Abstract:
This invention is for an innovative multi-handed poker game where cards are arranged as a polygon, where each side has the same number of cards and each side has corner cards that are shared with adjacent hands. The player can exchange cards from one hand with cards in another hand to improve his odds of winning.

Description:
[0001]    This patent relates to an innovative card game that can be played electronically, like video poker, or could be played using traditional cards.  
           [0002]    As described in more detail below, this game allows a player to play multiple games simultaneously and permits him to exchange cards from other hands to improve his odds of winning.  
           [0003]    The basic configuration of the cards is a diamond shape (although other shapes could be used e.g., pentagon and octagon). In the diamond-shaped embodiment, each side of the diamond has five cards. The corner cards are used in the adjacent hands. One way to play the game is to deal all three interior cards face up and leave the four corner cards face down. The player could then decide to swap cards from opposite sides of the diamond. After the exchange, the corner cards could be displayed, and the player paid according to a payoff table.  
         PRIOR ART  
         [0004]    There are a number of video poker games involving multiple hands (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,873 and 6,007,066), but none of these games allows the player to exchange cards from one hand to another hand. The innovation of this patent requires the player to consider entirely different strategies because the exchange could improve one hand at the expense of another hand. Also, the shared corner cards add an entirely new dimension to any known poker game.  
           [0005]    Additionally, certain card games, like hearts, permit players to exchange cards, but these games differ from this invention because here the cards are exchanged between different players, and the players do not know the entire effect of the exchange.  
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 describes the basic configurations. There are four hands A, B, C and D. Hand A has cards  1 ,  10 ,  20 ,  30  and  40 . Cards  1  and  40  are corner cards, and can be used in hands B and D, respectively.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 describes one embodiment where four hands A, B, C and D are displayed. Hand A consists of cards  10  (jack),  20  (10) and  30  (queen) which are displayed. Hand C consists of cards  90  (8),  100  (jack) and  110  (9) which are displayed. Hands B and D could also be displayed simultaneously.  
         [0008]    In this example, the player would then have the option to exchange opposing cards. The player could exchange cards  10  and  110  giving him at least a pair of jacks in hand C and the possibility of a straight in hand A. The corner cards could then be revealed and the resulting hands would be compared to the payoff table.  
         [0009]    In another embodiment the player would have to pay for each hand played. For example two coins would yield two games, four coins four games, etc. If hands B and D were played they would follow the same logic as described below with respect to hands A and C.  
         [0010]    If hands B and D were also played, the player could exchange cards  60  with  140 . The result would be at least three  7 &#39;s in hand B and a pair of aces in hand D.  
         [0011]    Another embodiment would enable the player to exchange corner cards. This could happen if all the corner cards were dealt face up or the exchange could take place after the corner cards were revealed.  
         [0012]    Another embodiment would require the player to pay for each exchange. In this embodiment, the player would pay two betting units (e.g., coins) and would be permitted two exchanges. For each additional payment, the player would be entitled to additional exchanges.  
         [0013]    Another embodiment would deal a card in the center. This card could be used as a corner card or could be considered a wild card.  
         [0014]    As shown in FIG. 5, to implement this game a video poker machine could be fitted with a rotatable knob and that controlled an elongated rectangle on the video screen. The rectangle would cover the cards to be exchanged. When the cards to be exchanged are covered with the rectangle, the player would push a button that would effectuate the change.  
         [0015]    Another way to implement the card exchange is with a touch screen. In this version, the player would touch the cards he wanted to exchange, and could then push another button and the exchange would be effected.  
         [0016]    As the technology improves, voice commands could also be used to control the game.  
         [0017]    The game could also be played with 6, 8 or 10 sided figures. FIG. 6 shows an embodiment with a six-sided figure and shows how opposing cards could be exchanged.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 shows how the game could be played with a pentagon.  
         [0019]    Of course, as the number of hands is increased more than one deck can be used.  
         [0020]    The game could require the player to pay for each hand. For example, four coins would give a four-handed game and six coins would give a six-handed game. Alternatively, one coin could activate 4, 6, 8 or 10 games. Additional bets could be required at each stage. For example, one bet could be required to start. Another bet could be required to exchange the cards. Alternatively, one coin could be required for each exchange. Another bet could be required to reveal the face down cards. And, another bet could be required to exchange the corner cards.