Patent ID: 7524243

Claim:
A gaming device operable under control of a processor, said gaming device comprising: a poker game controlled by said processor; a predetermined game outcome value adapted to be provided to a player in said poker game; a plurality of playing cards in said poker game, wherein different pluralities of said playing cards form a plurality of different poker hands that are each associated with a value; and a display device adapted to display said poker game; wherein said processor is operable with said display device to control a play of the poker game by: (a) providing and displaying a plurality of said playing cards to the player, wherein at least one of said displayed playing cards is based on said predetermined game outcome value; (b) enabling the player to select at least one of said displayed playing cards to hold or to discard; (c) determining whether one of said poker hands with an associated value equal to the predetermined game outcome value is obtainable based on the playing cards the player selected to hold; (d) if one of said poker hands with an associated value equal to the predetermined game outcome value is obtainable based on the playing cards the player selected to hold: (i) determining which of said playing cards need to be provided to the player to result in one of said poker hands with an associated value equal to the predetermined game outcome value, wherein said determination is based on a backfill algorithm; and (ii) providing and displaying said determined playing cards to the player to replace at least one of said playing cards the player selected to discard; (e) if one of said poker hands with an associated value equal to the predetermined game outcome value is not obtainable based on the playing cards the player selected to hold: (i) determining a subset of the playing cards the player selected to hold, wherein said subset of playing cards is based on the predetermined game outcome value, (ii) determining which of said playing cards need to be provided to the player to result in one of said poker hands with an associated value equal to the predetermined game outcome value, wherein said determination is based on said backfill algorithm, (iii) providing and displaying one of said determined playing cards to the player to replace each of said playing cards the player selected to discard, (iv) providing and displaying at least one of said determined playing cards to the player to replace at least one of said playing cards the player selected to hold which is not part of said determined subset of playing cards, and (f) providing said predetermined game outcome value to the player.