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

Claim 0:
1. 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 plurality of possible game outcomes with the processor;
determine if one or more of the plurality of possible game outcomes satisfies a predefined condition with the processor prior to displaying any cards associated with the determined game outcomes;
if it is determined that one or more of the plurality of possible game outcomes satisfies the predefined condition:
display a plurality of selectable poker hands on the video display device,
receive a signal indicating selection of one of the poker hands,
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; and

if it is determined that none of the plurality of possible game outcomes satisfy the predefined condition:
display a single poker hand on the video display device,
evaluate the single poker hand using the paytable stored in the memory to determine if the combination of cards in the single 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 single poker hand.