Four Card Poker game with Variable Wager

Abstract

A casino game utilizes at least one deck of playing cards, the game comprising: each player placing at least one wager to participate in the casino game; dealing a first number of cards to a dealer, the first number of cards being greater than the number of cards to be used in determination of a poker rank hand for the dealer; dealing a second number of cards to each player, the second number of cards being greater than the number of cards to be used in determination of a poker rank hand for each player; the dealer discarding at least one card to form a resulting single dealer hand; each player discarding at least one card to form a resulting player's hand for each player, wherein the number of cards in resulting player's hands and the resulting dealer's hand are equal; and resolving each player hand against the dealer's hand according to predetermined game rules. The initial player's wagers must be at least matched with a Game Bet (or play bet) to remain in the game after players have received their cards. The Game Bet may be multiples of the initial player's wagers, for example, 1× to 5× the initial wager, or more.

1 . A method of playing a four-card wagering game, comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by a processor from a user device, an ante wager and a bonus wager associable with a player, wherein the ante and bonus wager are equal amounts;   dealing, by the processor, five cards to form a dealer's hand and five cards associable with the player to form a player hand;   providing, by the processor, the player hand to the user device;   determining a player hand rank based on the best four-card poker hand that can be achieved from the player hand;   receiving, by the processor from the user device, a variable play wager associable with the player from the user device, wherein the variable play wager is an integer multiple of the ante wager or a fold associable with the player, wherein the variable play wager is 1× the ante wager or may be 3× the ante wager when the player hand rank exceeds a triple down threshold ranking;   determining a dealer hand rank based on the best four-card poker hand that can be achieved from the dealer hand;   determining whether the player hand wins, ties, or loses based on a comparison of the player hand rank to the dealer hand rank; and   when the player hand wins, paying ante and play wager;   if the player hand rank is higher than a bonus threshold, paying the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the ante wager is only paid if the dealer hand rank dealer meets a qualification threshold. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the qualification threshold is a king-high or better. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the triple down threshold ranking is a pair of aces. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the bonus threshold is a straight. 
     
     
         6 . A method of playing a four-card wagering game, comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by a processor from a user device, an ante wager and a bonus wager associable with a player, wherein the ante and bonus wager are equal amounts;   receiving, by the processor from a card sensor, five cards to form a dealer's hand and five cards associable with the player to form a player hand;   providing, by the processor, the player hand to the user device;   determining a player hand rank based on the best four-card poker hand that can be achieved from the player hand;   receiving, by the processor from the user device, a variable play wager associable with the player from the user device, wherein the variable play wager is an integer multiple of the ante wager or a fold associable with the player, wherein the variable play wager is 1× the ante wager or may be 3× the ante wager when the player hand rank exceeds a triple down threshold ranking;   determining a dealer hand rank based on the best four-card poker hand that can be achieved from the dealer hand;   determining whether the player hand wins, ties, or loses based on a comparison of the player hand rank to the dealer hand rank; and   when the player hand wins, paying ante and play wager;   if the player hand rank is higher than a bonus threshold, paying the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table.   
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the ante wager is only paid if the dealer hand rank dealer meets a qualification threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein the qualification threshold is a king-high or better. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the triple down threshold ranking is a pair of aces. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the bonus threshold is a straight.