Tournament Gaming System and Method

Abstract

A tournament gaming system for gaming machines. A common amount is gambled in the tournament by two or more players, which forms a tournament pot. A common wagering game is played, the wagers being separate from and in addition to the common amount gambled. On a tournament terminating event, a prize to one or more of the players from the tournament pot

1 . A method of providing a tournament game for use with a plurality of linked gaming machines that are each arranged to select symbols, present the selected symbols on a display and award an award if a winning outcome occurs, the method including:
 establishing a common amount to gamble in the tournament between two or more players, wherein the collective amounts to gamble form a tournament pot;   playing a common wagering game in which each matched player stakes a wager on game plays of the wagering game and is awarded a prize for any win occurring in that game play, wherein the wager is separate from and in addition to said common amount to gamble and wherein each matched player is required to stake the same wager on their respective game plays;   on a tournament terminating event, awarding a prize to one or more of the players from the tournament pot.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the common wagering game is presented differently to two or more of the players. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of playing the common wagering game includes setting a fixed starting amount available to be wagered by each said player and maintaining a balance available to be wagered, wherein the value of the balance increases for wins and decreases losses in the common wagering game. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the prize from the tournament pot is awarded to one or more winning players, wherein a said winning player is identified from the respective balances of the players. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein a said winning player is the last player playing the wagering game that has a non-zero balance. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3  wherein on a said tournament terminating event, if a player has a non-zero balance available to be wagered, then that player retains the balance in addition to any said prize from the tournament pot. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein a said terminating event is the balance of every player except one reaching zero. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the player with a non-zero balance is awarded the entire tournament pot. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the fixed starting amount available to be wagered has a defined mathematical relationship with the common amount to gamble. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the fixed starting amount available to be wagered in the tournament game is set to equal the common amount to gamble. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of establishing a common amount to gamble includes providing each player a choice of the amount to gamble, and matching two or more players by their respective chosen amounts to gamble. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the steps of offering a choice and matching include displaying to a player one or more other players willing to play the tournament and those player's respective chosen amounts to gamble; and allowing the player to complete the step of matching by making a selection from the other players displayed. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  including providing an option to the player of a said gaming machine to play the tournament, wherein if play of the tournament is not selected, the player can play the wagering game without also wagering said amount to gamble. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the tournament is provided to three or more players. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the common wagering game played by each player in a said tournament provides a substantially equal expected return for the wagers staked. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the common wagering game played by each player has identical mathematics. 
     
     
         17 . A gaming system including a plurality of linked gaming machines that are each arranged to select symbols, present the selected symbols on a display and award an award if a winning outcome occurs, the gaming system operating to:
 establish a common amount to gamble in the tournament between two or more players, wherein the collective amounts to gamble form a tournament pot;   play a common wagering game in which each matched player stakes a wager on game plays of the wagering game and is awarded a prize for any win occurring in that game play, wherein the wager is separate from and in addition to said common amount to gamble and wherein each matched player is required to stake the same wager on their respective game plays;   on a tournament terminating event, award a prize to one or more of the matched players from the tournament pot.   
     
     
         18 . The gaming system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the gaming system establishes a fixed starting amount available to be wagered by each said player in the common wagering game and the gaming machines each maintain a balance available to be wagered, wherein the value of the balance increases for wins and decreases losses in the common wagering game;   the gaming system awards the prize from the tournament pot to one or more winning players, wherein a said winning player is identified from the respective balances of the players; and   if on a said tournament terminating event, a player has a non-zero balance available to be wagered, then the gaming machine played by that player retains the balance in its credit meter and also pays to the credit meter any said prize payable to the player of that gaming machine from the tournament pot.   
     
     
         19 . The gaming system of  claim 17 , wherein a said terminating event is one or more of the players reaching a balance of zero and a said winning player is a player with a non-zero balance on occurrence of the terminating event. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising instructions executable in a gaming system to implement the method.