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

Claim 12:
13. 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 and a second possible game outcome with the processor;
determine if either the first possible game outcome or the second possible game outcome satisfies a predefined condition with the processor prior to displaying any dealt cards;
if it is determined that one of the first possible game outcome or the second possible game outcome satisfies the predefined condition:
display the first possible game outcome face down as a first dealt poker hand,
display the second possible game outcome face down as a second dealt poker hand,
receive a signal indicating a selection of either the first dealt poker hand or the second dealt poker hand as a selected dealt poker hand,
display the selected dealt poker hand face up on the video display,
receive signals indicating cards to be held in the selected dealt poker hand, and
provide replacement cards for any cards not held in the selected dealt poker hand to display a final poker hand on the video display device;

if it is determined that neither first possible game outcome nor the second possible game outcome satisfies the predefined condition:
display the first possible game outcome face up as a single dealt poker hand,
receive signals indicating cards to be held in the single dealt poker hand, and
provide replacement cards for any cards not held in the single dealt poker hand to display a final poker hand on the video display device;

evaluate the final poker hand using a paytable stored in the memory to determine if the combination of cards in the final 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 final poker hand.