Patent ID: 11954980
Assignee: nan
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 6:
7. A video poker gaming device comprising:
a gaming machine body;
a video display device mount in the game machine body, the video display device configured to display a plurality of card positions;
a player interface attached to the gaming machine body, the player interface including a plurality of mechanical buttons;
a wager input device attached to the gaming machine body, the wager input device structured to receive a physical item associated with currency, the physical item establishing a credit balance, the credit balance being increasable or decreasable based at least on wagering activity;
a memory housed in the gaming machine body, the memory configured to store the credit balance, a plurality of virtual playing cards, and a paytable; and
a processor housed in the game machine body and connected to the video display device, player interface, wager input device, and memory, the processor configured to:
receive a signal from the player interface to initiate a poker game in response to placement of a wager, the wager decreasing the credit balance;
determine a first possible game outcome with the processor;
determine if the first possible game outcome satisfies a predefined condition with the processor prior to displaying any cards associated with the determined first possible game outcome;
if it is determined that the first possible game outcome satisfies the predefined condition:
display the first possible game outcome as a first poker hand,
evaluate the first poker hand using the paytable stored in the memory to determine if the combination of cards in the first poker hand is associated with an award, and
increase the credit balance stored in the memory by an amount of any award determined in the evaluation of the first poker hand; and

if it is determined that first possible game outcome does not satisfy the predefined condition:
determine a second possible game outcome,
display the first possible game outcome face down as a first selectable poker hand,
display the second possible game outcome face down as a second selectable poker hand,
receive a signal indicating a selection of either the first selectable poker hand or the second selectable poker hand,
display the selected one of the poker hands face up as a selected poker hand,
evaluate the selected poker hand using the paytable stored in the memory to determine if the combination of cards in the selected poker hand is associated with an award, and
increase the credit balance stored in the memory by an amount of any award determined in the evaluation of the selected poker hand.