Patent ID: 8535135

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one processor; at least one input device; at least one display device; and at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to, for a play of a card game associated with a plurality of cards: randomly select a plurality of the cards to form an initial hand of cards; display the initial hand of cards; enable a player to select one or more of the cards of the initial hand of cards to hold; and if the player selects at least one of the cards of the initial hand of cards to hold: (a) determine whether the held cards satisfy a predetermined criteria; (b) if the held cards do not satisfy a predetermined criteria: (i) discard each non-held card and replace each discarded card with a replacement card from the plurality of cards to form a final hand of cards; (ii) determine whether the final hand of cards is one of a plurality of winning hands; and (iii) if the final hand of cards is one of the winning hands, determine and provide any awards associated with said winning hand based on a first paytable; and (c) if the held cards satisfy the predetermined criteria: (i) discard each non-held card; (ii) replace each discarded card with a replacement card from the plurality of cards; (iii) if the held cards and the replacement cards do not form one of the whining hands: (A) modify a counter; (B) discard any replacement cards; and (C) repeat (c)(ii) to (c)(v); (iv) if the held cards and the replacement cards form a designated one of the winning hands: (A) determine a second different paytable based on a value of the counter, wherein: (1) the second paytable and the first paytable are each associated with the designated winning hand, and (2) a second award associated with the designated winning hand in the second paytable is greater than a first award associated with the designated winning hand in the first paytable; and (B) provide the first award associated with the designated winning hand in the second paytable; and (v) if the held cards and the replacement cards form one of the winning hands other than the designated one of the whining hands, determine and provide any awards associated with the formed winning hand based on the first paytable.