American canasta

A game of chance is based on the principles of traditional Canasta. Two Jokers are added to two standard fifty-two card decks to form a pack having 106 cards. The Jokers operate as wild cards and the Deuces are also considered as wild cards, resulting in a total of ten wild cards used in the method of play. Seven cards are initially dealt to the player from the original 106 card deck. The player selects which of the initial seven cards to hold and which to discard. Replacement cards from the original 106 card deck are displayed for the cards which have been discarded and the combinations created by the resulting seven card hand are compared against a payout table to determine which winning payoffs, if any, are received by the player. Preferred winning combinations are Seven of a Kind with no wild cards, Six of a Kind with no wild cards, Two Sets--one Four of a Kind and one Three of a Kind with no wild cards, Seven of a Kind with wild cards, Five of a Kind with no wild cards, Two Sets--one Four of a Kind and one Three of a Kind with wild cards, Two Sets--each being a Three of a Kind with no wild cards, Six of a Kind with wild cards, Four of a Kind with no wild cards, Five of a Kind with wild cards and Four of a Kind with wild cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an electronic video casino game, and more 
particularly to an electronic video casino game modeled after the 
traditional game of Canasta. The invention also relates to the method of 
play of an electronic video game that can be played as a non-gaming 
amusement game on a hand held apparatus or programmed on a stand alone 
amusement apparatus or onto a video cartridge that can be used with a 
television video entertainment system. The invention also relates to the 
method of play of a casino game which can be played as a live casino table 
game or as a live non-gaming amusement game. 
There have been many types of electronic video gaming machines that have 
been developed. The electronic video poker gaming machine is designed to 
replicate the play of a hand of poker. Typically, the player is not 
playing against any other players' hands or against a dealer's hand; the 
player is simply attempting to achieve the highest ranking poker hand 
possible from the cards displayed to the player. The higher the poker hand 
ranking achieved by the player, the greater the player's winnings based on 
the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player. Typically, a 
payout schedule is posted on the gaming machine to advise the player of 
the payoffs available for certain winning card combinations. 
The forerunner of all electronic video poker gaming machines is the video 
Draw Poker machine that deals cards from a standard 52 card poker deck and 
displays a single five card hand to the player. The player then selects 
which of the five cards he wishes to hold (or discard depending on the 
format of the gaming machine). Upon activation by the player of the "Draw" 
button, the draw poker machine then displays replacement cards for the 
cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses based on 
conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five card hand. A 
payout table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or 
credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved. 
The classic draw poker machine has been modified to use Jokers as wild 
cards or to use Deuces (or even other cards) as wild cards. "Joker's Wild" 
and "Deuces Wild" draw poker still display to the player a single five 
card hand and allow the player to discard unwanted cards and receive 
replacement cards. The payout table is modified to recognize the differing 
odds for achieving various poker hands when wild cards are involved. 
Other types of poker games have been adapted to run on electronic video 
gaming machines. In the electronic version of seven card stud poker, the 
player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play 
the game and the player is dealt three cards initially. The player then 
has the option of folding in which case he loses his initial wager or 
betting additional coins, tokens or credits to receive additional cards. 
Eventually the player has either folded or received a full seven card 
hand. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings 
for the best five cards of his seven card hand. A payout table is 
established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the 
player and the type of poker hand achieved. 
In the electronic version of five card stud poker, the player wagers one or 
more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play the game and the 
player is dealt four cards initially. The player then has the option of 
staying or betting additional coins, tokens or credits to increase the 
amount of a winning payout when he receives the fifth card. After the 
fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of his five card hand is 
determined based on conventional poker hand rankings for his five card 
hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins, tokens 
or credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,488 describes an electronic video casino game based on 
the principles of Gin Rummy. The disclosure of that patent (which is 
incorporated herein by this reference) includes an electronic gaming 
machine programmed to display an initial seven card hand to the player. 
The player selects which of the initial seven cards to hold and which to 
discard. Replacement cards are displayed for the cards which have been 
discarded and the combinations created by the resulting seven card hand 
are compared against a payout table to determine which winning payoffs, if 
any, are received by the player. Preferred winning combinations are seven, 
six, five, four and three card runs; four and three card groups and the 
combination (sets) of three or four card runs and three or four card 
groups. 
Many of these electronic gaming machines have been adapted into amusement 
devices by eliminating the wagering aspects of the games. There exist 
hand-held, battery powered apparatus that replicate video draw poker and 
many of its variations that are played as amusement devices. The user 
simply plays the particular video poker game on the hand held amusement 
device and accumulates points instead of credits that can be redeemed as 
money. 
The traditional game of canasta is a two team or two player game in which 
the teams or players compete against each other. Two standard fifty-two 
card decks of cards with four Jokers are used. Each player in the team 
game is initially dealt 11 cards while in the two player game each player 
is initially dealt 15 cards. In both versions, the play alternates with 
each player discarding and drawing from the card pile in attempt to 
achieve a winning meld combination. The players attempt to arrange their 
cards into groups (runs have no value). Whenever a player has a group of 
three or more cards, he lays those cards down on the table (melds) and the 
game continues until a player has laid all of his cards on the table and 
has gone "rummy". The teams/players score points for successfully laying 
their cards on the table and the team/player first to score 5000 points 
wins the game. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and exciting 
electronic video poker game that is easy to play and easy to learn based 
on the principles of canasta which is a card game that is played 
throughout the world. 
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an electronic video or 
live table came card game based on the principles of canasta, but modified 
to be a single player game in which two decks of standard playing cards 
plus two Jokers are used thereby creating a 106 card pack. A player 
attempts to arrange the cards displayed on the video screen into a winning 
hand combination. The Jokers and Deuces function as wild cards in the play 
of the game. 
It is also a feature of the present invention to display the method of 
playing a game of chance on a non-gaming amusement device such as a hand 
held amusement apparatus, a stand alone arcade game or even programmed on 
a video cartridge that can be used with an entertainment system that can 
be connected to a television set. 
It is an advantage of the present invention that new and unique winning 
card combinations are achieved allowing very large winning payouts to be 
awarded to the player without having to extract a large initial wager from 
the player. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become 
apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The method of the present invention involves a game of chance based on the 
principles of traditional canasta. An electronic gaming machine is 
programmed to display an initial seven card hand to the player. Two 
standard fifty-two card decks of playing cards with two Jokers added 
thereto are shuffled together to form a pack of playing cards having 106 
cards. The Jokers operate as wild cards and the Deuces are also considered 
as wild cards, resulting in a total of ten wild cards used in the method 
of play. 
On the initial deal of the cards, seven cards are displayed to the player 
from the original 106 card pack. The player selects which of the initial 
seven cards to hold and which to discard. Replacement cards from the 
original 106 card pack are displayed for the cards which have been 
discarded and the combinations created by the resulting seven card hand 
are compared against a payout table to determine which winning payoffs, if 
any, are received by the player. 
Preferred winning combinations are Seven of a Kind (no wild cards), Six of 
a Kind (no wild cards), Two Sets--one Four of a Kind and one Three of a 
Kind (no wild cards), Seven of a Kind (with wild cards), Five of a Kind 
(no wild cards), Two Sets--one Four of a Kind and one Three of a Kind 
(with wild cards), Two Sets--each being a Three of a Kind (no wild cards), 
Six of a Kind (with wild cards), Four of a Kind (no wild cards), Five of a 
Kind (with wild cards) and Four of a Kind (with wild cards). The amount 
that the player wins is determined by the number of coins, tokens or 
credits wagered by the player and the type of winning hand combination 
achieved by the player. 
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method of play is 
displayed on a conventional electronic video poker machine which is 
modified by adding additional "Draw/Hold" buttons so that a total of seven 
"Draw/Hold" buttons are provided and by using computer software that 
displays the method of play and determines winning hand combinations and 
the payouts associated therewith. 
The method of the present invention can also be practiced on a non-gaming 
amusement device in which the player accrues points for winning plays. The 
non-gaming amusement device can take the form of a hand-held amusement 
device operated by batteries or other suitable power sources, a 
stand-alone amusement apparatus or a video cartridge suitable for use with 
an entertainment system. Furthermore, the method of the present invention 
can also be played as a live casino table game or as a live non-gaming 
amusement game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Two standard fifty-two card decks of playing cards are shuffled together 
and two Jokers are added to the combined deck to form a pack of playing 
cards having 106 cards. The Jokers operate as wild cards and the Deuces 
are also considered as wild cards, resulting in a total of ten wild cards 
used in the method of play. An electronic gaming machine is programmed to 
shuffle the pack of cards at the beginning of each hand and to display an 
initial seven card hand to the player. 
A player inserts a coin or gaming token into a conventional coin head to 
activate the gaming machine. Alternatively, a player can insert currency 
into a conventional currency acceptor mechanism which will then increment 
a credit display the requisite number of credits corresponding to the 
value of the currency inserted by the player. In addition to using 
coin/token acceptor mechanisms or currency acceptor mechanisms or both, 
the method of the present invention is intended to also include credit 
coupons, credit or debit card systems, magnetically or optically read 
memory storage cards or any other apparatus or system by which monetary 
value can be input by the player and eventually displayed on the credit 
display on the gaming machine. 
Once the player has accrued credits on the credit display by either 
inserting coins, gaming tokens or currency (or using any of the other 
methods, apparatuses or systems mentioned above), the gaming machine is 
active to be played. In one embodiment of the present invention, the 
player makes a wager by pressing either a Bet Max button (to wager the 
maximum number of credits for any one hand--typically five) or a Bet One 
button to wager one credit at a time. When the player presses one of the 
bet buttons, the credit display is decremented the number of credits 
wagered by the player. 
Instead of using player-actuated buttons on a conventional button panel on 
the gaming machine, the video screen itself can be a touch-activated 
screen of the type currently being used extensively in electronic video 
gaming apparatus. The desired actions the player wishes to effect are 
accomplished by the player simply touching the video screen in the 
designated location on the screen. 
After the player has selected the number of credits he wishes to wager on a 
particular hand, the player presses a Deal/Draw button (or presses the 
designated Deal/Draw location on the video screen) which causes the 
initial deal of the playing cards for that hand to be displayed on the 
video screen. 
On the initial deal of the cards, seven cards from the pack of 106 cards 
are displayed to the player. As shown in FIG. 1, these seven cards can be 
displayed in two rows with four cards in the top row and three cards in 
the bottom row, however any suitable arrangement of the seven cards on the 
screen display may be used. The player selects which of the initial seven 
cards to hold and which to discard. Replacement cards from the original 
pack of 106 cards are displayed for the cards which have been discarded. A 
final seven card hand is displayed to the player. 
As shown in FIG. 1, a sample seven card hand comprising four Sevens and 
three Aces has been achieved by the player after discarding from the 
initial seven card hand and drawing new cards. 
The combinations created by the resulting seven card hand are compared 
against a payout table to determine which winning payoffs, if any, are 
received by the player. In the preferred embodiment of the present 
invention, a player must achieve at least Four of a Kind (with wild cards) 
to receive the lowest winning payout. Winning poker hands that do not 
utilize wild cards are paid higher amounts than the same type of poker 
hand that uses wild cards. 
As shown in the payout table of FIG. 1, the preferred winning combinations 
in their order of ranking from highest to lowest are: Seven of a Kind (no 
wild cards), Six of a Kind (no wild cards), Two Sets--one Four of a Kind 
and one Three of a Kind (no wild cards), Seven of a Kind (with wild 
cards), Five of a Kind (no wild cards), Two Sets--one Four of a Kind and 
one Three of a Kind (with wild cards), Two Sets--each being a Three of a 
Kind (no wild cards), Six of a Kind (with wild cards), Four of a Kind (no 
wild cards), Five of a Kind (with wild cards) and Four of a Kind (with 
wild cards). The amount that the player wins is determined by the number 
of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player and the type of winning 
hand combination achieved by the player. 
The method of the present invention is played on a conventional electronic 
video poker machine which is modified by adding additional "Draw/Hold" 
buttons so that there is a "Draw/Hold" button associated with each of the 
initial seven cards that are dealt and displayed to the player. 
Alternatively, the selection of which cards to hold or discard can be 
effected using conventional touch screen technology. Computer software is 
used to program the gaming machine so that the gaming machine functions to 
display the method of play of the present invention and to determine 
winning hand combinations and the payouts associated therewith. 
A suitable payout table is shown in Table 1. 
TABLE 1 
______________________________________ 
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH 5TH 
COINS PLAYED COIN COIN COIN COIN COIN 
______________________________________ 
7 OF A KIND (no wilds) 
10,000 20,000 30,000 
40,000 
50,000 
6 OF A KIND (no wilds) 
500 1,000 1,500 
2,000 
2,500 
2 SETS (one 4-one 3) 
125 250 375 500 625 
(no wilds) 
7 OF A KIND 100 200 300 400 500 
(with wilds) 
5 OF A KIND (no wilds) 
40 80 120 160 200 
2 SETS (one 4-one 3) 
25 50 75 100 125 
(with wilds) 
2 SETS (both 3) (no 
15 30 45 60 75 
wilds) 
6 OF A KIND 8 16 24 23 40 
(with wilds) 
4 OF A KIND (no wilds) 
4 8 12 16 20 
5 OF A KIND 2 4 6 8 10 
(with wilds) 
4 OF A KIND 1 2 3 4 5 
(with wilds) 
______________________________________ 
As shown in Table 1, the jackpot that can be won for achieving a Seven of 
Kind (with no wild cards and the maximum number of coins bet) can be a 
flat amount (for example, 50,000 coins, tokens or credits). Alternatively, 
the payout for this hand can be a progressive jackpot which grows from a 
starting amount until won by some lucky player. The starting amount can be 
any level chosen that is suitable and this amount can increase at a rate 
determined by the operator of the gaming machine based on any suitable 
incrementing method, such as a portion of each coin wagered by the player 
being added to the jackpot or a portion of each fifth coin wagered by the 
player being added to the jackpot. 
While the invention has been illustrated with respect to several specific 
embodiments thereof, these embodiments should be considered as 
illustrative rather than limiting. Various modifications and additions may 
be made and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the 
invention should not be limited by the foregoing description, but rather 
should be defined only by the following claims.