Abstract:
A multi-stage card game includes stages at which each player selects which unrevealed cards are to be played. In one implementation, bets are received for at least some stages of a multi-stage poker-like game. Cards are dealt into an unrevealed dealer hand and an unrevealed player hand for each player. For at least one of the stages, each player selects one of the cards from the player&#39;s unrevealed hand to reveal in order to access a progression of payout schedules. Each player&#39;s hand accumulates player-selected cards across the stages of the game and across associated payout schedules, until all cards are revealed. A player&#39;s poker hand is then compared to the dealer&#39;s poker hand for potential payout. Opportunities for bonus bets are also interjected into implementations of the game.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Multi-stage card games have gained some popularity in gambling establishments because the stages add variety, increase opportunities for players to win wagers, and increase opportunities for the gaming establishment to collect bets. Typically during play of a multi-stage card game, bets apply to the outcome of selected stages of the game flow, according to relevant payout schedules customized for each stage. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,990 to Mourad entitled, “Method of Playing a Card Game Involving a Dealer” describes a multi-stage card game in which the dealer controls the cards dealt and played at each stage. What is needed is a multi-stage card game in which the player has more freedom and latitude over the elements of chance inherent in card games. 
     SUMMARY 
     A multi-stage card game includes stages at which each player selects which unrevealed cards are to be played. In one implementation, bets are received for at least some stages of a multi-stage poker-like game. Cards are dealt into an unrevealed dealer hand and an unrevealed player hand for each player. For at least one of the stages, each player selects one of the cards from the player&#39;s unrevealed hand to reveal in order to access a progression of payout schedules. Each player&#39;s hand accumulates player-selected cards across the stages of the game and across associated payout schedules, until all cards are revealed. A player&#39;s poker hand is then compared to the dealer&#39;s poker hand for potential payout. Opportunities for bonus bets are also interjected into implementations of the game. 
     This summary section is not intended to give a full description of Pick-It Poker, or to provide a list of features and elements. A detailed description of example embodiments follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of playing a multi-stage poker game in which each player selects which unrevealed card to play during at least one stage. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a relation between player card selection at different stages of the multi-stage poker game and settlement of respective bets associated with each stage. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of playing a multi-stage poker game in which players select which unrevealed cards to play during some stages. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of an unrevealed dealer hand and an unrevealed player hand. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of a dealer hand in which two-cards are initially revealed, before players pick cards to play. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of a dealer hand and a player hand in which the identity of a player-selected card has been revealed. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of a dealer hand and a player hand in which the identity of two player-selected cards have been revealed. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of a dealer hand and a player hand in which the identity of all the cards have been revealed. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram of exemplary betting and payout schemata used in the exemplary multi-stage poker game. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview 
     This disclosure describes Pick-It Poker games. Pick-It Poker is a moniker given to variations of a betting game that may use real or virtual playing cards. In one implementation, the Pick-It Poker game is a multi-stage poker game in which players select or “pick” which cards in their unrevealed card hands are to be played at certain stages of the game. Different stages may have different payout schemes, various betting options, and various game flow branches. The stages of the game are directed to forming a final poker hand, which under certain conditions determines a payout based on the ante by comparing the player&#39;s poker hand to the dealer&#39;s poker hand and applying a payout scheme. Other payout schemes are applied to at least some of the stages that precede formation of the final poker hand. 
     Versions of the Pick-It Poker game may be played manually or on a computing device, such as on an electronic game table that uses real or virtual playing cards and/or real or virtual betting chips. Example game devices and electronic game tables on which the Pick-It Poker game can be played are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,766 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,998 to Forte et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,069, U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,629, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,642 to Sines et al., each of these incorporated herein by reference. 
     Exemplar Implementations of the Pick-It Poker Game 
     In one implementation, Pick-it Poker is a house-banked five card poker game involving a dealer hand and at least one player hand. In other implementations, the Pick-It Poker game can be played with other size hands, such as two-card, three card, four card, six card, or seven card hands. 
       FIG. 1  shows part of an exemplary Pick-It Poker game flow  100 . In the flow diagram, the operations are summarized in individual blocks. The exemplary game flow  100  may be performed manually, or by combinations of hardware and software, for example, by components of the processors, gaming engines, and/or electronic game tables described in the patent references cited above. 
     At block  102 , bets are received for at least some stages of the multi-stage poker game. 
     At block  104 , cards are dealt to create an unrevealed dealer hand and an unrevealed player hand. Multiple players can play, and in some implementations, at some stages of the game, the players play their respective hands against the dealer&#39;s hand. 
     At block  106 , for at least one of the stages of the game, a player&#39;s selection of a card to reveal from the player&#39;s unrevealed hand is received by the dealer, or by a game processor. The dealer or processor reveals the card. In some implementations, the player reveals the player&#39;s own selected card. 
     At block  108 , a bet associated with the game stage at which the player&#39;s card was revealed is settled. Settlement of the bet may depend on the card meeting a threshold, or the dealer&#39;s hand or revealed cards meeting a threshold. If the player&#39;s revealed card meets the threshold, then a payout scheme is applied, but if not then the player&#39;s bet is collected by the house. In one implementation, if the dealer&#39;s hand does not meet a threshold, then the settlement of the bet for that particular game stage may be pushed, i.e., skipped. When settlement of the bet is pushed, then it is as though the bet had not been placed—no money is transferred in either direction. 
       FIG. 2  shows another exemplary game flow  200 . The exemplary game flow  200  generalizes interplay between each game stage and settlement of the bets placed for that game stage. Each stage consists of the player(s) selecting one or more of the unidentified cards in the player&#39;s unrevealed hand to reveal, and a subsequent settlement of the bets placed for that stage. The terms “unidentified” and “unrevealed,” as used herein, refer to cards that have an identity unknown to the dealer, unknown to the player, and unknown to the other players. As introduced above, the settlement of bets for a game stage may consist of applying a threshold criterion to the revealed card(s) to determine if a payout scheme applies to the cards revealed, and then executing the payout scheme when it applies. Or, the settlement may consist of comparing the revealed card or the cumulative revealed cards in the player&#39;s hand to revealed cards in the dealer&#39;s hand to determine if a payout applies. 
     In one implementation, one or more players place bets  202  for at least some of multiple stages of the game. For each stage  204 ,  206 , . . . ,  208  each player picks a card (or cards) from their own unrevealed hand to reveal  206 . In each game stage, the bets placed for that stage are settled according to respective payout schemes  210 ,  212 ,  214  as applied to the card or cards revealed for that stage, or to the cards revealed cumulatively across the current and preceding game stages. 
       FIG. 3  shows another exemplary method  300  of playing the Pick-It Poker game. In the flow diagram, the operations are summarized in individual blocks. The exemplary method  300  may be performed manually, or by combinations of hardware and software, for example, by components of the processors, gaming engines, and/or electronic game tables described in the patent references cited above, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,069, U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,629, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,642 to Sines et al., each of these incorporated herein by reference. 
     At block  302 , the players place bets for at least some stages of the game, similar to steps  102  and  202  in  FIGS. 1-2 . In one implementation, each player places a minimum of three bets: an ante bet  304 , a first-card-reveal bet  306 , and a second-card-reveal bet  308 . In one implementation, the players may also choose a final-hand option  310  in which they place a final-hand bonus bet  312 . For example, the optional final-hand bonus bet  312  may be equal to the ante amount  304 . 
     At block  314 , an equal number of cards are dealt “face down” to the dealer and to each player, as shown in  FIG. 4 . “Face down” means that neither the dealer nor any players knows the identity of the unrevealed cards. In one implementation, five card hands are dealt to the dealer and to each player. In other implementations, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7 card hands may be used instead of five card hands. In one implementation, the dealer&#39;s cards are dealt and initial dealer cards are revealed first, before the players&#39; cards are dealt. 
     At block  316 , in a five card hand implementation of the method  300 , the dealer reveals the first two-cards of the dealer&#39;s hand, as shown in  FIG. 5 , or the cards are revealed automatically. When the dealer hand contains a different number of cards than five, then a different number of initial cards may be revealed at this step. In a variation, the dealer&#39;s hand contains five cards (or some other number of cards) but more than two or less than two dealer cards are revealed. For example, alternative implementations reveal a single card, or may reveal two, three, or four cards. 
     At block  318 , after the dealer has revealed, for example, the first two-cards of the dealer&#39;s hand, players may choose a further betting option  318  to double the ante  320  based on the dealer&#39;s showing cards. The stages of the game are directed to forming a final poker hand that determines the fate of the antes. Thus, at this step ( 318 ), each player may judge that the first two-cards of the dealer&#39;s hand appear weak, and choose to double the ante bet accordingly  320 . 
     At block  322 , each player selects a first card to reveal from the player&#39;s hand. The player is free to select any of the cards in the player&#39;s hand, because at this point none of the player&#39;s cards are yet revealed. In one scenario, all the participating players select a card to reveal from their hands before any of the players&#39; cards are revealed. For example, in an electronic game table implementation, each player designates a first card to reveal and then the dealer actuates a switch or a touch screen icon to reveal all the players&#39; selected cards at once. 
     At block  324 , the card selected by each player is revealed, as shown in the example hand in  FIG. 6 . Depending on implementation, the act of revealing the player-selected card can be performed by a dealer, or by the player, by an electronic game device, or by a dealer actuating a switch of the electronic game device, such as a touch-screen display of an electronic game table. 
     At block  326 , the first-card-reveal bet  306  is settled according to a first pay scheme. In one implementation, the first-card-reveal pay scheme is a payout based on a threshold. For example, if the revealed card has a denomination of “9” or higher, then the card pays 1:1 of the amount bet in the first-card-reveal bet  306 , as shown in the first pay scheme below: 
     Example First-Card-Reveal Pay Scheme 
     
         
         
           
             Pay 1 to 1 for a card of denomination 9 or higher
 
This pay scheme is only one example, many other first-card-reveal pay schemes can be used. In the player&#39;s hand shown in  FIG. 6 , the revealed jack card pays 1:1 on the amount placed by the player for the first-card reveal bet  306 .
 
           
         
       
    
     At block  328 , each player selects a second card to reveal from the as-yet unrevealed cards in the player&#39;s hand. The player is free to select any of the cards remaining unrevealed in the player&#39;s hand. In one scenario, all the participating players select a second card to reveal from their hands (e.g., four remaining unrevealed cards) before any of the players&#39; cards are revealed. For example, in an electronic game table implementation, each player designates a second card to reveal and then the dealer actuates a switch or a touch screen icon to reveal all the players&#39; selected cards at once. 
     At block  330 , the second card selected by each player is revealed, as shown in  FIG. 7 . As above in step  324 , the act of revealing the player-selected card can be performed by a dealer, or by the player, by an electronic game device, or by a dealer actuating a switch of the electronic game device, such as a touch-screen display of an electronic game table. 
     At block  332 , the second-card-reveal bet is settled according to a second pay scheme. Since there are now two playing cards revealed in the player&#39;s hand, the payout scheme can be more elaborate than when only one card was revealed. In one implementation, the player&#39;s two revealed cards are not compared with the dealer&#39;s two revealed cards, but are compared with a payout schedule that applies to the player&#39;s two revealed cards themselves. An example second pay scheme is shown below, and is applied to the second-card-reveal bet  308 : 
     Example Second-Card-Reveal Pay Scheme 
     
         
         
           
             Pay 1 to 1 for a two-card Flush or Straight 
             Pay 3 to 1 for a Pair 
             Pay 4 to 1 for a two-card Straight Flush
 
This pay scheme is only one example, many other second-card-reveal pay schemes can be used. In most implementations, only the single highest payout amount that a player qualifies to win under the second-card reveal pay scheme is paid to the player. In other words, a 4 to 1 payout for a two-card straight flush does not also qualify the winner for an additional 1 to 1 payout for the two-card flush taken separately and does not qualify the winner for an additional 1 to 1 payout for the two-card straight taken separately. In the player&#39;s hand shown in  FIG. 7 , the revealed jack card and 2-of-hearts card combination results in a “no win” for the player&#39;s second-card-reveal bet  308 , and the second-card-reveal bet  308  is collected by the house.
 
           
         
       
    
     At block  334 , the remaining cards are revealed, as shown in  FIG. 8 . That is, the remaining dealer cards are revealed  336  and the remaining player cards are revealed  338 . At this point in the game, all of the cards are now showing, and none are still unrevealed. 
     At block  340 , the ante bet  304  is settled according to the best poker hand held by the dealer or the player. When there are multiple players, some players&#39; poker hands may beat the dealer&#39;s poker hand, and some may not. In one implementation, a player&#39;s winning poker hand pays 1:1 of the amount of the ante bet  304 . In another or the same implementation, the dealer&#39;s poker hand must be at least king-high in order for the dealer&#39;s hand to qualify for settlement of the ante bet  304 . If the dealer&#39;s hand is unqualified, then the ante bet  304  is pushed and optional doubled ante bets  304  are also pushed. An example final-hand payout scheme is shown below: 
     Example Final-Hand Ante Bet Payout Scheme 
     
         
         
           
             Pay 1 to 1 on the ante bet when the Player&#39;s poker hand beats the Dealer&#39;s poker hand and the Dealer&#39;s poker hand is qualified by being king-high or better
 
In the player&#39;s hand shown in  FIG. 8 , the player&#39;s pair-of-2&#39;s beats the dealer&#39;s hand, which is merely king-high, so the player is paid 1:1 on the ante bet  304  or paid 1:1 on a doubled ante bet  320 . In one implementation, if the dealer&#39;s hand is not at least king-high, then the ante bet  304  and double ante bets  320 , if any, are pushed (no action taken on the bets). Many other criteria to qualify the dealer&#39;s hand can be used instead of the “king-high” criterion.
 
           
         
       
    
     At block  342 , the optional doubled ante bet  320  is also settled in the same manner as the regular ante bet  304 . That is, if the player&#39;s poker hand beats the dealer&#39;s poker hand, then the player wins 1:1 on the doubled ante bet, instead of winning 1 to 1 of the regular ante bet  304 . 
     Again, when the dealer&#39;s poker hand is not qualified (e.g., is not king-high) then the regular ante bet  302  or the doubled ante bet  320  are pushed (i.e., ignored—as if the ante bet or double ante bet were not placed). 
     At block  344 , the optional final-hand-bonus bet  312 , if placed by a player, is settled according to a third pay scheme. In one implementation, settlement of the final-hand-bonus bet  312  typically does not depend on a comparison of the player&#39;s hand to the dealer&#39;s hand, but instead is based on a third pay scheme, such as the following: 
     Example Final-Hand Bonus Bet Pay Scheme 
                                                 3 Card Flush or Straight   Pays 1 to 1           3 of a Kind   Pays 2 to 1           4 Card Flush or Straight   Pays 3 to 1           4 of a Kind   Pays 4 to 1           5 Card Flush   Pays 5 to 1           5 Card Straight   Pays 8 to 1           4 Card Straight   Pays 5 to 1           5 Card Straight Flush   Pays 80 to 1           5 Card Royal Flush   Pays 200 to 1                        
This pay scheme is only one example, many other final-hand bonus bet pay schemes can be used. In most implementations, only the single highest payout amount that a player qualifies to win under the final-hand bonus bet pay scheme is paid to the player. In the player&#39;s hand shown in  FIG. 8 , the revealed player&#39;s hand does not pay according to the above-listed final-hand bonus bet payout scheme, and the player&#39;s optional final-hand bonus bet  312  is collected by the house.
 
       FIG. 9  shows exemplary betting and payout schemata for an implementation of the Pick-It Poker game. Mandatory bets  902  are shown grouped together and optional bets  904  are shown grouped together. In one implementation, the mandatory bets  902  include the ante bet  304 , the first-card-reveal bet  306 , and the second-card-reveal bet  308 . In one implementation, the optional bets  904  include doubling the ante bet  320  and the final-hand bonus bet  312 . Example payout schemes for the different kinds of bets are shown. If a player&#39;s card or hand does not qualify for a payout according to the pay scheme in play, then the player&#39;s bet is typically collected by the house. If the dealer&#39;s hand does not qualify once all the cards are revealed (e.g., in one implementation the dealer&#39;s hand qualifies by being king-high) then the ante bet  304  and the optional doubled ante bet  320  are pushed. 
     CONCLUSION 
     Although exemplary systems have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed systems, methods, and structures.