Method of playing poker games with multiple wild cards wherein a winning hand can only contain one wild card

Abstract

A method of playing a poker game in which an initial hand of cards is dealt to players who are then granted a chance to place a wager or draw at least one additional card and then a final poker hand is ultimately determined for each player. Any final poker hand with more than one wild card is declared a losing hand while the winning hand is any remaining hand having the highest ranking. The poker game can be a draw poker game, a stud poker game or a community card poker game and a non-winning hand may have to pay a losing calling penalty in some circumstances based upon the ranking of the winning hand.

1 : A method of playing a poker game using at least one deck of playing cards wherein at least two players are given a chance to make a poker hand of cards, the method comprising the steps of:
 dealing an initial hand of cards to the at least two players from the at least one deck of playing cards;   granting the at least two players a chance to place a wager or draw at least one additional card;   determining a final poker hand for each of the at least two players;   determining whether any final poker hand has more than one wild card and, if it does, declaring any such hand a losing hand;   declaring a winning hand to be the final poker hand having a highest ranking that is not a losing hand; and   settling any wagers.   
   
   
       2 : The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game is a draw poker game. 
   
   
       3 : The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game is a stud poker game. 
   
   
       4 : The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game is a community card poker game. 
   
   
       5 : The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one deck of playing cards has five wild cards. 
   
   
       6 : The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one deck of playing cards is comprised of a first group of suited cards, a second group of non-suited cards and a third group of wild cards. 
   
   
       7 : The method of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one deck of playing cards is comprised of fifty-two cards. 
   
   
       8 : The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first group of suited cards is comprised of three suits, each of which has one of nine identical number designations, the nine number designations forming a sequential order, the second group of non-suited cards is comprised of five sets of four identical non-suited cards, each of the five sets having its own unique designation and the third group of wild cards is comprised of five wild cards. 
   
   
       9 : The method of  claim 8 , wherein the nine identical number designations are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 and the three suits are comprised of a circle designation, a bamboo designation and a script designation and wherein four of the unique designations of the five sets of four identical non-suited cards are an East Wind designation, a South Wind designation, a West Wind designation and a North Wind designation. 
   
   
       10 : The method of  claim 8 , wherein the highest ranking is determined based upon a poker ranking of hands, from highest to lowest, as follows:
 a straight flush hand of five number designations from the first group of suited cards in a consecutive sequence;   a four of a kind hand;   a full house hand comprised of a three of a kind and two of a kind;   a flush hand comprised of five number designations from the first group of suited cards in a single suit in a non-consecutive sequence;   a straight hand comprised of five number designations from the first group of suited cards in more than a single suit in a consecutive sequence;   a three of a kind hand;   a two pair hand comprised of a pair of two of a kind;   a pair hand comprised of a single pair of two of a kind; and   a high card hand comprised of none of the above hands;   wherein any of the four of a kind, three of a kind and two of a kind are made by having an x number of identical non-suited cards or x cards with identical number designations from the first group of suit cards, the x being the number of a kind; and   wherein one wild card can be designated to represent any card in either the first group of suited cards or the second group of non-suited cards.   
   
   
       11 : The method of  claim 10 , wherein a non-winning hand must pay a losing calling penalty if the winning hand has a winning ranking. 
   
   
       12 : The method of  claim 11 , wherein the non-winning hand does no have to pay the losing calling penalty if the non-winning hand has the same ranking as the winning hand. 
   
   
       13 : The method of  claim 11 , wherein the losing calling penalty is an amount of a last bet that was called if the winning hand is a flush hand, twice the amount of the last bet that was called if the winning hand is a full house hand, three times the amount of the last bet that was called if the winning hand is a four of a hand and four times the amount of the last bet that was called if the winning hand is a straight flush hand.