Provisional Application 60/047,493, filed May 23,1997, incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to card games, and more specifically to modified poker-like card games, and computer systems for playing same.

Background of the Related Art The growth of the gaming industry, and especially the construction of new gambling casinos across the country, has been very significant over the last decade. This growth has resulted in competition between casino operators, who must both attract players for their games and encourage continued play by the players whom they have attracted.

To remain profitable in the midst of competition, the industry has come to recognize the need for new games and new gambling concepts. It also recognizes that players usually enjoy games that are relatively simple, which play quickly, and which provide opportunities for high winning payouts. The industry further recognizes that new technologies must be integrated into such simple, quick, and high stakes games in order to improve the gaming environment and attract and retain players.

The problem with introducing successful new games has been developing gaming concepts that satisfy the following basic criteria for mass-market gambling: * Game rules must be easy to learn.

* Strategies must be easy to master and must not disproportionately favor"the expert".

* Games must have a short duration between the start (the bet) and the finish (the payoff).

* The payoff structure (that is, the amount that a lucky player can win) must be enticing.

* The game must be fair, and the casino should not have an unreasonable advantage.

* The game must be"secure", that is, protected from cheating and tampering.

* The casino's"win"must return a worthwhile profit.

That is, the"win per machine per month"must at least compare favorably to that of standard slot machines.

Over the years, there have been many different types of games that have attempted to satisfy the demands of the gaming industry. These games vary from those involving great mental prowess to games involving merely chance. Nevertheless, there is still a strong interest in game concepts that create real excitement.

One well-known game of interest is poker. The game of poker is played using a conventional 52-card deck with cards ranking from low to high in the order 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, J, Q, K, A.

At the option of the player, the Ace card may also rank as the lowest card. In addition to the 52 standard cards, the deck may include one or more wild cards which can substitute for any card that the player selects, or include an additional wild card such as a joker. The basic object of poker is for the player to achieve a five-card hand having a higher poker rank over the hands of other players and/or the dealer, using the following rank order of winning poker hands: Royal Flush (highest priority), Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and highest card (s) in hand (lowest priority).

One of the best-known methods of playing poker is Draw Poker, wherein players receive an original five-card hand

and then choose to discard and replace between zero and five cards at a single time. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five-card hand. In the computer and electronic game versions of Draw Poker, the player receives a reward for a winning hand based on the rank of the hand as compared to an established payout table.

Draw poker unfortunately is not challenging, and does not provide the player with strategic options. The player essentially must make a single educated guess as to how many and which cards will be replaced for the final card count.

Various attempts have been made to enhance the play of poker over the years. Examples of such attempts are described in the following U. S. patent references, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference: U. S. Patent No. 4,743,022; Wood U. S. Patent No. 4,948,134; Suttle et al.

U. S. Patent No. 5,013,049; Tomaszewski U. S. Patent No. 5,100,137; Fulton U. S. Patent No. 5,118,109; Gumina U. S. Patent No. 5,255,915; Miller U. S. Patent No. 5,294,128 Marquez U. S. Patent No. 5,314,194; Wolf U. S. Patent No. 5,382,025; Sklansky et al.

U. S. Patent No. 5,407,199; Gumina U. S. Patent No. 5,415,404; Joshi et al.

U. S. Patent No. 5,431,407 Hofbera et al.

U. S. Patent No. 5,437,451; Fulton U. S. Patent No. 5,531,440; Dabrowski et al.

The prior art attempts at making poker interesting and challenging have been met with limited success. Many of the prior art methods of playing poker are difficult to learn.

Further, most of the prior art methods allow players to select only one strategy per hand (at the time the player reviews the initially-dealt hand), thus limiting a player's feeling of control, reducing player excitement, and discouraging continued play. The prior art's inability to attract poker players and

encourage continued play is demonstrated by the gaming industry's continued search for new and exciting games.

For example, U. S. Patent No. 5,437,451 to Fulton relates to a modified-poker card game in which a player is provided with sequential opportunities to build a winning hand including providing a player with a first plurality of cards where one of the plurality of cards is an optional card, providing the player with the choice of keeping or discarding the optional card, and subsequently providing the player with a replacement card if the player discarded the optional card.

The game in Fulton also includes the steps of providing the player with a second optional card, providing the player with the choice of keeping or discarding the second optional card, and subsequently providing the player with a second replacement card if the player discarded the second optional card. The game also provides the player with a winning payout if said player's final hand favorably compares with a predetermined winning payout schedule. While the game in Fulton does provide the player with options for altering game strategy, the rules in Fulton are quite complex, and do not permit rapid play by the player. Further, because the rules in Fulton are so complex, the excitement level of the game is severely hampered.

U. S. Patent No. 5,531,440 to Dabrowski et al., relates to a modified poker card game where a player is dealt two distinct hands at the beginning of the game. Each hand is dealt from its own separate complete deck of cards. Initially, a player achieves awards or payouts if one or more of the cards in the first hand match one or more of the cards in the second hand.

Higher awards or payouts can be paid if the cards match not only by number and suit but also by position in each of the hands.

After the matching awards or payouts are made, the player selects one of the hands to play and the unselected hand is voided or removed from use. The player plays out the selected hand according to the conventional manner of the play of the game.

The player wins or loses based on a payout schedule applied to preselected winning hand combinations and based on the number of coins wagered by the player. In Dabrowski the player is provided

with one opportunity to select a specific hand for playing a standard game. Thus, the game in Dabrowski is not very interesting.

We have determined a new method of playing poker that enhances the game's excitement and increases player expectations by allowing players to change strategies several times per hand is desirable. We have also determined that this new method should be easy to understand by the player. In addition, we have determined that this new method should optionally be implemented on a video gaming terminal to further enhance excitement through the use of technology.

Summary of the Invention It is a feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a modified method of playing poker that enhances the game's excitement.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a modified method of playing poker that allows the player to change strategy multiple times per hand.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a modified method of playing poker that will encourage continued play.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a modified method of playing poker that increases player expectations for winning.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a modified method of playing poker that is easy to understand by the player.

The present invention, which is referred to herein as the Five-Alive poker method ("Five-Alive>"or modified poker), is based, in part, on our recognition of the benefits of providing a new, exciting, easy-to-understand method of playing poker. The goals of the present invention are to attract poker players and encourage continued play. We have determined that unexpectedly greatly enhanced enjoyment for playing the modified poker game is experienced when the player is provided the option of utilizing multiple strategies. In addition, we have also

discovered that enhanced enjoyment also results from providing the player the option of selectively replacing 0-all cards that have been dealt to the player.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims,

nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

To achieve-the above features and advantages, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of playing modified poker uses a conventional deck of 52 cards, a dealer, and a player. The method includes dealing a set of cards to the player in accordance with a predetermined number of positions. The player then has the option to replace each card in the set one at a time, in any order. Once the player replaces a card, the player may not again change the card that is in that position for the remainder of the hand, nor may the player return an original card once the card in that position has been replaced. The player is rewarded based on the rank of the player's resulting hand in accordance with a predetermined payout table.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of playing poker uses a conventional 52-card deck and two or more players. The method includes dealing a set of cards to each player in accordance with a predetermined number of positions. Each player then has the option to replace each card in the set one at a time, in any order. Once a player replaces a card, that player may not again change the card that is in that position for the remainder of the hand, nor may that player return an original card once the card in that position has been replaced. The player with the highest rank out of all players' resulting hands wins.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of playing poker is implemented through a computer readable medium that includes instructions executed by a computer or by a hand-held electronic game. The computer and computer readable medium may optionally be elements of a stand-alone video gaming terminal. The instructions instruct the computer or game to execute a modified poker card game. The instructions include dealing a set of cards from a conventional 52-card deck to the player in accordance with a predetermined number of positions and assigning a position corresponding to each dealt card. The

instructions also include providing the player the option to replace each card in the set one at a time, in any order. The instructions limit the player to one replacement card per position per hand. Further, once the player has replaced a card in any position, the instructions prohibit the player from returning the original card to that position. The player is rewarded based on the rank of the player's resulting hand in accordance with a predetermined payout table.

Alternatively, any size deck may also be used in connection with the present invention. In addition, any sized card hand may also be used. For example, a three card hand, four card hand, six card hand, and the like, may also be used instead of the standard five card hand.

These, together with other objects and advantages will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and claims annexed hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its objects, and its advantages, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is flowchart depicting the general concept of the Five-Alive method; FIGs. 2a-2d illustrate a sequence of playing poker using the Five-Alive method whereby the player achieves a winning hand; FIGs. 3a-3f illustrate a sequence of play whereby the player replaces each card in the originally-dealt hand but does not achieve a winning hand; FIGs. 4a-4e illustrate a sequence of play whereby the player achieves a winning hand yet continues to play and improves the hand ; FIG. 5 illustrates a Five-Alive payout table which lists the payouts that may correspond to winning hands;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the hardware which may be used to implement a Five Alive poker game on a computer system in a stand-alone environment; FIGs. 7-19 illustrate examples of play using a video gaming terminal that implements the Five-Alive method of playing poker.

DESCRIPTION OF BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The following describes the basic concept for playing poker using the Five-Alive method. Five-Alive is a video poker variant which allows the player to replace the cards in his or her hand one at a time, thus creating several opportunities for a change in strategy during a single hand. Advantageously, the player is permitted to change from 0 to all cards in the card hand. The replacing of the cards is location specific. That is, once a card is replaced with a corresponding card, that card can no longer be replaced.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart which illustrates the Five- Alive poker method. First, in step 101, the player places a bet. In step 102, the dealer, which may be, among other things, a computer (as in the video poker version of Five-Alive TI) or a hand-held electronic game, deals a set of five original cards and five replacement cards to the player from a conventional 52-card deck. Alternatively, the dealer may deal only a set of original cards, thus retaining the replacement cards in the deck for dealing upon request of the player. As an additional alternative, the sets of original and replacement cards may consist of more or less than five cards. As another alternative, the dealer may use a deck of cards that includes at least one wild card, and/or a deck of more or less than 52 cards.

The sequence of play is illustrated in steps 103-109.

In step 103, the player has the option to replace any original card. In step 104, the player decides to either replace an original card or keep the existing hand. If the player chooses to replace a card, the dealer replaces the chosen original card with a replacement card in step 105. The dealer then determines whether any original cards remain in step 109. If any original

cards are remaining, the play returns to step 103 and the player has the option to replace any other original card. If no original cards remain, the sequence of play ends.

If, in step 104, the player chooses to retain the existing hand, the dealer determines whether any original cards are remaining in step 106. If any original cards remain, the dealer advises the player of the opportunity to improve the hand in step 107, and the player may choose to replace a card in step 108. If, in step 106, the dealer determines that a hand may not be improved, the play sequence ends.

At the end of the play sequence, the dealer determines the rank of the player's hand in step 110. In step 111, the dealer compares the rank of the player's hand to a payout table. Finally, in step 112, the dealer may reward the player based on the rank of hand and the payout table.

Additional steps may be inserted into the chart in FIG. 1 to further enhance play. For example, after the original hand is dealt and each time that a replacement card is dealt (that is, after steps 102 and 105), the dealer may determine the poker rank of the player's hand and advise the player whether the rank constitutes a winning hand. As an additional option if, at any time during the sequence of play the player's hand constitutes a winning hand and the dealer determines that it is statistically impossible to improve the hand, the sequence of play may automatically end, thus moving to steps 111 and 112.

The replacement cards may be pre-dealt to the player or may be dealt to the player upon request. In addition, while the above process has been described with respect to a 52-card deck, and where the replacement cards are dealt from the same 52- card in the conventional manner. However, in accordance with the computer system embodiment described herein, it is additionally possible that the discarded or replaced original cards re-enter the deck and get randomly shuffled therein. In accordance with this embodiment, the discarded or replaced cards may re-appear to replace other original cards that have been selected by the player to be replaced.

FIGs. 2a-2d illustrate a game of Five-Alive whereby the player achieves a winning hand. FIG. 2a illustrates the player's starting hand, and the player decides to play for a pair of Queens and chooses to replace the card in position 3. In FIG.

2b, the player receives the Jack of Spades as the replacement card for position 3. The player now decides to play for either a pair of Queens, or a pair of Jacks and chooses to replace the card in position 1.

In FIG. 2c, the player receives the Ten of Spades as the replacement card in position 1. The player could continue to play for a pair of Queens by replacing cards in positions 4 or 5 or go for a straight by replacing the same positions. The player instead chooses to try for a larger payoff and plays for a flush, thus selecting to replace the card in position 2. In FIG. 2d, the player receives the Ace of Spades as the replacement card in position 2 and achieves a Flush. The player wins.

Advantageously, the display to the player is designed so that the player may easily determine which cards have already been replaced, and which cards may still be replaced. In FIGs. 2a-2d, cards that may still be replaced have a light background directly below, and cards that have already been replaced have a lack background directly below and corresponding thereto.

FIGs. 3a-3f illustrate a sequence of play whereby the player replaces each card in a hand that fails to achieve a winning hand. FIG. 3a illustrates the player's starting hand.

In FIG. 3b, the player decides to play for a pair of Queens and replaces the card in position 3. The player receives the Jack of Diamonds. In FIG. 3c, the player goes for a pair of Queens or pair of Jacks and decides to replace the card in position 4, receiving the Ace of Spades.

In FIG. 3d, the player now hopes to achieve a pair of Jacks, Queens, or Aces, or alternatively a straight, and selects to replace the card in position 1. The player receives the King of Hearts. In FIG. 3e, the player still plays for a straight or a pair of Jacks, Queens, or Aces, with the additional option of playing for a pair of Kings. The player replaces the card in position 5 and receives the Seven of Hearts, which does not

re-sult in a winning hand. In FIG. 3f, the player is left with only one original card, and thus replaces the card in position 2 in an attempt to achieve a pair of Jacks, Kings, or Aces. The player receives the Ten-of Hearts and fails to achieve a winning hand.

FIGs. 4a-4e illustrate a sequence of playing Five- Alive whereby the player achieves a winning hand, and continues to play to improve the hand. FIG. 4a illustrates the player's starting hand. In FIG. 4b, the player decides to go for a pair of Queens and replaces the card in position 3, receiving the Jack of Diamonds. In FIG. 4c, the player goes for either a pair of Jacks or a pair of Queens and replaces the card in position 4, receiving the Jack of Spades, which results in a winning hand.

In FIG. 4d, the player tries to improve the hand by replacing the card in position 1. The player succeeds in improving the hand by receiving the Jack of Hearts, resulting in a Three of a Kind. In FIG. 4e, the player decides yet again to improve the hand by replacing the card in position 5. The player receives the Queen of Clubs, thus achieving a Full House. At this point, the player could go for a Four of a Kind by replacing the card in position 2. Instead, the player decides to end play and receive the reward based on the rank of a Full House.

FIG. 5 presents the Five-Alive payout table, based on the amount bet and hand rank achieved. Of course, other payoff tables may also be used. Advantageously, Five-Alive provides the player with a feeling of increased control over the outcome of each five-card hand, as the player has up to five opportunities to review cards and change strategy per hand.

Therefore, the probability that a player will achieve a winning hand is slightly greater in Five-Alive than in conventional draw poker, when using a standard poker type payoff table.

Accordingly, for some poker hand ranks, the Five- Alive payout table does not provide the player as high of a payout as the player may win in conventional draw poker.

However, the payout is still high enough to attract the player, and the player is induced to stay and play because the

probability for achieving more exciting card hands is higher in Five-Alive than in conventional Draw Poker.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the hardware utilized in the Five-AliveTM poker-game computer system in a stand-alone environment. In FIG. 6, computer hardware 616 includes an input/output (I/O) device 624 providing the gateway or connection from the computer hardware 616 to possible external devices. For example, the input/output device 624 may connect to other computers in a network environment. See, for example, U. S.

Provisional Patents Serial No. 60/011,574, filed February 13, 1996, Serial No. 60/011,573, filed February 13,1996, Serial No.

60/013,798, filed March 21,1996, Serial No. 60/013,801, filed March 21,1996, and Serial Number 60/017,432, filed May 9,1996, incorporated herein by reference.

The main processing unit 626 executes the computer- implemented functions for the Five-Alive poker game computer system. The computer hardware 616 also includes read only memory (ROM) 618 which is used, for example, to store the card game instructions, some of the basic routines for initiating the computer hardware 616, and other common functions of main processing unit 626 including the computer games and rules that implement Five Alive and other games. The computer hardware 616 also includes random access memory (RAM) 630 which is used, for example, for easy access to execute the card game instructions, some of the basic routines for booting the computer hardware 616, as well as other common functions of the main processing unit 626 that are generally retrieved from ROM 618 where this information is stored on a more permanent basis.

The computer hardware 616 also includes user interface devices 632 such as a video display, a speaker and/or a keyboard. Each of these user interface devices also includes respective controllers for controlling the transmission of the required data for properly utilizing the user interface devices.

FIGs. 7-19 illustrate examples of the implementation of Five-Alive on a stand-alone video poker computer system.

FIG. 7 depicts the initial screen of a Five-Alive video poker

game. The screen depicts positions for five original cards 701- 705 and five replacement cards 706-710. The screen also depicts the payout table 711 and credit/bet information 712. The player initiates play by using-one of the bet buttons 718-719 to place a bet. The player then initiates the sequence of play by pressing the"deal"button 720. The player may replace any original card by pressing the corresponding"draw card"button 713-717. As described above in detail, the player is advantageously provided with the ability to selectively replace one card at a time. This process then permits the player to modify strategy mid-course of the game, thereby providing the player more excitement and control of the game outcome. If the player wishes to end play, the player may cash out by pressing the"cash out"button 721.

FIG. 8 depicts a Five-Alive video poker terminal on which the player has received a Royal Flush, which is a winning hand.

FIGs. 9-14 illustrate a sequence of play using a Five-Alive video poker game. FIG. 9 depicts the player's initial hand after the player has bet five coins. In FIG. 10, the player has chosen to replace the Four of Clubs and has received the Jack of Spades. In FIG. 11, the player has chosen to replace the Five of Diamonds and has received the Two of Spades. In FIG. 12, the player has decided to replace the Six of Hearts and has received the Six of Spades. In FIG. 13, the player has decided to replace the Three of Diamonds and has received the Ace of Spades. Finally, in FIG. 14, the player has decided to replace the Three of Hearts and has received the Nine of Clubs, which has resulted in a losing hand.

FIGs. 15-19 illustrate another sequence of play using the Five Alive video poker game whereby the player ends up with a winning hand. FIG. 15 depicts the player's original hand, with five replacement cards dealt face down. In FIG. 16, the player has decided to replace the Four of Hearts and has received the Ace of Spades. In FIG. 17, the player has decided to replace the Three of Diamonds and has received the Six of Diamonds. The player now has a Three of a Kind, which is a winning hand. In

FIG. 18, the player decides to improve the hand and replaces the King of Diamonds, receiving the Two of Spades. Finally, in FIG.

19, the player takes the win and receives ten credits or coins for the Three of a Kind.

Thus, Five-Alive is a video poker variant which allows the player to replace the cards in his or her hand one at a time, thus creating several opportunities for a change in strategy during a single hand. Advantageously, the player is permitted to change from 0 to all cards in the card hand. The replacing of the cards is location specific. That is, once a card is replaced with a corresponding card, that card can no longer be replaced. The display to the player is designed so that the player may easily determine which cards have already been replaced, and which cards may still be replaced.

The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.