Apparatus and method for determining gaming payouts using partial game criteria

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods for facilitating play in gaming activities and providing manipulation of payout awards based on partial game criteria. A bonus value such as a multiplier is awarded based on a partial result of the gaming activity, if the partial result corresponds to any predetermined partial result(s). The gaming activity is completed to provide a complete result, and a payout is determined for the complete result. If the partial result corresponds to any of the predetermined partial results, the payout for the complete result is adjusted using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout.

1 . A method for facilitating play of a gaming activity, comprising: 
 awarding a bonus value based on a partial result of the gaming activity, if the partial result corresponds to any of one or more predetermined partial results;    completing the gaming activity to provide a complete result;    determining a payout for the complete result; and    if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results, adjusting the payout for the complete result using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein awarding a bonus value comprises awarding a value to be mathematically applied to the payout to arrive at the final payout.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein awarding a value comprises awarding an integer value to be multiplied to the payout to arrive at the final payout.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein awarding a bonus value comprises awarding a multiplier value based on the partial result of the gaming activity, if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein adjusting the payout comprises increasing the payout by a mathematical function of the bonus value.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein increasing the payout by a mathematical function of the bonus value comprises increasing the payout proportionately using the bonus value.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein increasing the payout by a mathematical function of the bonus value comprises increasing the payout exponentially using the bonus value.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising disregarding an adjustment to the payout if the partial result does not correspond to any of the one or more predetermined partial results.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results and if no payout is available for the complete result, further comprising providing a fixed bonus payout identified by the predetermined partial result that corresponds to the partial result of the gaming activity.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results and if the payout available for the complete result is less than a fixed bonus payout identified by the predetermined partial result that corresponds to the partial result of the gaming activity, further comprising providing as the final payout the fixed bonus payout identified by the predetermined partial result that corresponds to the partial result.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising facilitating user selection of the partial result from a plurality of possible partial results.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a payout for the complete result comprises: 
 correlating one or more predetermined complete results with respective payout amounts;    comparing the complete result of the gaming activity to the one or more predetermined complete results; and    if the complete result matches any of the predetermined complete results, identifying the payout amount corresponding to the predetermined complete result that matches the complete result.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the gaming activity comprises a poker game;    the partial result of the poker game comprises a first set of cards, and the one or more predetermined partial results comprise one or more predetermined sets of cards;    completing the poker game to provide a complete result comprises deriving a resulting hand from a set of cards including the first set of cards and a second set of cards;    determining a payout for the complete result comprises comparing the resulting hand to a paytable to determine the payout, if any, that corresponds to the resulting hand; and    adjusting the payout comprises adjusting the payout for the resulting hand using the awarded bonus value if the first set of cards corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined sets of cards.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein: 
 the first set of cards comprises a two-card starting hand;    the second set of cards comprises a five-card community hand; and    deriving a resulting hand comprises deriving a five-card resulting hand from the set of cards including the two-card starting hand and the five-card community hand.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first set of cards comprises one or more cards.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the second set of cards comprises one or more cards.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the second set of cards comprises one or more community cards.  
   
   
       18 . A method for facilitating play of a poker game, wherein resulting hand payout awards are provided for particular resulting hands, the method comprising: 
 correlating one or more particular starting hands with one or more bonus values;    providing at least one starting hand to each of one or more players participating in the poker game;    determining whether the at least one starting hand of each player matches any of the one or more particular starting hands, and if so, reserving the bonus value corresponding to the matching particular starting hand for use in determining the respective player's total payout award;    creating at least one resulting hand for each of the players;    determining whether the at least one resulting hand of each player matches any of the particular resulting hands, and if so, awarding the corresponding resulting hand payout award; and    increasing the resulting hand payout award to arrive at the player's total payout award by increasing the player's total payout award as a function of the respective reserved bonus value.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein each player's starting hand is available for use in creating the respective player's resulting hand.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein creating at least one resulting hand for each of the players comprises creating the at least one resulting hand for each of the players using at least one of the cards of the respective player's starting hands and at least one community card.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein creating at least one resulting hand for each of the players comprises creating the at least one resulting hand for each of the players using a subset of cards of a set of cards including the respective player's starting hand and one or more additional cards.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein creating the at least one resulting hand for each of the players using a subset of cards of a set of cards including the respective player's starting hand and one or more additional cards comprises creating the at least one resulting hand for each of the players using a subset of cards of a set of cards including the respective player's starting hand and one or more community cards available to each of the one or more players.  
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising creating the resulting hand for each player that had not folded prior to receiving additional cards used in the creation of the resulting hand.  
   
   
       24 . A method for facilitating play of a poker game, comprising: 
 providing a first paytable of one or more designated starting hands of cards representing a subset of a set of available starting hands of cards;    associating a multiplier with at least some of the designated starting hands;    providing a player starting hand of cards to a participant of the poker game;    comparing the player starting hand to the one or more designated starting hands, and identifying the associated multiplier if the player starting hand corresponds to any of the designated starting hands;    providing one or more additional cards for use with the player starting hand to create one or more player resulting hands;    providing a second paytable of a plurality of designated resulting hands and associated payout values;    comparing the one or more player resulting hands to the plurality of designated resulting hands, and identifying the associated payout value of the one or more player resulting hands that correspond to any of the designated resulting hands; and    calculating a total payout value for each of the player resulting hands by multiplying the identified associated multiplier and the identified associated payout values of each of the player resulting hands.    
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein providing one or more additional cards comprises providing a plurality of sets of the one or more additional cards, and wherein each of the plurality of sets is separately used with the player starting hand to create a corresponding plurality of the player resulting hands.  
   
   
       26 . A method for facilitating play of a poker game, comprising: 
 providing a first paytable of one or more designated starting hands of cards representing a subset of a set of available starting hands of cards;    associating a multiplier with each of the designated starting hands;    providing a player starting hand of cards to a participant of the poker game;    comparing the player starting hand to the one or more designated starting hands, and identifying the associated multiplier if the player starting hand corresponds to any of the designated starting hands;    providing one or more additional cards for use with the player starting hand to create a player resulting hand;    providing a second paytable of a plurality of designated resulting hands and associated payout values;    comparing the player resulting hand to the plurality of designated resulting hands, and identifying the associated payout value of the player resulting hand if it corresponds to any of the designated resulting hands; and    if an associated multiplier has been identified by way of the player starting hand corresponding to any of the designated starting hands, calculating a total payout value by multiplying the identified multiplier and the identified payout value.    
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein associating a multiplier with each of the designated starting hands comprises associating a different multiplier with each of the designated starting hands.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein associating a multiplier with each of the designated starting hands comprises associating a common multiplier with at least some of the designated starting hands, and associating different multipliers with at least some of the remaining designated starting hands.  
   
   
       29 . A method for facilitating play of a video Hold'em poker game by a participant, comprising: 
 providing a first paytable of designated hole card combinations;    associating a multiplier with each of the designated hole card combinations;    providing a player starting hand including player hole cards to the participant;    comparing the player hole cards to the designated hole card combinations, and identifying the associated multiplier if the player hole cards match any of the designated hole card combinations;    providing at least one set of one or more additional cards for use with the player starting hand to create a player resulting hand;    providing a second paytable of a plurality of designated resulting hands and associated payout values;    comparing the player resulting hand to the plurality of designated resulting hands, and identifying the associated payout value of the player resulting hand if it corresponds to any of the designated resulting hands; and    if a multiplier has been identified due to the player hole cards matching any of the designated hole card combinations, calculating a total payout value by multiplying the multiplier and the identified payout value.    
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising presenting a plurality of selectable player starting hands and facilitating participant selection of one of the selectable player starting hands, and wherein the selected player starting hand represents the player starting hand.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein providing at least one set of one or more additional cards comprises providing a multiple-card community hand.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein providing at least one set of one or more additional cards comprises providing a plurality of community hands, and wherein a player resulting hand is created from each combination of the player starting hand and the respective community hands.  
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising associating an initial payout with each of the designated hole card combinations.  
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the initial payout is dependent on a participant wager amount and increases as the participant wager amount increases.  
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the initial payout is dependent on a participant wager amount and increases proportionately to an increase in the participant wager amount.  
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein at least one of the initial payouts provide a positive initial payout award, and at least one of the initial payouts provide zero payout award.  
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the initial payout is awarded to the participant only if the payout value identified for the resulting hand is less than an amount of the initial payout.  
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the initial payout is awarded to the participant only if the payout value identified for the resulting hand is zero.  
   
   
       39 . A computer-implemented gaming apparatus for allowing player participation in an electronic gaming activity, the gaming apparatus comprising: 
 a display;    a first paytable identifying one or more predetermined partial results and corresponding bonus values for each of the predetermined partial results;    a second paytable identifying one or more predetermined complete results and corresponding resulting payouts for each of the predetermined complete results;    a processor configured to direct the display to present at least one partial result of the electronic gaming activity to the player and award a bonus value based on the partial result if the partial result matches any of the predetermined partial results of the first paytable, to complete the gaming activity to provide a complete result and determine a payout for the complete result, and to adjust the payout for the complete result using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout if a bonus value was awarded.    
   
   
       40 . A computer-implemented poker apparatus for allowing player participation in an electronic poker game, the poker apparatus comprising: 
 a display;    a first paytable identifying one or more predetermined partial hands and corresponding bonus values for each of the predetermined partial hands;    a second paytable identifying one or more predetermined resulting hands and corresponding resulting payouts for each of the predetermined resulting hands;    a processor configured to direct the display to present at least one partial hand of the electronic poker game to the player and award a bonus value based on the partial hand if the partial hand matches any of the predetermined partial hands of the first paytable, to direct the display to present one or more additional cards available for combination with the partial hand to arrive at a resulting hand; to determine a resulting payout for the resulting hand if the resulting hand matches any of the predetermined resulting hands of the second paytable, and to adjust the resulting payout for the resulting hand using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout if the partial hand matched any of the predetermined partial hands of the first paytable.    
   
   
       41 . The computer-implemented poker apparatus as in  claim 40 , wherein the processor is configured to direct the display to present a plurality of the partial hands, and further comprising a user interface to facilitate player selection of at least one of the partial hands.  
   
   
       42 . The computer-implemented poker apparatus as in  claim 40 , wherein the bonus values comprise multiplier values, and wherein the first paytable comprises a list of the predetermined partial hands and their corresponding ones of the multipliers.  
   
   
       43 . The computer-implemented poker apparatus as in  claim 42 , wherein the bonus values further comprise fixed payout values payable to the player if the resulting hand does not match any of the predetermined resulting hands of the second paytable.  
   
   
       44 . The computer-implemented poker apparatus as in  claim 42 , wherein the bonus values further comprise fixed payout values payable to the player if the resulting hand provides a resulting payout that is less than the fixed payout value.  
   
   
       45 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which are executable by a computer system for facilitating play of a gaming activity by performing steps comprising: 
 awarding a bonus value based on a partial result of the gaming activity, if the partial result corresponds to any of one or more predetermined partial results;    completing the gaming activity to provide a complete result;    determining a payout for the complete result; and    if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results, adjusting the payout for the complete result using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout.    
   
   
       46 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which are executable by a computer system for facilitating play of a Hold'em poker game by performing steps comprising: 
 providing a first paytable of designated hole card combinations;    associating a multiplier with each of the designated hole card combinations;    providing a player starting hand including player hole cards to the participant;    comparing the player hole cards to the designated hole card combinations, and identifying the associated multiplier if the player hole cards match any of the designated hole card combinations;    providing at least one set of one or more additional cards for use with the player starting hand to create a player resulting hand;    providing a second paytable of a plurality of designated resulting hands and associated payout values;    comparing the player resulting hand to the plurality of designated resulting hands, and identifying the associated payout value of the player resulting hand if it corresponds to any of the designated resulting hands; and    calculating a total payout value by multiplying the multiplier and the identified payout value, if a multiplier has been identified due to the player hole cards matching any of the designated hole card combinations.    
   
   
       47 . A gaming system for facilitating play of a gaming activity, comprising: 
 means for awarding a bonus value based on a partial result of the gaming activity, if the partial result corresponds to any of one or more predetermined partial results;    means for completing the gaming activity to provide a complete result;    means for determining a payout for the complete result; and    means for adjusting the payout for the complete result using the awarded bonus value to provide a final payout if the partial result corresponds to any of the one or more predetermined partial results.    
   
   
       48 . A gaming system for facilitating play of a Hold'em poker game by at least one participant, comprising: 
 means for informing the participant of a first paytable of designated hole card combinations and associated multipliers;    means for presenting a player starting hand including player hole cards to the participant;    means for comparing the player hole cards to the designated hole card combinations, and for identifying the associated multiplier if the player hole cards match any of the designated hole card combinations;    means for presenting at least one set of one or more additional cards for use with the player starting hand to create a player resulting hand;    means for informing the participant of a second paytable of a plurality of designated resulting hands and associated payout values;    means for comparing the player resulting hand to the plurality of designated resulting hands, and for identifying the associated payout value of the player resulting hand if it corresponds to any of the designated resulting hands; and    means for calculating a total payout value by multiplying the multiplier and the identified payout value, if a multiplier has been identified due to the player hole cards matching any of the designated hole card combinations.