Abstract:
The present invention relates to computer-based multiplayer games that follow the scoring rules of poker in which players select cards from a second deck of playing cards that is composed of cards randomly selected by the software from a first deck of playing cards for each new hand, where the second deck has fewer cards than the first deck. The introduction of a smaller second deck whose composition and size can vary substantially from hand-to-hand, adds a fascinating and challenging puzzle component to the strategy and chance elements of prior card selection games. The use of a prior art deck that remains unchanged allows each player to tend to rely on a predetermined set of fixed card selection strategies. Whereas, the ever-changing, smaller second deck compels each player to formulate his/her card selection strategy anew for each hand, keeping play fresh and exciting.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/867,614, filed Jun. 14, 2004, now U.S. patent Ser. No. ______, entitled COMPUTER-BASED, INTERACTIVE, REAL-TIME CARD SELECTION GAME, incorporated herein by reference, which is based on provisional application Ser. No. 60/479,774, filed on Jun. 18, 2003. 
         [0002]    This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/211,138, filed on Mar. 26, 2009, entitled COMPUTER-BASED, INTERACTIVE, MULTIPLAYER CARD SELECTION GAME USING A RANDOMLY GENERATED LIMITED DECK FOR CARD SELECTION. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to computer-based multiplayer card games that follow the scoring rules of poker. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    The game of poker is well known and the rules can be found in nearly every card game rulebook. In the game of poker, cards are randomly dealt to each player. Players may have a chance to improve their hand by discarding some of their cards, and receiving replacements, as in draw poker, or more cards may be dealt than needed and the best cards retained, as in the seven-card variations of poker, or in Texas Hold&#39;em or Omaha that also randomly deal community cards that are shared by all the players. Various rounds of betting take place after dealing and after drawing. In five-card stud poker, one card is dealt face down and the four remaining cards are dealt face up one at a time with a round of betting after each face up card is dealt. In Texas Hold&#39;em poker two cards are randomly dealt face down to each player and then five community cards are randomly dealt face up. Betting occurs after the first two cards are dealt to each player, after the first three community cards are dealt and after each of the fourth and fifth community cards are dealt. In all variations of poker, when the betting rounds are completed, the remaining players expose their hands and the winning player collects the money bet. The combinations of cards in the exposed hands in concert with any community cards determine the outcome. Those combinations are well-known—high card, one pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, and straight flush—and are described in nearly every card game rulebook. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,637 to A. Pfeiffer discloses a method of playing a card game in which the players select desired cards from a deck of playing cards, which are delivered to players unless a player requests the same card that another player has requested during the same round of play or was dealt on a previous round, in which case a null card, having no value in determining the outcome of the game, is delivered to the requesting player. Poker scoring rules are used to determine the outcome of the game. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,959 to A. Pfeiffer discloses a selector unit and card-storage carousel for playing a card game disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,637. 
         [0007]    Many games are now played on computing devices and the concept of playing card games over a network such as the Internet is well known. Patents have been granted to new card games that include claims that cover playing the game over the Internet. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,012 discloses a poker game where the amount of successive wagers is pre-established by the players; this game may be played on the Internet. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,720 discloses, “enhanced features” of the card game Double Hand; this game may also be played on the Internet. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,777 B2 to A. Pfeiffer discloses a method of playing network-based multiplayer card selection games on computing devices that can communicate with each other on the Internet or by other means. These games follow the scoring rules of poker and can involve both actual and virtual players. On each round each player privately selects a card from a deck of playing cards. In one embodiment after each player has made his/her card selection, that player is dealt a null card that has no value if that player&#39;s selected card is the same as a card selected by another player on the same or previous round. Otherwise, that player is dealt his/her selected card. In another embodiment after each player has privately made his/her card selection, that player is dealt a null card that has no value if that player&#39;s selected card is the same as a card selected by another player on the same round or was dealt to a player on a previous round. Otherwise, that player is dealt his/her selected card. 
         [0009]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/867,614 to A. Pfeiffer discloses a method of playing multiplayer card selection games on one or more computing devices that follow the scoring rules of poker and can involve both actual and virtual players. These games use a mixture of cards selected by players and community cards where in some rounds players privately select their cards from the same deck of playing cards and in other rounds community cards are randomly dealt from the same deck of playing cards and shared by the players. 
         [0010]    The above-described games by the present inventor have proven to be of great entertainment and commercial value; however, it is sometimes desirable to modify games to add new strategies, add variety to the games, make the games more competitive, enable the games to be displayed on smaller devices, etc. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0011]    Embodiments of the present invention are described that vary aspects of the inventor&#39;s previous games involving the players&#39; selection of cards. The new embodiments offer substantial improvements over the games disclosed by the inventor in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,637, U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,959, U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,777 B2, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/867,614, all incorporated herein by reference. All of the aforementioned methods use a deck of playing cards face up for each hand from which each player in a round privately selects a specific card and, after all players have made their card selection, each player either is dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise is dealt his/her selected card. 
         [0012]    In the new embodiments described herein, a hand starts with a larger first deck of playing cards, and then software creates a smaller second deck of cards that is composed of cards randomly selected from the first deck of cards for that hand. The smaller second deck of cards contains fewer cards than the first deck of playing cards. In most rounds, players privately select their specific cards from the smaller second deck face up. After all players have made their card selection in a round, each player is either dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise is dealt his/her selected card. The number of cards in the smaller second deck may also vary from hand-to-hand. A card selection deck that changes in composition and possibly in size from hand-to-hand creates a totally new game dynamic over the prior art. The phrase “randomly selected” as used in this document represent a selection process where the results are unpredictable. 
         [0013]    The cards each player receives or can use are referred to as that player&#39;s hand. A hand also refers to a single game cycle that consists of a series of rounds, at the end of which, the player with the best set of cards (hand), according to predetermined rules, is the declared or determined to be the winner. 
         [0014]    A 52-card standard deck for playing regular poker consists of four suits, clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades with thirteen cards in each suit, ace through king In regular poker, good combinations such as a straight flush, four-of-a-kind, and full house are rare. Most people are reluctant to bet much when they hold only one or two pair. As a result, too many people drop out of the betting early, which may frustrate even people with good hands. One common solution is to introduce wild cards to increase the chances of receiving a good hand and thus keep the game interesting. There are other forms like Turkish poker where some of the cards, like all the twos thru fives, are permanently removed from the deck. In the present invention, the first deck of cards can be any of the above forms or others as well. 
         [0015]    Playing a game that uses the same deck of playing cards for card selection from hand-to-hand allows players to win over time, by employing a relatively small set of fixed strategies for card selection. This is so because the number of different ways to build or create each type of hand remains constant and, a player knows these patterns ahead of time. Therefore, in a game that has a set hierarchy of hand structures and uses a fixed deck (especially a standard 52-card deck) from hand-to-hand for card selection, a player can generally rely every time on a small number of predetermined, fixed hand structures as a guide in selecting cards. 
         [0016]    The use of a smaller, limited second deck that is randomly selected differently by the software from hand-to-hand from a larger fixed first deck, such as a standard 52-card deck, requires each player to pay close attention to the composition of the limited deck. The number of different ways to build or create each type of hand varies dramatically as the composition of the limited second deck changes based on software random selection. This variation in composition becomes even more pronounced by changing the number of cards in the limited deck. Since both the composition and possibly the size of the limited deck change from hand-to-hand, the use of predetermined, fixed strategies is ineffective for card selection, and a player must carefully evaluate the composition of the limited deck each time in determining what type of hand he/she should try to build. 
         [0017]    Compared to using a fixed, full deck of playing cards, the use of a smaller limited second deck, that has been randomly selected from a larger fixed first deck and varies from hand-to-hand, also significantly reduces the opportunity for collusion in a card selection game, especially when time limits are introduced. It is much more difficult to devise and effectuate a collusion scheme when the deck keeps changing from hand-to-hand, without knowing what the new card selection deck will be ahead of time. Furthermore, any such scheme would have to be extremely sophisticated to be successful and, therefore, would possess certain unique characteristics that would stand out under scrutiny. The use of a limited deck as described above for a card selection game with time limits makes collusion no more of a problem than now exists with regular poker and perhaps less of one. 
         [0018]    In a variation, a set of community cards, such as three, are first randomly selected by the computer from the original deck and made available to all players prior to the players selecting cards. The community cards may be randomly selected from either the original 52-card deck or from the limited deck. In another variation, an additional one or more community cards are also randomly selected and dealt to the players after all rounds of player selection are completed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1A  is a block diagram that enumerates the various functions of the game management software. 
           [0020]      FIG. 1B  is a block diagram that illustrates the hardware/software configuration for a two-tier client-server networked operating environment. 
           [0021]      FIG. 1C  is a block diagram that illustrates the hardware/software configuration for a single step client-server networked operating environment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 1D  is a block diagram that illustrates the hardware/software configuration for a peer-to-peer operating environment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2A  shows a first player&#39;s screen in a 3-player game after 3 community cards are randomly dealt but before any of the 4 card-selection rounds have occurred. 
           [0024]      FIG. 2B  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , on the first card selection round, when a possible card choice has been indicated but not confirmed. 
           [0025]      FIG. 2C  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , after all 3 players have selected and been dealt a face down card in the first card selection round. 
           [0026]      FIG. 2D  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , after 2 card selection rounds have been completed. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2E  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , after 3 card selection rounds have been completed. 
           [0028]      FIG. 2F  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , after all card selection rounds have been completed and a winner is declared. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2G  shows a second player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , on the first card selection round, when a possible card choice has been indicated but not confirmed. 
           [0030]      FIG. 2H  shows the second player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , after 3 card selection rounds have been completed. 
           [0031]      FIG. 2I  shows a third player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2A , on the fourth card selection round, when a possible card choice has been indicated but not confirmed. 
           [0032]      FIG. 2J  shows a player&#39;s screen displaying a tournament scoring chart. 
           [0033]      FIG. 2K  shows a second real player&#39;s screen in the first game of a 2-player tournament, where 2 real players indirectly play against each other, and each play directly against  2  virtual players, after 3 community cards are randomly dealt but before any of the 4 card-selection rounds have occurred. 
           [0034]      FIG. 2L  shows the second real player&#39;s screen, for the same first tournament game as  FIG. 2K , after 3 card selection rounds have been completed. 
           [0035]      FIG. 2M  shows the second real player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2K , after the first tournament game has been completed. 
           [0036]      FIG. 2N  shows the first real player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 2K , after the first tournament game has been completed. 
           [0037]      FIG. 2O  shows the first real player&#39;s screen, for the second tournament game, after 3 community cards have been dealt, but before players have selected any cards. 
           [0038]      FIG. 2P  shows the second real player&#39;s screen, for the same tournament game as  FIG. 2O , after 3 community cards have been dealt, but before players have selected any cards. 
           [0039]      FIG. 2Q  shows the first real player&#39;s screen, for the same tournament game as  FIG. 2O , after it has been completed. 
           [0040]      FIG. 2R  shows the second real player&#39;s screen, for the same tournament game as  FIG. 2O , after it has been completed. 
           [0041]      FIG. 2S  shows the first real player&#39;s screen, for the winner of the tournament referenced in  FIG. 2K . 
           [0042]      FIG. 2T  shows the second real player&#39;s screen, for the winner of the tournament referenced in  FIG. 2K . 
           [0043]      FIG. 3A  shows a first player&#39;s screen in a 2-player game only involving 6 card-selection rounds, on the first card selection round using a first deck of cards, when a possible card choice has been indicated but not confirmed. 
           [0044]      FIG. 3B  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , at the start of the second card selection round, where, from the second card selection round on, players pick from a smaller second deck of cards. 
           [0045]      FIG. 3C  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , at the start of the fourth card selection round, when a possible card choice has been indicated but not confirmed. 
           [0046]      FIG. 3D  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , at the end of 5 card selection rounds. 
           [0047]      FIG. 3E  shows the first player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , after all 6 card selection rounds have been completed and a winner is declared. 
           [0048]      FIG. 3F  shows a second player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , at the end of the first card selection round. 
           [0049]      FIG. 3G  shows the second player&#39;s screen, for the same game as  FIG. 3A , at the end of 5 card selection rounds. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0050]    The present invention is a method of playing computerized multi-player card games that follow the scoring rules of poker. For the majority of these games, the quality of a player&#39;s hand is due to skill and strategy rather than “the luck of the draw”. In all embodiments, players privately request desired cards in one or more rounds from a smaller second deck of cards face up, that is composed of cards randomly selected by the software from a first deck of playing cards for each new hand. The second deck, including any community cards usable by any of the players, always has fewer cards than the first deck. Each hand ends with the winning player having the best set of cards of all the active players, according to predetermined rules, after a specified number of rounds have been played or there is only one remaining active player. In one embodiment, after all active players have selected a card in a round, a null card, which has no value in determining the outcome of the game, is delivered to players who request the same card as another player has requested on the current round or a previous round. Otherwise, a player is dealt his/her selected card. In another embodiment, after all active players have selected a card in a round, a null card is delivered to players who request the same card as another player has requested on the current round or has been dealt to a player on a previous round. Otherwise, a player is dealt his/her selected card. 
         [0051]    The computer-based multiplayer card selection game, as disclosed herein, can be played in a variety of modes and operating environments. In every embodiment, each active player selects his/her card or cards from the same smaller second deck of cards in one or more rounds. For each new hand, the smaller second deck is randomly selected from a larger fixed first deck of cards and, including any community cards, contains fewer cards than the first deck. In one embodiment of the invention, an actual player using a single computing device can play the game against one or more virtual players, with play directed and facilitated by game management software that also controls the virtual players. In another embodiment, two or more actual players can play against each other, each using a separate computing device, with play directed and facilitated by game management software. 
         [0052]    Tournaments can be conducted. They all involve two or more actual players initially and consist of one or more hands played, where each actual player uses a separate computing device. In one embodiment of the invention, a tournament involves two or more actual players, each directly playing against one or more virtual players on his/her computing device. In this embodiment, the actual players indirectly play against each other to determine which actual player is the tournament winner. At the start of each hand, the number of virtual players each actual player plays against is the same, though the number of virtual players at the start of each hand may vary from hand-to-hand. In each hand played, each actual player receives a numerical score based on predetermined scoring rules, regardless of whether or not the actual player had the best poker hand playing against the virtual players on his/her computing device. Game management software directs and facilitates play, controls the virtual players and keeps track of the total score of each actual player. After each active, actual player has played the same number of predetermined hands or a specified amount of time has elapsed or only one active, actual player remains, the tournament winner is then the active, actual player with the highest total score. Game management software maintains a level playing field for the actual players. It insures that when all card and bet selections for 2 or more actual players are sequentially identical, then all the card and bet selections for each set of their corresponding virtual players are also sequentially identical. A random number generator is at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) code logic that controls the virtual players. To maintain a level playing field, game management software insures that both the AI code used to control an actual player&#39;s set of virtual players and the starting value or values used to seed the AI code random number generator are the same for each actual player. The game management software also insures that when community cards are dealt in a hand, they are the same for all active, actual or virtual players. These tournaments can be either asynchronous, where the actual players play at different times or synchronous, where the actual players all play at the same time. 
         [0053]    There are several types of tournaments where the actual players directly play against each other, each using a separate computing device. In one embodiment of the invention, the tournament starts with no more than ten actual players, all of them playing against each other at the same table. Game management software directs and facilitates play. It insures that when community cards are dealt in a hand, they are the same for all active players. In each hand played, each active player receives a numerical score based on predetermined scoring rules. After each active player has played the same number of predetermined hands or a specified amount of time has elapsed or only one active player remains, the tournament winner or winners are then declared to be the one or more active players with the highest final score. 
         [0054]    In another embodiment, the tournament starts with more than seven actual players and at least two tables of play. Each actual player uses a separate computing device. Game management software directs and facilitates play. It insures that when community cards are dealt in a hand, they are the same for all active players. For each new hand, game management software randomly assigns each actual player to a table, so that as long as there are enough active, actual players, each actual player usually plays against different actual players from hand-to-hand. Game management software also populates the tables with virtual players when necessary, so that for each new hand every table starts with the same number of players. In each hand played, each active, actual player receives a numerical score based on predetermined scoring rules, regardless of whether or not that actual player had the best poker hand at his/her table. Game management software keeps track of the total score of each actual player. After each active actual player has played the same number of predetermined hands or only one active, actual player remains, the tournament winner or winners is then declared to be the one or more active, actual players with the highest total score of all active, actual players. To maintain a level playing field, game management software also insures that when community cards are dealt in a hand, they are the same for each table and all active, actual or virtual players. 
         [0055]    In another embodiment, the tournament involves betting and normally starts with more than five actual players and at least two tables of play. Each actual player uses a separate computing device. Each player starts the tournament with the same amount of real or play money for betting. At the start of the tournament software assigns each player to a table. Game management software directs and facilitates play. It insures that when community cards are dealt in a hand, they are the same for all active players. As play progresses from hand-to-hand, players are eliminated from the tournament as they lose all their money. When appropriate, the software consolidates the tables. The tournament ends when one player has won all the money. 
         [0056]    All of the embodiments described above require game management software.  FIG. 1A  enumerates some of the basic functions that the Game Management Software 10 performs. These are: a) randomly select cards from larger first deck to form smaller second card selection deck that including community cards has fewer cards than the first deck  12 : b) determine what cards are dealt to each player based on player card selection  14 ; c) when applicable, randomly deal community cards  16 ; d) when applicable, control virtual player card selection and betting  18 ; e) keep track of all game data  20 ; f) maintain level playing field for various tournament modes  22 ; and g) in general, direct and facilitate game play  24 . 
         [0057]    Several different operating environments are suitable for playing the game when more than one actual player is involved. Under these circumstances, the game can best be played over the Internet in order to accommodate the broadest range of players, no matter where they are located. While the Internet is often the preferred operating environment for playing the game with more than one actual player, other operating environments are also popular for such game play. For instance, video game hardware as used in game arcades can be linked together by a local area network to allow actual players to compete against each other. Hand-held computing devices such as cell phones with Bluetooth capability or Personal Digital Assistants with infrared capability enable 2 or more actual players, each with such a separate computing device, to play against each other. 
         [0058]    Networked environments such as the Internet or locally linked computing devices in a game arcade employ the client-server software model for game play and communication. Such a system consists of two software modules, configured either as “client software” or “server software”, to manage and facilitate game play. Together, these two software modules provide all the functionality of the game management software described in  FIG. 1A . Each player&#39;s computing device has a copy of the “client software”. When the “server software” resides on a computer separate from each player&#39;s computing device, the host computer for the “server software” is called a server and the client-server model is called two-tier. When a separate server is not used and the “server software” also resides on a player&#39;s computing device, the client-server software model is called single step. Functionally there is no difference between the two-tier and single step client-server models. A common characteristic of client-server systems is that the “server software” manages and effects all communication to and from the actual players. 
         [0059]    The Internet employs the two-tier client-server model as depicted in  FIG. 1B . Each player&#39;s computing device  34  contains a copy of the “client software”  36  (which can be downloaded from a Web page on the Internet) that provides him or her with the capability to select and view cards (either as images or descriptive text) and bets. The “server software”  32  resides on a computer called a server  30  that is separate from each player&#39;s computing device  34 . 
         [0060]    When actual players directly play against each other in a client-server network system, whether two-tier or single step, game management functionality is usually but not necessarily distributed between “client software” and “server software” in the following manner. The “client software” communicates each player&#39;s card or bet selection to the “server software” (which will in turn communicate some of this information to the other players). The “server software” provides overall management of game flow by receiving card and bet selection information from each player, as well as game selection information from the dealer. It randomly selects the cards for the smaller, second deck and when applicable, randomly selects the community cards. For each active virtual player, it determines that player&#39;s selected card in a card selection round and determines that player&#39;s selected bet, when that virtual player&#39;s betting turn comes. For each player card selection, it determines whether the desired card or a null card (which may be represented by a joker) is dealt to that player. The “server software”  32  also sends information to each active player regarding when a new game or hand begins, which player is the dealer only for game selection, what game the dealer selected, what cards are in the smaller second card selection deck, what the community cards are, if applicable, and, in each card selection round, what card is dealt to that player, what card is dealt to each of the other players for a round where cards are dealt face-up, and in a betting round, which player is the current bettor, what bet the current bettor made, and when a hand is over, the rank and suit of each face-down card and each null card&#39;s associated selected card for the active players, which players won and the winning score. 
         [0061]    When actual players indirectly compete against each other by each playing a similar set of virtual players on his/her computing device, then most of the game management software and functionality described above is often but not always shifted to the “client software” on each player&#39;s computing device. In that instance the “server software” sends the same value or values to each “client software”, for seeding the game management random number generator, to produce the same second card selection deck, the same community cards when applicable, and to control the virtual players in the same fashion, across the different players&#39; computing devices. Also, the “server software” will receive from and communicate to the actual players, each active actual player&#39;s score at the end of each hand. 
         [0062]    In the single step client-server system, as may be used in a game arcade employing a local area network, the server software  42  resides on one or more of the player&#39;s computing devices  40  along with the client software  44  as depicted in  FIG. 1C . As previously mentioned, there is no functional difference between the two-tier and single step client-server systems. Therefore, the above discussions, regarding how game management software and functionality are distributed between “client software” and “server software” apply equally to single step, depending upon whether the actual players play directly or indirectly against each other. 
         [0063]    Another operating environment for actual players to play the game against each other is called peer-to-peer, where players directly communicate with each other. In this operating environment there is no “server software”. Here each hand-held computing device is preloaded with software for overall game management, determining what cards are dealt, controlling the virtual players, playing the game and enabling the players to directly communicate with each other.  FIG. 1D  shows the game management software  50  residing on each player computing device  52 , with each player&#39;s computing device able to directly communicate with every other player&#39;s computing device involved in the game. 
         [0064]    In one embodiment of the invention, an actual player has a copy of the necessary game management software on his/her computing device, in order to play the game against one or more virtual players on his/her computing device. 
         [0065]    In one embodiment of the invention, two or more actual players each have a copy of the necessary game management software on their respective computing device. The computing devices are connected together in a client-server networked environment in order for the actual players to play the game directly against each other. 
         [0066]    In another embodiment, two or more actual players each have a copy of the necessary game management software on their respective computing device, in order for each to play the game against a set of virtual players on his/her computing device, where the computing devices are connected together in a client-server networked environment that maintains a level playing field between the actual players, to permit them to play the game indirectly against each other. 
         [0067]    In one embodiment of the invention, two or more actual players each have a copy of the necessary game management software on their respective mobile computing device, where the computing devices can directly communicate with each other peer-to-peer using Bluetooth or a similar technology, so that the players can play the game directly against each other. 
         [0068]    In another embodiment, two or more actual players each have a copy of the necessary game management software on their respective mobile computing device, in order for each to play the game against a set of virtual players on his/her computing device, where the computing devices can directly communicate with each other peer-to-peer using Bluetooth or a similar technology, so that a level playing field is maintained between the actual players and the players can play the game indirectly against each other. 
         [0069]    In one embodiment of the invention, on the first round, each player, actual or virtual privately selects a card from a larger first deck of playing cards displayed face up to all the players. After every player has made his/her card selection, each player either is dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise, is dealt his/her selected card. The software then generates a smaller second deck of cards that is composed of both the cards selected by the players on the first round and cards randomly selected by the software from the larger first deck of cards. The second deck contains fewer cards than the first deck and is displayed face up to all the players. On one or more subsequent rounds each active player privately selects a card from the smaller second deck. After every active player has made his/her card selection in a round, each active player either is dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise, is dealt his/her selected card. After a predetermined number of rounds have been played or only one active player remains, the software identifies the active player with the best hand of cards, according to predetermined rules of play. 
         [0070]    In another embodiment of the invention, after a predetermined number of rounds have been played where players select cards, one or more community cards are randomly dealt that are usable by all active players in forming a hand. The community cards may be randomly dealt from either the larger first deck of cards or the smaller second deck of cards. 
         [0071]    In another embodiment of the invention, at the start of each hand the software first generates a smaller, second deck of cards composed of cards randomly selected by the software from a larger first deck of playing cards. The second deck contains fewer cards than the first deck and is displayed face up to all the players. On one or more rounds, each active player, actual or virtual, privately selects a card from a smaller second deck. After every active player has made his/her card selection in a round, each active player either is dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise, is dealt his/her selected card. After a predetermined number of rounds have been played or only one active player remains, the software identifies the active player with the best hand of cards, according to predetermined rules of play. 
         [0072]    In an additional embodiment of the invention, on at least one round, though not every round, every player, actual or virtual, receives a card randomly dealt by the software from the cards remaining in the smaller second deck. The determination of which round or rounds will feature such randomly-dealt cards can be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or may be randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0073]    In yet another embodiment of the invention, cards in any round may be dealt face-up to every player. The determination of which round or rounds will feature cards that are dealt face-up and which round or rounds will feature cards that are dealt face-down can be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or may be randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0074]    In one embodiment of the invention, one or more community cards are first randomly selected by the software from a larger first deck of playing cards and displayed face up to all the players. One or more of the community cards may be used by any of the players in forming a hand. The software then generates a smaller second deck of cards that is composed of cards randomly selected by the software from the first deck of playing cards. The second deck including community cards contains fewer cards than the first deck and is displayed face up to all the players. Since the community cards are displayed separately, the displayed second deck used for card selection by the players may or may not contain the community cards. When community cards are also displayed as part of the second deck they are not available for player card selection in a round. In each of one or more rounds, players privately select cards from the smaller second deck. After every active player has made his/her card selection in a round, each active player either is dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise, is dealt his/her selected card. After a predetermined number of rounds have been played or only one active player remains, the software identifies the active player with the best hand of cards, according to predetermined rules of play. As with the other embodiments listed above, the determination of whether this embodiment will be employed can be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or may be randomly set by the software before the game starts. If an actual player wishes to use a community card for his or her best hand, the player will indicate his or her preference by highlighting the card. In other embodiments, the software can automatically determine what the best hand is for each player. 
         [0075]    In another embodiment, the community cards are randomly selected from the smaller second deck of cards instead of the larger first deck of cards. 
         [0076]    In another embodiment, an additional one or more community cards are also randomly selected by the computer and dealt to the players after all rounds of player card selection are completed. This adds an additional element of strategy to the game, since players with poor hands may elect to remain in the game hoping that a favorable community card is dealt. 
         [0077]    If the players selected their cards from a 52-card deck after the community cards were removed from the deck, the game would be similar to that described in my U.S. application Ser. No. 10/867,614. This present disclosure also supports claims that cover the games described in my U.S. application Ser. No. 10/867,614, since having the players select cards from a limited deck of cards randomly selected from the original 52-card deck is a limiting variation on my earlier game, even though the limited deck provides some added benefits to the basic game. In either case, the players select from decks or sets of cards. 
         [0078]    In another embodiment of the invention, at the start of a hand, the software generates a smaller second deck of cards that is composed of cards randomly selected by the software from a larger first deck of playing cards. The second deck contains fewer cards than the first deck and is displayed face up to all the players. In the first one or more rounds, each active player, actual or virtual, privately selects a card from the smaller second deck. After every active player has made his/her card selection in a round, each active player is either dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise, dealt his/her selected card. After a predetermined number of rounds of card selection have been played, there are one or more rounds where in each round the software randomly selects a community card from the smaller second deck, excluding any cards that have been previously selected by any of the players and displays it face up to all the players. One or more of the community cards may be used by any of the players in forming a hand. After a predetermined number of rounds have been played or only one active player remains, the software identifies the active player with the best hand of cards, according to predetermined rules of play. 
         [0079]    In another embodiment of the invention, at the start of a hand, the software generates a smaller second deck of cards that is composed of cards randomly selected by the software from a larger first deck of playing cards. The second deck contains fewer cards than the first deck and is displayed face up to all the players. In the first one or more rounds, each active player, actual or virtual, privately selects a card from the smaller second deck. After every active player has made his/her card selection in a round, each active player is either dealt a no-value null card when there is conflict, or otherwise dealt his/her selected card. After a predetermined number of rounds of card selection have been played, there are one or more rounds where in each round the software randomly selects a community card from the smaller second deck excluding any cards that have been previously selected by any of the players and displays it face up to all the players. One or more of the community cards may be used by any of the players in forming a hand. After a predetermined number of rounds have been played or only one active player remains, the software identifies the active player with the best hand of cards, according to predetermined rules of play. 
         [0080]    In another embodiment of the invention where community cards are involved, the best hand of cards according to predetermined rules of play must use at least one of the community cards. 
         [0081]    Players may select more than one card per round in another embodiment. Each player selects the same number of cards and specifies the order of selection. Game software will determine which cards to deal and in what order. For instance, if two cards are selected per round, the players choose the cards and the order of selection, the game software then analyzes the players&#39; first card choice and then deals the appropriate cards accordingly, and then the game software analyzes the players&#39; choice for a second card and then deals the appropriate cards. The determination of which round or rounds will feature multiple card selections by the players can be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or may be randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0082]    In other embodiments any round may be a betting round. The determination of which round or rounds will feature betting may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0083]    In other embodiments any card selection round may involve a specified time limit within which each player must select a card. A player who fails to select a card within the specified time limit is automatically dealt a null card by the software. The determination of which round or rounds will feature a card selection time limit may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0084]    In other embodiments any betting round may involve a specified time limit within which each player must indicate his/her bet on that player&#39;s betting turn. A player who fails to indicate his/her bet within the specified time limit is automatically indicated as having called or checked by the software, depending upon whether there was a previous bet or not by another player in the current round. The determination of which round or rounds will feature a betting time limit may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0085]    In other embodiments the number of rounds may be one or more. The determination of the number of rounds may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0086]    The game may also function in a standalone system where no connection to a network and communication with other computing devices is necessary to play the game. In this embodiment, there is one actual player using a computing device. The other players are virtual players. All necessary game management software may be pre-loaded, downloaded to the player&#39;s computing device from a network or contained on some computer-readable media such as a memory stick, or floppy or compact disk. 
         [0087]    In one embodiment of the invention, the number of cards in a smaller second deck that contains cards that have been randomly selected by the software for each new hand from a larger first deck of playing cards remains fixed from hand-to-hand. The second deck, including any community cards, contains fewer cards than the first deck. The determination of the number of cards in the smaller second deck may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0088]    In another embodiment, the number of cards in a smaller second deck that contains cards that have been randomly selected by the software for each new hand from a larger first deck of playing cards varies from hand-to-hand. The second deck, including any community cards, contains fewer cards than the first deck. The number of cards in the smaller second deck is randomly set by the software for each new hand to some number between a predetermined minimum value and a predetermined maximum value. The determination of the minimum and maximum size of the smaller second deck may be programmed in default settings for the game, set by a player before the game starts, or randomly set by the software before the game starts. 
         [0089]    These embodiments may be combined within one game. For instance, in addition to at least one round in which the dealt cards are based on player card selection, a game may feature some rounds where each player receives a randomly-dealt card chosen by the game software as well as some rounds where a single randomly-dealt community card is dealt face-up and may be used by any of the players. 
         [0090]    For all of the embodiments of the invention, the computing device used by an actual player has a display screen. Depending upon the type of display screen and computing device, when required, an actual player can point to and select on the display screen a desired card from the card selection deck or a desired bet from a bet menu or bet buttons. This is accomplished by means of a touch screen or keyboard, or when a cursor is involved, by means of a mouse, trackball or some other similar selection device. 
         [0091]    Thirty-one drawings are included ( FIGS. 1A-D ,  2 A-T,  3 A-G). Set one ( FIGS. 1A-D ) shows 4 block diagrams for game management functionality and various operating environment configurations that have already been referenced. Set two ( FIGS. 2A-T ) shows 20 screen drawings for a card selection game that involves 3 community cards and one or more tables with 3 players playing directly against each other at each table. The community cards are first randomly selected by the software from a standard 52-card deck of playing cards and displayed face up on each actual player&#39;s screen. The community cards are usable by all players in forming a hand. Then there are four rounds of player card selection, where in each round each active player first privately selects a card from a smaller second deck of cards that has been randomly selected by the software from a standard 52-card deck. The second deck, including the community cards, has fewer cards than the standard 52-card deck. After all players have selected their card in a round, each player is dealt a card. This card is a no-value null card when a player either selects a card that is the same as one selected by another player in the current round or is the same as a card dealt to another player in a previous round. Otherwise, the player is dealt his/her selected card. Cards are dealt face down in the first card selection round and face up in each of the next three rounds. In this example, the second deck contains 19 cards excluding the community cards. The word “randomly” is used to represent a selection process where the results are unpredictable. The second deck is displayed face up on each actual player&#39;s screen. In this example, the displayed deck also includes the 3 community cards. For this example, the size of the smaller second deck excluding the community cards was determined by system software that randomly selected a number between a predetermined minimum of 12 cards and predetermined maximum of 28 cards. The actual player is named NAME 1 . The other 2 players, NAME 2  and NAME 3  could each be either actual or virtual. Note that in these drawings a large X on a card indicates that it is a null card. 
         [0092]      FIGS. 2A-T  are divided into 3 subsets. The first subset  FIGS. 2A-F , when considered by itself, represents a single actual player NAME 1  playing against  2  virtual players NAME 2  and NAME 3  on a single computing device, with a display screen and a mouse for card or bet selection.  FIG. 2A  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  90  after the 3 community cards, heart jack  100 , club five  110 , heart seven  120 , usable by all players in forming a hand, have been dealt face up, but before any of the players, NAME 1   130 , NAME 2   140  or NAME 3   150  have selected their first card from the same second deck  160 , that also displays the community cards. The community cards in the selection deck  170  are shadowed-out to indicate that they cannot be selected. On each actual player&#39;s screen, cards in the card selection deck, that that player knows cannot be subsequently selected and dealt, are shadowed-out. 
         [0093]      FIG. 2B  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  172  after NAME 1  has clicked on the diamond queen  180  using a mouse. A single-click causes the software to offset the diamond queen  180  to indicate that it is NAME 1 &#39;s current tentative choice. NAME 1  will click on the “Confirm” button  190  to activate the current tentative card selection. Alternatively, double-clicking on a card using the mouse commits a player to that card as his/her choice, circumventing the need to then click on the “Confirm” button. Note that no cards have been dealt yet since all the players haven&#39;t completed their card selection. 
         [0094]      FIG. 2C  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  192  after all the players have privately selected and then been dealt their first card. Since cards are dealt face down in card selection round one, only NAME 1 &#39;s first dealt card  200 , the diamond queen is displayed on NAME 1 &#39;s screen and both NAME 2 &#39;s first dealt card  208  and NAME 3 &#39;s first dealt card  210  are dealt face down. The diamond queen  220  is shadowed-out in the displayed card selection deck to indicate that NAME 1  can no longer select it to be dealt. 
         [0095]      FIG. 2D  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  222  after all the players have privately selected and then been dealt their second card. NAME 1  selected and was dealt the spade queen  230 , NAME 2  selected and was dealt the heart five  240 , and NAME 3  selected and was dealt the heart six  250 . No player in this round was blocked. Now in NAME 1 &#39;s card selection deck the spade queen, heart five and heart six are all shadowed-out  260 , because NAME 1  knows these cards have already been dealt. 
         [0096]      FIG. 2E  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  262  after all the players have privately selected and then been dealt their third card. NAME 1  selected the club queen, but was blocked and therefore dealt a null card  270 . In fact all 3 players were blocked, with both NAME 2  and NAME 3  also being dealt null cards. Note that while NAME 1 &#39;s screen shows the rank and suit of the selected card associated with his/her dealt card  270 , it does not display the rank and suit associated with either NAME 2 &#39;s dealt null card  280  or NAME 3 &#39;s dealt null card  290 . Note that in the card selection deck, the club queen  300  is not shadowed-out because even though NAME 1  had selected it, to NAME 1  it still might not have been dealt. 
         [0097]      FIG. 2F  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  302  when the hand has been completed. It displays every card selected by and dealt to every player on every card selection round, regardless of whether the card was dealt face down or dealt face up and blocked. NAME 1  was dealt his/her fourth card selection, the diamond seven  310 . NAME 1  now sees that NAME 2  was dealt the spade five  320  as his/her first card, and selected the heart ace in both the third and fourth selection rounds  330 . Note that NAME 2  was able to select the heart ace twice. This is so because in each round NAME 2  did not know whether or not the heart ace had been dealt on a previous round. However, as it turns out in both of these card selection rounds, NAME 2  was dealt a null card  330  since NAME 3  had already been dealt the heart ace as his/her first card  340 . NAME 1  now also sees that NAME 3  selected the club queen  350  in the third card selection round, to successfully block NAME 1  from getting three queens. This prevented NAME 1  from eventually getting a full house to win the hand. NAME 3  was dealt the heart four  360  in the fourth selection round to successfully complete a heart flush. The final results show that a) NAME 1  got Two Pair  370  with 2 queens and 2 sevens using the community heart seven  120 , b) NAME 2  got Three of a Kind  380  with 3 fives using the community club five  110  and c) NAME 3  got a Heart Flush  390  using the community heart jack  100  and heart seven  120 . Therefore, NAME 3  was the winner  400  with the best poker hand. 
         [0098]    The second subset,  FIGS. 2G-I  taken together with the first subset  FIGS. 2A-F , represents 3 actual players, NAME 1 , NAME 2  and NAME  3 , playing directly against each other. Each actual player uses a separate computing device, with a display screen and a mouse for card or bet selection. The computing devices are linked together in a client-server or peer-to-peer operating environment with play under the control of game management software.  FIGS. 2G-H  show NAME 2 &#39;s screen for this example when NAME 2  is an actual player.  FIG. 2G  shows NAME 2 &#39;s screen  404  after the 3 community cards, heart jack  100 , club five  110 , heart seven  120 , usable by all players, have been dealt face up, but before any of the players, NAME 2   406 , NAME 3   408  or NAME 1   410  have been dealt their first card. It also shows that NAME 2  has clicked on the spade five  412  using a mouse. The software offsets the spade five  412  in the card selection deck to indicate it is NAME 2 &#39;s current tentative choice. NAME 2  will click on the “Confirm” button  190  to activate the current tentative card selection. NAME 2  chooses from the same card selection deck  160  used by both NAME 1  and NAME 3 , with the same community cards shadowed-out  170 . Note that the players&#39; positions on NAME 2 &#39;s screen are different than they are on NAME 1 &#39;s screen, with NAME 2   406  now appearing below the community cards. 
         [0099]      FIG. 2H  shows NAME 2 &#39;s screen  414  after all the players have privately selected and then been dealt their third card. NAME 2 &#39;s first 2 dealt cards were the spade five  320  and the heart five  240 . However, NAME 2  was blocked on his/her third card selection, the heart ace  416 . NAME 2  possibly chose the heart ace to block NAME 3  from getting a heart flush. Since cards were dealt face down in card selection round one, the first card dealt to NAME 3  was dealt face down  418 , and so was the first card dealt to NAME 1   420 . The third card dealt to NAME 3  was a null card  422  and so was the third card  424  dealt to NAME 1 . This might have led NAME 2  to think that either NAME 3  or NAME 1 , or both, also selected the heart ace for his/her third card. Note that on NAME 2 &#39;s screen, null cards dealt face up to the other players do not display the rank and suit of their associated selected card until the hand is completed. The additional cards shadowed-out in the card selection deck  426  are now the spade five, heart five, heart six and spade queen, since NAME 2  now knows these cards have already been dealt. However, the heart ace  428  is not shadowed-out in the card selection deck. The heart ace might have not been dealt in a previous round and since NAME 3 &#39;s third dealt card was a null card  424 , NAME 3  could have also selected the heart ace in the third round. Therefore, from NAME 2 &#39;s perspective, the heart ace might not have been dealt yet, in which case it would still available for selection. Referring back to  FIG. 2F  we see that NAME 3  had been dealt the heart ace as his/her first card  340 , but NAME 2  didn&#39;t know that in the third card selection round. Also, in  FIG. 2F  we see that NAME 2  selected the heart ace as his/her fourth card  340  in a vain attempt to stop NAME 3  from getting an ace high heart flush. 
         [0100]      FIG. 2I  shows NAME 3 &#39;s screen  450  at the start of the fourth card selection round when NAME 3  is an actual player. Note the screen positions of NAME 3   452 , NAME 1   454  and NAME 2   456 . The additional cards shadowed-out  458  in the card selection deck are the heart ace, heart six, spade queen and heart five, since NAME 3  knows these cards have already been dealt. NAME 1 &#39;s third dealt card was a null card  460 , and so was NAME 2 &#39;s third dealt card  462 . NAME 3  was also dealt a null card  464  in the third card selection round, when he/she selected the club queen. Note that the club queen is not shadowed-out  466  in the card selection deck, to indicate that NAME 3  could still select it on this round. At the start of the fourth card selection round, NAME 3  doesn&#39;t know if the club queen has been dealt yet. It might not have been dealt in the first card selection round, and was selected by NAME 1  as his/her third card  460  or by NAME 2  as his/her third card  462 , or by both. The heart four  468  is offset in the card selection deck  470  as NAME 3 &#39;s tentative fourth card selection. 
         [0101]      FIGS. 2J-T  is a third subset of player screen drawings that taken together with  FIGS. 2A-F  represents 2 actual players, NAME 1  and NAME 4  indirectly playing against each other in a tournament consisting of 2 hands. 
         [0102]      FIG. 2J  shows a TOURNAMENT PLAYER&#39;S screen  480  at the start of the tournament, that displays the Score Chart  482  used to determine the score each actual player receives on each hand played. The tournament winner is the actual player with the highest total score of all active, actual players at the end of the tournament Each actual player uses a separate computing device, with a display screen and a mouse for card or bet selection, to play directly against  2  virtual players on his/her computing device. The computing devices are linked together in a client-server or peer-to-peer operating environment, with play under the control of game management software. NAME 1  is playing against virtual players NAME 2  and NAME 3 , and NAME 4  is playing against virtual players NAME 5  and NAME 6 . When the 2 actual players NAME 1  and NAME 4  have either selected the same sequence of cards for all previous rounds of card selection, or have selected no cards previously, then game management software insures that each set of corresponding active, virtual players select the same card in rank and suit for the current round, to maintain a level playing field. In this example NAME 2  and NAME 5  are corresponding virtual players, and so are NAME 3  and NAME 6 . 
         [0103]      FIG. 2K  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  500  after the 3 community cards, heart jack  502 , club five  504 , heart seven  506 , usable by all players, have been dealt face up, but before any of the players, NAME 4   508 , NAME 5   510 , NAME 3   512  have selected their first card from the same second deck  514 , that also displays the same community cards. The community cards in the card selection deck are shadowed-out  516  to indicate that they cannot be selected. On each actual player&#39;s screen, cards that can no longer be selected by that player are shadowed-out in the card selection deck. Note that game management software insures that  FIG. 2K  and  FIG. 2A  contain the same community cards and the same information except for the names. 
         [0104]      FIG. 2L  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  518  after all the players on NAME 4 &#39;s computing device have privately selected and then been dealt their third card. In the first card selection round, NAME 4  selected and was dealt the diamond queen  520 , the same card that NAME 1  selected and was dealt  200 . NAME 5 &#39;s first card  526  and NAME 6 &#39;s first card  532  were dealt face down. However, those cards should be the same as the first cards dealt to their corresponding virtual players NAME 2  and NAME 3  on NAME 1 &#39;s computing device. Looking ahead,  FIG. 2M  shows this to be true. In addition, since NAME 4  and NAME 1  selected the same first card, NAME 5 &#39;s second dealt card  528 , the heart five, is the same as its corresponding virtual player, NAME 2 &#39;s second dealt card  240  on NAME 1 &#39;s computing device. Similarly, NAME 6 &#39;s second dealt card  534 , the heart six is the same as its corresponding virtual player, NAME 3 &#39;s second dealt card  250  on NAME 1 &#39;s computing device. 
         [0105]    In the second card selection round, the actual players NAME 4  and NAME 1  chose different second cards. NAME 4  selected and was dealt the club queen  522 , whereas NAME 1  selected and was dealt the spade queen  230 . Therefore, starting in round three, game management software no longer insures that NAME 1 &#39;s and NAME 4 &#39;s corresponding virtual players choose the same cards. Note that as his/her third card, NAME 5  chose and was dealt the diamond seven  530 , whereas NAME 5 &#39;s corresponding virtual player NAME 2  was dealt a null card  280  as his/her third card. Now NAME 6  was dealt a null card  536  in card selection round three and so was its corresponding virtual player NAME 3   290 . However, at this stage they could have selected different cards, each of which was blocked. NAME 4  selected and was dealt the spade queen  524  in card selection round three, whereas, NAME 1  selected the club queen and also was blocked  270 . The additional cards shadowed-out  538  in the card selection deck are the club queen, diamond seven, diamond queen, spade queen, heart five and heart six, since NAME 4  knows these cards have already been dealt. 
         [0106]      FIG. 2M  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  542  on completion of the first of 2 tournament hands played on his/her computing device. It shows that in the first card selection round NAME 5  was dealt the spade five  546 , and his/her corresponding virtual player NAME 2  was also dealt the spade five  320 . Similarly, in the first card selection round, NAME 6  was dealt the heart ace  550 , and his/her corresponding virtual player NAME 3  was also dealt the heart ace  340 . We also see that by selecting the spade seven  548  as his/her fourth card, NAME 5  blocked NAME 4  from being dealt the spade seven  544 , to prevent NAME 4  from getting a full house. NAME 6  was dealt the heart four  554  as his/her fourth card, and so was his/her corresponding virtual player NAME 3  dealt the heart four  360  as his/her fourth card. In this instance NAME 6  got a heart flush  560  and his/her corresponding virtual player NAME 3  got the same heart flush  360 , even though the cards they selected in card selection round three were different; NAME 6  selected the diamond queen  552 , whereas NAME 3  selected the club queen  350 . On the completion of the hand, NAME 4  has Three of a Kind  556 , NAME 5  has a Full House  558  and NAME 6  has a Heart Flush. Therefore, on the game played on NAME 4 &#39;s computing device, NAME 5  was the winner  562  with the best poker hand  558 . Since this is a tournament where the actual players, NAME 1  and NAME 4  are indirectly competing against each other, each receives a score for each hand played, regardless of whether or not he/she had the best poker hand. NAME 4 &#39;s scoring data on completion of the first hand  564  shows that NAME 4  received 80 points  566  for Three of a Kind  556  based on the Score Chart  484 . NAME 4  has a total score of 80 points  568  on completion of hand  1 . 
         [0107]      FIG. 2N  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  570  on completion of the first of 2 tournament hands. NAME 1  has Two Pair  370 , NAME 2  has Three of a Kind  380  and NAME 3  has a Heart Flush  390 . Therefore, on the game played on NAME 1 &#39;s computing device, NAME 3  was the winner  400  with the best poker hand  390 . In neither game did the actual player have the best poker hand. However, what matters in this tournament is which actual player, NAME 1  or NAME 4  ends up with the highest total score. NAME 1 &#39;s scoring data on completion of the first hand  572  shows that NAME 1  received 50 points  574  for Two Pair  370  in the current hand based on the Score Chart  486 . NAME 1  has a total score of 50 points  576  on completion of hand  1 . At the end of the first hand NAME 4  is ahead of NAME 1  by 30 points. 
         [0108]    Game management software now checks to see if the tournament is over. Since there is one more hand to be played, the second hand commences for both NAME 1  and NAME 4 .  FIG. 2O  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  578  at the start of hand  2  with players NAME 1   586 , NAME 2   588  and NAME 3   590 , and after the community cards, diamond six  580 , spade queen  582  and spade four  584  have been randomly dealt, and after the card selection deck has been randomly generated and displayed  592 , with the community cards shadowed-out  594 . Note that the composition of the card selection deck for this hand  592  is different than that of the first hand  160 , and so are the community cards. 
         [0109]    Similarly,  FIG. 2P  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  596  at the start of hand  2  with players NAME 4   604 , NAME 5   606  and NAME 6   606 , and after the community cards, diamond six  598 , spade queen  600  and spade four  602  have been randomly dealt, and after the card selection deck has been displayed  610 , with the community cards shadowed-out  612 . As expected, NAME 4 &#39;s computing device displays the same community cards and card selection deck as does NAME 1 &#39;s computing device. 
         [0110]      FIG. 2Q  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  614  on completion of hand  2 . NAME 1  got Three of a Kind  640 , NAME 2  got One Pair  642  and NAME 3  also got Three of a Kind  644 . However, since NAME 1  got the higher Three of a Kind, NAME 1  was the winner  646  with the best poker hand on his/her computing device. NAME 1 &#39;s scoring data  648  for hand  2  shows that NAME 1  received 5080 points  650 , 5000 points for winning  488  and 80 points for Three of a Kind  484 . NAME 1 &#39;s total score at the end of 2 hands is now 5130 points  652 . 
         [0111]      FIG. 2R  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  654  on completion of hand  2 . NAME 4  got a Spade Flush  680 , NAME 5  got Three of a Kind  682  and NAME 6  got Two Pair  684 . NAME 4  was the winner  686  with the best poker hand on his/her computing device. NAME 4 &#39;s scoring data  688  for hand  2  shows that NAME 4  received 5120 points  690 , 5000 points for winning  488  and 120 points for a Flush  490 . NAME 1 &#39;s total score at the end of 2 hands is now 5200 points  692 . 
         [0112]    Comparing the cards dealt on NAME 1 &#39;s screen  614  to those dealt on NAME 4 &#39;s screen  654 , we see that for the first card, NAME 1  selected and was dealt the spade seven  616 , and NAME 4  also selected and was dealt the spade seven  656 . Since the actual players had identical picks through the first card selection round, game management software insured that their corresponding virtual players card selection choices through round  2  also were identical. Thus NAME 2 &#39;s first dealt card was the club queen  624 , and so was NAME 5 &#39;s first dealt card  664 . NAME 3 &#39;s first dealt card was the club four  632 , and so was NAME 6 &#39;s first dealt card  672 . The corresponding virtual players second cards also matched up. NAME 2  selected the club four and was blocked  626 . NAME 5  also selected the club four and was blocked  666 . NAME 3  selected the club queen and was blocked  634 . NAME 6  also selected the club queen and was blocked  674 . 
         [0113]    Now from the second card selection round on NAME 1  and NAME 4  make different card selections. NAME 1 &#39;s second card selection is the diamond seven  618 , his/her third card selection is the club seven  620  and his/her fourth card selection is the club four that gets blocked  622 . Whereas, NAME 4 &#39;s second card selection is the spade nine  658 , his/her third card selection is the blocked heart queen  660  and his/her fourth card selection is the spade five  662 , giving him a spade flush  680 . Once the actual players make different card selections, game management software no longer insures that their corresponding virtual players make the same card selections. Thus we see that NAME 2 &#39;s third card selection is the diamond ace  628  and fourth card selection is the blocked spade seven  630 , whereas corresponding virtual player NAME 5 &#39;s third card selection is the blocked heart queen  668  and fourth card selection is the diamond queen  670 . Similarly, while NAME 3 &#39;s third card selection is the heart four  636 , NAME 6 &#39;s third card selection is the club six  676 . Coincidentally, their fourth card selection is the same, with NAME 3  dealt a blocked spade seven  638  and NAME 6  also dealt a blocked spade seven  678 . 
         [0114]    With the completion of the second hand on both NAME 1 &#39;s computing device and NAME 4 &#39;s computing device, the tournament is over.  FIG. 2S  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  694  at the end of the tournament and indicates that NAME 4  was the tournament winner with a final high score of 5200 points  696 . Similarly,  FIG. 2T  shows NAME 4 &#39;s screen  698  at the end of the tournament and also indicates that NAME 4  with a final high score of 5200 points was the tournament winner  700 , since NAME 1 &#39;s total score was 70 points less with 5130 points  652 . 
         [0115]    Set three ( FIGS. 3A-G ) shows 7 screen drawings of a card selection game with no community cards and 2 players. There are 6 rounds of player card selection with the first round dealt face down and the next five rounds dealt face up. In the first round, players select from a standard 52-card first deck of playing cards, and in rounds two thru six, from a smaller second deck of cards. The second deck contains both the cards selected in the first round and cards randomly selected from the first deck. The second deck of cards has fewer cards than does the first deck of cards. After each player has selected his/her card in a round, each player is dealt a card. This card is a no-value null card when a player selects a card that is the same as one selected by another player in the current round or in a previous round. Otherwise, the player is dealt his/her selected card. In this example the second deck contains 18 cards including the cards selected in the first round. The word “randomly” is used to represent a selection process where the results are unpredictable. The second deck is displayed face up on each actual player&#39;s screen. For this example, the size of the smaller second deck including the cards selected in the first round was set to a predetermined number of 18 cards. NAME 1  is an actual player. The other player NAME 2  could be either actual or virtual. Each actual player has a separate computing device, with a display screen and a mouse for making card or bet selections from the screen. On each actual player&#39;s screen, cards in the second deck of cards that can no longer be selected by that player are shadowed-out. Note that in these drawings a large X on a card indicates that it is a null card. 
         [0116]      FIG. 3A  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  702  before NAME 1   704  and NAME 2   706  have been dealt a card in round one, but after NAME 1  has single-clicked on the diamond ace  710  using his/her mouse. A single-click causes the software to offset the diamond ace to indicate that it is NAME 1 &#39;s current tentative choice from the standard first deck of 52 playing cards displayed face up  708 . NAME 1  will click on the “Confirm” button  712  to activate the current tentative card selection. Alternatively, double-clicking on a card using the mouse commits a player to that card as his/her choice, circumventing the need to then click on the “Confirm” button. 
         [0117]      FIG. 3B  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  714  at the start of round two. The smaller second deck of cards containing a total of 18 cards based on a predetermined number is displayed face up  716 . It is composed of the 2 cards selected on the first round and 16 cards randomly selected by the software from the first deck of cards. NAME 1  selected and was dealt the diamond ace  718  in round one. NAME 2  was dealt his/her round one card selection displayed face down  720  on NAME 1 &#39;s screen. NAME 1  knows that NAME 2  was not dealt a null card in round one, for then NAME 1  would have had to have done the blocking, and also would have been dealt a null card in round one. Therefore, the second deck contains NAME 2 &#39;s first round card selection that NAME 2  was dealt, but NAME 1  doesn&#39;t know what card that is. Since the second deck contains a predetermined number of 18 cards, the software randomly selected 16 of them from the first deck of cards. The diamond ace is shadowed-out  722  in the second card selection deck, since NAME 1  knows that it has already been selected. 
         [0118]      FIG. 3C  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  724  prior to confirming his/her round four card selection. NAME 1  selected and was dealt the spade ace  726  in round two and the club ace  728  in round three. NAME 2  selected and was dealt the heart ten  730  in round two and the heart eight  740  in round three. NAME 1 &#39;s tentative round four card selection, now offset, is the diamond ten  750 . To actually select the diamond ten, NAME 1  will click the “Confirm” button  760 . It appears that NAME 1  is going for a full house, aces over tens. NAME 1  can&#39;t get four aces since the heart ace is not in the card selection deck. NAME 2  might be going for a queen high straight flush in hearts. The additional cards shadowed-out in the card selection deck  770  are now the club ace, spade ace, heart eight and heart ten, since NAME 1  knows that these cards have already been selected. 
         [0119]      FIG. 3D  shows NAME 1 &#39;s screen  772  at the start of round six. NAME 1  did select and was dealt the diamond ten  780  on round four. In round five NAME 1  selected the heart nine and was dealt a null card  790 . We see that NAME 2  was dealt the heart jack  800  in round four and a null card  810  in round five. NAME 1  now knows that NAME 2  either was dealt the heart nine in round one or selected the heart nine in round five, and was blocked. If NAME 2  had been dealt the heart nine in round one, then it would be reasonable for NAME 1  to assume that NAME 2 &#39;s fifth round selection was the diamond ace, to try to prevent NAME 1  from getting a full house. NAME 1  must decide on round six whether to try for a full house or try to block NAME 2  from getting a flush or straight flush. Both the diamond ten and the heart jack are now shadowed-out  820  in the card selection deck. Also, the heart nine  830  is shadowed-out in the deck, even though it hasn&#39;t been dealt, because a card is no longer available for subsequent selection once it has been selected on a previous round. 
         [0120]      FIG. 3E  is the final NAME 1  screen  840  for this hand. It displays the rank and suit of every card selected by every player on every round, regardless of whether the card was dealt face down or blocked. NAME 1  was dealt the spade ten  840  in round six, to complete a full house with 3 aces and 2 tens. NAME 2  was dealt the club queen  850  in round one. From rounds two thru four NAME 2  was on course for a straight flush, selecting and being dealt in succession the heart ten  730 , heart eight  740  and heart jack  800 . However, in round five, NAME 2 &#39;s selection of the heart nine  860  got blocked. Then on round six, NAME 2  futility tried to block NAME 1  by selecting the diamond ace  870 . Even if NAME 2  had been successful, it was too late for NAME 2  to win. The final results show that NAME 1  got a Full House  880  and NAME 2 &#39;s best hand is club queen High Card  890 . NAME 1  is the winner  900  with the best poker hand. 
         [0121]      FIGS. 3F-G  show NAME 2 &#39;s screen for this example when NAME 2  is an actual player.  FIG. 3F  shows NAME 2 &#39;s screen  910  at the start of round two, and the different positions of NAME 2   920  and NAME 1   930  compared to NAME 1 &#39;s screen. NAME 2  selected the club queen  850  from the first deck and was dealt that card in round one. Name 2  does not know what card NAME 1  was dealt because round one cards were dealt face down  940 . From round two on, NAME 2  selects cards from the same second deck  716  used by NAME 1 . For NAME 2 , the club queen  950  is now shadowed-out in the second deck because NAME 2  knows it has already been selected. 
         [0122]      FIG. 3G  shows NAME 2 &#39;s screen  952  at the start of round six. The heart ten  954 , heart eight  956  and heart jack  958  dealt to NAME 2  in rounds two thru four are the same as shown on NAME 1 &#39;s screen  772 . Similarly, the spade ace  962 , club ace  964  and diamond ten  966  dealt to NAME 1  in rounds two thru four are the same as shown on NAME 1 &#39;s screen  772 . NAME 1  was dealt a null card  968  in round six. In round six NAME 2 &#39;s selection of the heart nine was blocked  960 . Even though the heart nine might not have been dealt, it is shadowed-out  972  in the card selection deck, since once a card has been selected it cannot be selected and dealt in a subsequent round. The club ace, diamond ten, spade ace, heart eight, heart ten and heart jack are also shadowed-out  970  in the card selection deck, because NAME 2  knows these cards can no longer be selected. 
         [0123]    While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.