Patent Publication Number: US-2009218767-A1

Title: Apparatus and Method of Using an Apparatus to Conduct a Wagering Game

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     The present application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/066,204, entitled “New Decks of Playing Cards,” filed Feb. 19, 2008 by Applicant herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of using the apparatus for conducting a wagering game. More particularly, the present invention relates to decks of playing cards comprising standard cards supplemented by new, special-purpose cards, and methods for using the decks of playing cards. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Playing cards have been used to conduct a variety of card games including wagering games such as poker. A poker deck of standard playing cards includes four suits of thirteen cards for a total of fifty-two cards. The thirteen cards in each suit have values, in ascending order, of deuce, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, and ace. The four suits are spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. 
     Poker is typically conducted using a poker deck of standard cards. Occasionally, the poker deck may be supplemented with a non-standard card, such as one or more jokers. A conventional five-card poker game utilizes a well known ranking system illustrated in Table 1 below: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Hand 
                 Example 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Royal Flush 
                 10   J   Q   K   A   
               
               
                   
                 Straight Flush 
                 5   6   7   8   9   
               
               
                   
                 Four of a Kind 
                 8⋄ 8   8   8   J   
               
               
                   
                 Full House 
                 7   7   7⋄ J   J⋄ 
               
               
                   
                 Flush 
                 3⋄ 5⋄ 6⋄ 9⋄ K⋄ 
               
               
                   
                 Straight 
                 8   9   10⋄ J   Q   
               
               
                   
                 Three of a Kind 
                 5   5   5⋄ 8   A⋄ 
               
               
                   
                 Two Pair 
                 4   4   6   6   K   
               
               
                   
                 One Pair 
                 3   3   7   8   K⋄ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The five-card poker hand rankings are used not only in five-card poker games, such as five-card stud poker, five-card draw poker (including video draw poker), and the like, but also in games using seven cards, such as seven-card stud poker and Texas Hold&#39;Em poker. In these games, a player&#39;s hand is typically ranked based on the highest ranking five-card hand that can be formed from the seven cards dealt. 
     For card games conducted with a standard deck of cards plus one or more jokers, the joker usually is a wild card that can substitute for any card. For example, a hand containing 10  Q  K  A  plus a joker is a royal flush in the suit of clubs since the joker can substitute for a J. A royal flush containing a joker is typically referred to as a “wild” royal flush just so it can be distinguished from a natural royal flush that contains no joker. Some video poker games include one or more jokers acting as wild cards in this manner. In such games, the inclusion of a joker in the deck necessitates a change to the standard five card poker ranking since it is possible to have other hands. One example of such hands is the five of a kind, e.g. a hand of 8⋄ 8  8  8  Joker, where the joker is treated as an 8. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention includes an apparatus and a method for using the apparatus in conducting a wagering game. An apparatus, namely a deck of cards for conducting a game, includes a plurality of standard cards, each having a face identifying the fixed value and suit of the standard card. Additionally, the deck of cards includes at least one special card. 
     In one optional embodiment, the deck of cards includes at least one substitute card adapted to substitute for at least one of the value and suit of a defined subset of the standard cards. Optionally, the subset comprises fewer than all the values. For example, in one optional embodiment in which the values include jacks, queens, and kings, the substitute card substitutes for the subset of standard cards containing only the jacks, queens, and kings of any suit. Similarly, the substitute card may substitute for a limited subset of the suits or may substitute for any suit. 
     In another optional embodiment, the special card may include at least one intermediate card adapted to have a value between two consecutive values of the standard cards. For example, in an optional embodiment, the values of the standard cards include kings and aces and the intermediate card has a value between the king-value standard cards and the ace-value standard cards. An intermediate card may include a suit identifier to identify a suit for the intermediate card or the intermediate card may substitute for any suit. 
     As may be appreciated, in an optional embodiment the deck of cards may include at least one intermediate card and at least one substitute card with the standard cards. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of standard cards according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a special card according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a special card according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a special card according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Reference is now made to the figures wherein like parts are referred to by like numerals throughout. Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , the present invention includes playing cards for conducting a wagering game or, more specifically, a deck of playing cards including standard playing cards, examples of which are illustrated in  FIG. 1 , combined with special playing cards, examples of which are illustrated in  FIGS. 2-4 . It is contemplated that the standard playing cards may be constituted as a standard poker deck, as shown in  FIG. 1 , in which four suits, i.e. clubs, spades, hears, and diamonds, each include thirteen cards, i.e. cards numbered deuce through ten, jack, queen, king, and ace. As shown in  FIG. 1 , each standard card  100  includes a face with an identifier of the suit  102  and value  104  of the standard card  100 . Alternate optional embodiments may include standard cards collected into truncated decks of cards, such as a Spanish deck that includes twelve cards in each of four suits, and supplemented decks of cards which may include additional suits, duplicate cards, or additional cards (such as one or more jokers). 
     In one optional embodiment of the invention, a special card comprises a substitute card that can substitute for at least one of the value or suit of a subset of standard cards. That is, the substitute card could substitute for certain standard cards, or certain values or certain suits of one or more standard cards, in a defined subset of the standard cards. In an optional embodiment, the subset includes fewer than all the values in the deck of cards. For example, in an optional embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a “Noble” substitute card  200  may substitute for a jack, queen, or king-value card. Thus, if a player held a hand of 8  9  10  N Q⋄, the Noble substitute card  200  (denoted by the “N”) could substitute for a jack-value card to provide the player with a straight. Similarly, if a player held a hand of 3  3  3  K  N, the Noble substitute card  200  could substitute for a king-value card to provide the player with a full house. 
     In one optional embodiment, the substitute card may be assigned a suit so that the substitute card substitutes for a subset of values within a specific suit. For example, in one such optional embodiment, one or more of four different Noble substitute cards may be provided from among a Noble of spades, Noble of clubs, Noble of hearts, and Noble of diamonds. For example, in one such optional embodiment, a player obtaining a hand of 7  8  9  10  N⋄ would hold a straight, but not a straight flush, since the Noble substitute card is of a diamond suit rather than a club suit. 
     In another optional embodiment, the substitute card may be suitless and may substitute for the subset of values within any suit. For example, in one such optional embodiment, a player obtaining a hand of 10⋄ J⋄ Q⋄ N A⋄ would hold a royal flush, since the suitless Noble substitute card  200  could substitute for a king card within the diamond suit (or any other suit, for that matter). As may be appreciated, the chances of dealing a royal flush hand from a standard fifty-two card deck supplemented with a single suitless Noble substitute card is 1/179,355. This is distinctly greater than the chance of dealing a royal flush from a standard fifty-two card deck without a Noble substitute card which is 1/649,740. 
     Since the substitute card substitutes for a subset of fewer than all the values among the standard cards, the impact of the card on the payouts for many game is less severe than a wild card, such as a joker, that can substitute for any value or suit. That is, since jokers can substitute for any card regardless of value or suit, the joker unduly increases the probability of all types of winning hands, which results in an unattractive depression of payouts for premium hands. 
     In one example, the present invention may be applied to a poker game such as five-card draw poker commonly conducted using electronic video poker machines. As known in the art, a standard game of video poker is a house-banked game of draw poker in which the player attempts to form one of the “winning” hands listed on a pay table. Specifically, in a typical video poker game, a player places a wager and is dealt an initial hand of cards. From the initial hand, the player designates zero or more cards to retain. Any cards not retained are discarded and replaced by cards selected from the same deck of cards. 
     The resulting player hand is evaluated against a predefined pay table and, if the hand is at least of a designated poker rank, the player is paid the award specified in the pay table. The hands for which awards are received, and the awards themselves, particularly when expressed as a multiple of the initial wager, provide most of the variability among different video poker machines. For example, some video poker machines include wild cards, such as jokers or deuces, while others do not. Similarly, different video poker machines include pay tables that issue special awards for certain hands, such as four aces, while others treat four aces as any other four of a kind. 
     According to one optional embodiment of the present invention, a video poker game is conducted using a deck of cards including fifty-two standard cards (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) plus one suitless Noble substitute card  200 . In one such optional embodiment, a pay table of winning hands and payouts may be defined. Table 2 illustrates an example of such a pay table. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Final Hand 
                 Payout (to 1) 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Natural Royal Flush 
                 920 
               
               
                   
                 5 of a Kind 
                 300 
               
               
                   
                 Royal Flush with a Noble Card 
                 250 
               
               
                   
                 Straight Flush 
                 60 
               
               
                   
                 4 of a Kind 
                 20 
               
               
                   
                 Full House 
                 8 
               
               
                   
                 Flush 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                 Straight 
                 4 
               
               
                   
                 3 of a Kind 
                 3 
               
               
                   
                 A Pair of Queens or Better 
                 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     It is contemplated that the winning hands and/or payouts may vary from that shown in Table 2 in alternate optional embodiments. For example, Table 3 illustrates an alternate example pay table for a video poker game in which one Noble substitute card  200  is included with fifty-two standard cards. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Final Hand 
                 Payout (to 1) 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Natural Royal Flush 
                 940 
               
               
                   
                 5 of a Kind 
                 400 
               
               
                   
                 Royal Flush with a Noble Card 
                 250 
               
               
                   
                 Straight Flush 
                 60 
               
               
                   
                 4 of a Kind 
                 20 
               
               
                   
                 Full House 
                 8 
               
               
                   
                 Flush 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                 Straight 
                 4 
               
               
                   
                 3 of a Kind 
                 3 
               
               
                   
                 Two Pair 
                 1 
               
               
                   
                 A Pair of Queens or Better 
                 1 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     It is contemplated that a substitute card could substitute for any defined subset of values among the standard cards. For example, in an alternate optional embodiment, a “Mini” substitute card (not illustrated) could substitute for a deuce or three. As above, such Mini substitute cards could be suitless, i.e. substitute for a deuce or three of any suit, or may be suited so that they can only substitute for a deuce or three in a specific suit. 
     In another optional embodiment, the special cards may serve to fit between the values of standard cards. That is, a special card could take the form of an intermediate card that has a value between two consecutive values of the standard cards. For example, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a card named Zing (denoted as a “Z” in the examples below) can be a card with a new value added to the standard cards in a fifty-two card deck. Such a Zing intermediate card could have any value. For example, in an optional embodiment a Zing intermediate card may be valued between king-value cards and ace-value cards. Thus, in such an example, a hand of 10 J Q K Z (or a Zing-high straight) would outrank a hand of 9 10 J Q K (or a King-high straight) because a Zing intermediate card outranks a king-value card. However, a Zing-high straight would not outrank an Ace-high straight (J Q K Z A) since an ace-value card outranks a Zing intermediate card. It is contemplated that a hand of 10 J Q K A may be treated as a straight, i.e. the lack of a Zing intermediate card may not disrupt a straight, or 10 J Q K A may not be considered a straight, i.e. the lack of a Zing intermediate card may break the straight, depending on the embodiment. 
     In one optional embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a suitless Zing intermediate card  300  may be treated as any suit. That is, a suitless Zing intermediate card  300  may have a fixed value, but may substitute for any suit. Thus, a hand of 3  5  9  Q  Z in which the Zing intermediate card is suitless would be treated as a flush. 
     In an alternate optional embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 4 , suited Zing intermediate cards  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408  are accorded a suit based on a suit identifier appearing on the face of the Zing intermediate card  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408 . 
     It is contemplated that an intermediate card could be valued between any two consecutive values of standard cards. For example, an intermediate card could have a value between a ten-value card and a jack-value card or between an ace-value card and a deuce-value card. 
     In an optional embodiment, standard cards may be supplemented with both at least one intermediate card and at least one substitute card. In such an optional embodiment, the substitute card and intermediate card would function substantially as described above. 
     According to a general method of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a deck is formed  500  from standard cards supplemented with at least one special card. A ranking system for hands including the special card is defined  502 . For example, where the special card is a substitute card, the subset of values and/or suits for which the substitute card can substitute is defined. Similarly, where the special card is an intermediate card, the value of the intermediate card, i.e. the standard card values between which the intermediate card falls, is defined. At least one wager is received  504  from the player and a hand is dealt  506  to the player. The hand is evaluated  508  based on the ranking system including any special cards dealt to the hand. It is contemplated that the hand may be evaluated by comparing the hand to another player&#39;s hand, a dealer&#39;s hand, a standard hand, a community hand, a pay table of winning hands, or any other standard. Based on the evaluation of the hand, the player&#39;s wager is resolved  510 . The resolution of the wager may be carried out by collecting or retaining the player&#39;s wager if the player loses based on the evaluation of the hand, returning the player&#39;s wager if the player pushes or ties based on the evaluation of the hand, or issuing a reward based on the player&#39;s wager if the player wins based on the evaluation of the hand. If a reward is issued, the reward may take the form of a payout based on the player&#39;s wager, an award based on a pay table, a pot or portion thereof, or any other form of reward. 
     While certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described it is to be understood that the present invention is subject to many modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention presented herein.