Patent ID: 8235782

Claim:
A method comprising: determining, by a processor performing a program for facilitating a poker game, a first plurality of cards for a first player at a first gaming device, the first plurality of cards being a starting hand of the first player for a first round of the poker game, thereby determining a first starting hand; determining, by the processor, a second plurality of cards for a second player at a second gaming device, the second plurality of cards being a starting hand of the second player for a second round of the poker game, thereby determining a second starting hand; receiving a first discard decision from the first player; receiving a second discard decision from the second player; determining a third card for the first player based on the first discard decision, the third card being one of the first plurality of cards and a card the first player has decided to discard from the first starting hand; determining a fourth card for the second player based on the second discard decision, the fourth card being one of the second plurality of cards and a card the second player has decided to discard from the second starting hand; adding the third card and the fourth card to a pool of cards common to a group comprising the first player and the second player; determining that the third card and the fourth card, when added to additional cards available in the pool of cards as a result of previous discard decisions of the group, correspond to a winning bonus hand of the poker game; and providing, based on the winning bonus hand, a reward to the group comprising the first player and the second player.