method of claim 16, where step (h) further comprises the steps of:

(h2) if the player presented both the word token and the poker token, penalizing two points to the player who does not have both the longest word and the best poker hand.

18. The method of claim 6, where step (e) further comprises the steps of:

(e1) wagering on each type of hand by each player.

19. A spelling poker card game, comprising:

a deck of cards comprising a set of poker cards, each of the poker cards further comprising a letter of an English alphabet;

a plurality of wild cards;

a plurality of poker designator tokens; and

a plurality of word designator tokens.

20. The card game of claim 19, where each of the plurality of wild cards comprises a different vowel.