Method and apparatus for playing casino poker game

Abstract

A casino game, based on the rules of poker, wherein each player is dealt five cards, with an option to utilize a sixth card to improve the five-card hand. The game provides a player with three opportunities to win: 1) head-to-head competition against the dealer, with the higher poker hand winning; 2) competition for a common pot among the players, the amount of the pot increasing until a player has a hand in excess of a predetermined threshold (e.g., three-of-a-kind or better; and 3) bonus payments for long-odds hands (e.g., straight or better). Because no player has an opportunity to increase his/her initial wager after the cards are dealt, the game proceeds rapidly.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of playing a modified draw poker game comprising: 
 providing a table having a playing station for a dealer and playing stations for a plurality of players, each player station comprising a card playing area having first and second betting zones;    each player placing an ante wager in said first betting zone;    the dealer dealing an initial, five-card hand, face down, to himself and to each player;    the dealer placing a common card at a location on the table;    providing an opportunity for each player to fold or stay, each player who folds forfeiting the wager in said first betting zone to the dealer, and each player who stays placing a second, predetermined wager in the player's second betting zone, said wagers in the second betting zone comprising a Players pot;    providing an opportunity for each player to discard one card and to utilize said common card to improve his or her poker hand;    turning all cards to a face up position: 
 (a) the dealer collecting the ante wagers in said first betting zone from each player whose poker hand is lower in value than the dealer's hand;  
 (b) the dealer: i) returning the ante wager, and ii) paying an amount equal to the ante wager in said first betting zone to each player who has a higher poker hand than the dealer's hand;  
 (c) increasing the amount of the dealer's payment to a predetermined multiple of the ante wager for each player whose hand comprises a premium hand, provided that said premium hand comprises a higher poker hand than that of the dealer;  
 (d) if one or more players has a poker hand with a value in excess of a predetermined threshold, the dealer paying the amount in said Players pot, less a house rake, if any, to the player having the highest poker hand; and  
 (e) if no player has a poker hand with a value in excess of the predetermined threshold, the wagers comprising said Players pot are retained and form part of the Players pot in the succeeding hand.  
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the dealer collects a payment from each player who discards one card.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the payment to discard and use the common card is five dollars.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said common card is dealt face-down.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the initial five card hands are dealt to each player five-at-a-time.  
     
     
         6 . The method of claim I wherein the initial five card hands are dealt to each player one-at-a-time.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said predetermined wager in the second betting zone is five dollars.  
     
     
         8 . The method of claim I wherein said ante wager in said first betting zone is a whole-dollar amount in the range of five dollars to twenty-five dollars.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said Players pot comprises wagers from at least one previously-dealt hand.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further including: 
 providing an opportunity for the dealer to discard one card and utilize said common card, subject to the following conditions: 
 a) if the dealer's initially-dealt hand is a straight or better, the dealer may not discard and utilize said common card;  
 b) if the dealer's initially-dealt hand comprises four cards to a flush, the dealer must discard the odd card and utilize said common card;  
 c) if the dealer's initially-dealt hand comprises four cards to a straight, the dealer must attempt to complete said straight by discarding one card and utilizing said common card; and  
 d) in situations other than those set out at a, b and c, above, the dealer must discard the lowest unmatched card and utilize said common card.  
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the dealer's initially-dealt hand comprises four cards to a straight further comprising: 
 if the dealer's initially-dealt hand comprises four cards in sequence and one card not in sequence, the dealer must discard the card which is not in sequence and use the common card; and  
 if the dealer's initially-dealt hand comprises five cards of a sequence selected from: X+(X+1)+(X+2)+(X+4) +(X+5); or X+(X+1)+(X+3)+(X+4)+(X+5), where X is the lowest-value card, the dealer must discard card X and utilize the common card.  
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said premium hand comprises three-of-a-kind or better.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said premium hand comprises a straight or better.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the predetermined multiple payment for a premium hand is based on the statistical rarity of said hand.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein a premium hand comprises three-of-a-kind or better, and wherein the multiple applied to the following types of poker hands is:  
       
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                     
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Three of a Kind 
                    2 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Straight 
                    3 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Flush 
                    5 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Full House 
                    7 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Four of a Kind 
                    20 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Straight Flush 
                   125 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Royal Flush 
                   250 to 1. 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
               
               
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein a premium hand comprises a straight or better, and wherein the multiple applied to the following types of poker hands is:  
       
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                     
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Straight 
                    3 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Flush 
                    5 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Full House 
                    7 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Four of a Kind 
                    20 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Straight Flush 
                   125 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Royal Flush 
                   250 to 1. 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
               
               
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said predetermined threshold comprises two pairs.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said predetermined threshold comprises three-of-a-kind.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the Players pot contains undistributed funds from Y hands, where Y is a whole number greater than or equal to 1, further providing the step: 
 permitting a player who has not previously made an ante bet in any of the hands which resulted in funds in the Players pot to participate in play for said Players pot by contributing a sum equal to Y times the amount of said predetermined wager to said Players pot.  
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  further providing an optional step which permits a player to participate in a progressive pot, said pot comprising funds contributed by players over a plurality of games, said method comprising: 
 permitting a player to make a separate, one dollar bet at a predetermined region on the table prior to inspection of the player's cards; and  
 awarding the player the accumulated value of said progressive pot if the player's hand consists of a royal flush.  
 
     
     
         21 . A gaming table for a casino poker game comprising: 
 a recessed area in said gaming table for a dealer's playing station:    a plurality of Players stations disposed around a generally arcuate section of said gaming table, each player's station having a card playing area and a betting area, said betting area comprising: 
 a) a first betting zone and a second betting zone marked on said table in front of each player;  
 b) a discard area marked on said table in front of each player; and  
 c) a marked area adjacent said dealer's playing station for holding accumulated undistributed wagers from hand to hand.