US20120094731A1

US20120094731A1 - Poker Game Enabling Replacement of Discrete Card Characteristics

Info

Publication number: US20120094731A1
Application number: US12/907,555
Authority: US
Inventors: Bradley Berman; Chad Shapiro
Original assignee: King Show Games Inc
Current assignee: King Show Games Inc
Priority date: 2010-10-19
Filing date: 2010-10-19
Publication date: 2012-04-19

Abstract

Techniques involving the enhancement of hand results in poker games involving a draw. One representative method includes presenting a hand(s) of cards, where each of the cards has at least a card value and a card suit. A player may identify the card values and card suits in which to hold in each of the cards. The card values and card suits are replaced for any of the card values/suits that are not held, and a resulting hand(s) that includes the held and replaced card values and card suits is provided.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to card games, and more particularly to facilitating enhanced hand results in poker games.

BACKGROUND

Card games such as poker have long been enjoyed as a means of entertainment. While cardroom poker continues to captivate casino patrons, electronic forms of poker have opened new doors for gaming enthusiasts. Electronic forms include, for example, video poker played on “slot machines” or other gaming kiosks, online computer-based poker, and the like.
While the underlying poker games provided by electronic poker/gaming machines are enjoyable, continued play of the same poker or other card game can become mundane over long periods of play. It is desirable to provide new capabilities in poker games to hold players' interest in games such as poker.

SUMMARY

Techniques involving the enhancement of hand results in poker games involving a draw are disclosed.
In accordance with one embodiment, a method includes presenting a hand of cards, where each of the cards has at least a card value and a card suit. In some embodiments, the cards may have one or more additional or different card characteristics than a card value and a card suit. The exemplary method includes enabling a player to identify the card values and card suits in which to hold in each of the cards. In one embodiment, such identification may result in the player holding card characteristics ranging from no card values or card suits to all card values and card suits. In the exemplary method, the card values for any of the card values that are not held are replaced, and the card suits for any of the card suits that are not held are replaced. A resulting hand that includes the held and replaced card values and card suits is presented.
In one particular variation, such a method may further include presenting a plurality of the hands, where each of the cards in each of the plurality of the hands has a card value and a card suit. In such a variation, facilitating player identification of the card values and/or card suits includes enabling the player to identify the card values and/or card suits to hold in each of the cards of the plurality of hands; replacing the card values and/or suits for any of the card values and/or suits not held in each of the cards of each of the plurality of hands; and presenting a plurality of the resulting hands, each of which includes the held and replaced card values and card suits for the respective resulting hand.
In another particular embodiment of such a method, facilitating player identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the hand of cards involves enabling user selection of the card values and the card suits in which to retain and not replace. In an alternative embodiment, facilitating player identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the hand of cards involves enabling user selection of the card values and the card suits in which to replace and not retain.
In another representative variation, presenting a hand involves presenting an initial number of cards greater than five cards, and presenting the resulting hand using five of the cards of the initial number of cards that create the highest poker rank after the replacement any of the card values and card suits.
Another representative embodiment of such a method includes replacing the card values for any of the card values not held and replacing the card suits for any of the card suits not held while disallowing duplicate resulting cards in the resulting hand. Other embodiments allow duplicate resulting cards in the resulting hand as a result of the replacement.
In another embodiment, such a method may further include determining whether the presented hand meets at least one defined criteria, and enabling the player to identify the card values and the card suits in which to hold in response to the presented hand meeting the defined criteria.
In another embodiment of the exemplary method, facilitating player identification involves determining, based on defined play rules, which of the card values and card suits to hold on behalf of the user.
In yet another embodiment, such a method further involves providing a paytable of poker ranks, and providing a payout for the resulting hand based on which of the poker ranks in the paytable correspond to the resulting hand.
In accordance with another representative embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes at least a display, a user interface and a processing module. In one embodiment, the display is configured to present at least one initial hand of a plurality of cards, where each of the cards has a card value and a card suit; the user interface is configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain for each of the plurality of cards in the initial hand(s); and a processor is configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained. In the representative embodiment, the display is further configured to present at least one resulting hand for each of initial hand(s) that includes the retained card values, the retained card suits, the replacement card values and the replacement card suits.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the user interface includes a touch screen configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain by touching the display proximate the card values and the card suits in which to retain. In another embodiment, the user interface includes a touch screen configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain by touching the display proximate the card values and the card suits that are to be replaced.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the processor is further configured to replicate the retained card values and retained card suits into one or more additional hands presented on the display, and to additionally replace the card values and the card suits for cards of the additional one or more additional hands presented on the display. In such an embodiment, the display may further be configured to present a plurality of resulting hands corresponding to the initial hand(s) and the one or more additional hands, where the cards in each of the plurality of resulting hands includes the retained and replaced card values and card suits.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the display is configured to present the initial hand(s) having an initial number of cards greater than five, and the processor is further configured to identify the resulting hand(s) using five of the cards of the initial number of cards that yield a highest poker rank attainable on a paytable after replacement of any of the card values and card suits.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the processor is configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained by providing resulting cards that conform to a standard fifty-two card virtual deck of cards without duplication. In another embodiment, the processor is configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained by providing resulting cards that conform to cards of a standard fifty-two card virtual deck of cards while allowing duplication of the resulting cards.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the processor is further configured to determine whether the initial hand(s) meets at least one defined criteria, and to enable the user interface to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain for each of the plurality of cards in the initial hand(s) in response to the initial hand meeting the defined criteria.
In another embodiment of the exemplary apparatus, the processor is further configured to utilize play rules to determine which of the card values and card suits to automatically retain on behalf of the player.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a method includes presenting an initial hand of cards having a plurality of cards on a display, where each of the cards has a card value and a card suit. The exemplary method further includes facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the initial hand of cards; replicating the held card values and held card suits into one or more additional hands presented on the display; replacing the card values for any of the card values and card suits that are not held for the initial hand and the one or more additional hands; and presenting via the display resulting hands of the cards corresponding to the initial hand and each of the one or more additional hands, wherein the cards in each of the resulting hands includes the held and replaced card values and card suits.
In a variation of such a method, replacing the card values and the card suits involves replacing the card values and the card suits for each corresponding card in the hand and in each of the one or more additional hands with like card values and card suits. In another embodiment, replacing the card values and the card suits involves replacing the card values and the card suits for each corresponding card in the hand and in each of the one or more additional hands with different card values and card suits.
These and other representative concepts and features are further described in the Detailed Description. The features noted in this Summary are not intended to suggest essential features, nor is the claimed subject matter intended to be limited by the representative Summary provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein refers to embodiments illustrated in the following diagrams.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment for facilitating selective draws of individual card characteristics in a poker context;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow diagrams illustrating representative techniques for providing a draw capability to discrete card characteristics;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are flow diagrams depicting representative manners in which a player, or automated system, may hold and replace card values and/or suits to arrive at a resulting hand(s);

FIG. 6 depicts a representative video poker environment in which the principles described herein may be employed;

FIGS. 7, 8A and 8B illustrate representative examples of poker game enabling individual card characteristics to be held/discarded;

FIG. 9 illustrates a representative embodiment of a casino-style gaming device in which the principles described herein may be applied;

FIG. 10 depicts a representative multi-hand poker game that enables individual card characteristics to be selected and replicated from at least one hand to at least one other hand; and

FIG. 11 depicts a representative computing system capable of carrying out operations and features in accordance with the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and which depict representative implementation examples. It is to be understood that other embodiments and implementations may be utilized, as structural and/or operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Generally, systems, apparatuses and methods are provided for enhancing result possibilities in poker games. For example, result possibilities may be enhanced by providing a draw capability to discrete card characteristics in one or more poker hands.
In one representative embodiment, a hand(s) of cards is presented, where each of the cards includes a plurality of card characteristics, such as a card value and a card suit. The player may designate, and/or the system may automatically designate, card values and/or card suits in which to hold in each of one or more of the cards. The card values for any of the card values that are not held are replaced, and the card suits for any of the card suits that are not held are replaced. A resulting hand that includes the held and replaced card values and card suits is presented. In such a manner, the player can obtain a potentially greater chance to enhance his/her hand(s) by selectively replacing card values and/or card suits in one or more of the cards of the hand(s).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment for facilitating selective draws of individual card characteristics in a poker context.
In the illustrated embodiment, a poker event or “hand” 100 of a poker/card game is depicted, which includes providing an initial hand 102 including a number of initial cards A_I, B_I, C_Ior any number of cards represented by card N_I. While multiple hands 100 may be concurrently played, the example of FIG. 1 assumes a single hand 100 is played for purposes of description. The cards A_I-N_Imay be presented to the player, such as by dealing cards, presenting virtual cards electronically, or the like. The initial hand 102 may be dealt by a dealer in a live table version of the card game, or by a virtual dealer in electronic embodiments.
The dealt cards A_I-N_Iin the representative hand 102 include multiple card characteristics, such as card “rank” or value “V” and the card suit “S.” For example, the card A_Iincludes an initial value V-A_Iand an initial suit S-A_I. The initial value V-A_Ifor card A_Imay be, for example, an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three or Two when a standard deck or standard virtual deck of cards is used. Thus, in such an embodiment, the value “V” represents a rank of the card. The initial suit S-A_Ifor card A_Imay be, for example, a Diamond, Heart, Club or Spade when a standard deck or standard virtual deck of cards is used. Thus, in such an embodiment, the suit “S” represents a suit of the card. Other values, suits, and/or other characteristics may alternatively be used.
In the illustrated embodiment, each of the initial cards A_I-N_Iincludes both a value and suit as shown. Particularly, card A_Iincludes an initial value V-A_Iand an initial suit S-A_I, card B_Iincludes an initial value V-B_Iand an initial suit S-B_I, card C_Iincludes an initial value V-C_Iand an initial suit S-C_I, and so forth through some indeterminate number of cards N_Iwhich includes V-N_Iand S-N_I. While any number of initial cards A_I-N_Imay be used depending on the game rules, one embodiment involves dealing five initial cards A_I-N_I.
In accordance with one embodiment, none, either or both of the card characteristics V, S may be held or discarded after the initial hand 102 is presented. For example, the value V-A_Iof card A_Imay be selectively “held” 104 without holding the suit S-A_I. Thus, the suit S-A_Iof card A_Ithat was not held may be replaced. The resulting card A_Rin the resulting hand 120 includes the value V-A_Rand suit S-A_Rthat result from the holding/discarding 104 and ultimate replacing of the values/suits V-A_I, S-A_Iof card A_I. Continuing with the example that V-A_Iis held and S-A_Iis not held (i.e. S-A_Iis discarded), then the resulting value V-A_Rof the resulting card A_Ris the same as its corresponding initial card value V-A_I(i.e., V-A_R=V-A₁), but the resulting suit S-A_Rof the resulting card A_Ris a replacement suit and thus is not the same as the initial card suit S-A_I(i.e., S-A_R≠S-A₁). In one embodiment, such selective holding/discarding 104, 106, 108, 110 is allowed for each of the values V and suits S of the initial cards A_I, B_I, C_I, N_I, thereby providing corresponding resulting cards A_R, B_R, C_R, N_Rin the resulting hand 120. In this manner, individual card characteristics, such as card value and card rank, may be held or discarded. For those card characteristics that are discarded, replacement values/suits are provided to establish the resulting cards A_R, B_R, C_R, N_Rof the resulting hand 120. As described in greater detail below, some embodiments may enable identification of a limited or lesser number of card characteristics to hold/discard, or a limited or lesser number of cards in which card characteristics may be individually held or discarded.
FIG. 2A is a flow diagram of a technique for enhancing resulting hands through selective retention of discrete card characteristics. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, card values and card suits represent the card characteristics that may be held, or discarded to obtain replacement characteristics. A hand(s) of cards is presented 200. For each of the cards, holding or discarding of the card value, the card suit, or both the card value and card suit is enabled as shown at block 202. While both the card value and suit may be held, the embodiment of FIG. 2 allows the player to, if he/she chooses, to hold or discard either or both of the card value and card suit. Such holding/discarding may be specified by the player, such as via a user interface in an electronic embodiment. Alternatively, the decision to hold or discard values/suits may be automatically performed on behalf of the player by a processor or other circuit configured to determine which card values/suits should be held and which should be discarded. Such an automatic decision may be based on programmed poker hand analyses, such as to provide the player with the chance to obtain the highest payout, or the most likely payout, etc. While the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2 depicts such a decision may be made for each of the cards, other embodiments involve enabling such a decision for some subset of the cards.
For card values and/or suits that are not held and thus are discarded, the corresponding card value, card suit, or both the card value and card suit are replaced 204. For example, assume one of the initial cards is a Ten of Spades. The player may opt to hold only the suit (i.e. Spade) such that the value (Ten) is discarded. A replacement value is provided to replace the Ten value, but the suit of Spades is retained in the final version of the card. The resulting card may be, for example, a King of Spades or any other card value of Spades.
In one embodiment, the discarded value (e.g., Ten) is included in the set of replacement values, such that the player could theoretically receive a replacement value that corresponds to the particular value that was discarded. In another embodiment, the discarded value is not included in the set of replacement values, such that the player will not receive a replacement value that is the same particular one that was discarded. In another embodiment, the player may received the discarded value as a replacement value, but only if there are other such values available in the set of available values. For example, assuming a standard card deck, there are four of each poker value (e.g., four Aces, four Twos, four Tens, etc.). If only one Ten is dealt in the hand, and the player chooses to discard the Ten, one embodiment allows any of the remaining three Ten values to be provided as a replacement, but not the particular Ten value that was discarded.
In one embodiment, the discarded suit (e.g., Spades) is included in the set of replacement values, such that the player could theoretically receive a replacement suit that is the same as the suit that was discarded. In another embodiment, the player will not receive a replacement suit that is the same as the discarded suit. In another example, the player may received the discarded suit as a replacement suit, but only if there are other such suits available in the set of available suits. For example, assuming a standard card deck, there are thirteen cards of each suit (e.g., thirteen Spades, thirteen Hearts, etc.). If two Spades were dealt in the hand, and the player chooses to discard one of the Spades, one embodiment allows any of the remaining eleven Spades to be provided as a replacement.
In some embodiments, what is available to be provided as a replacement value or suit depends on which value/suit pairs, e.g., cards, have been presented. For example, one embodiment allows a card with a particular value and suit to be held, and allows that same value/suit combination to be presented in another card in which any value and/or suit replacement occurs. Such an embodiment therefore allows for duplicate cards in the resulting hand. In another embodiment, duplicate cards are prohibited, such that no value/suit combination in one card will match another value/suit combination in a card of the resulting hand.
FIG. 2B is a flow diagram of another technique for enhancing resulting hands through selective retention of discrete card characteristics. At least one hand of cards is presented 210. The embodiment of FIG. 2B allows the user to identify 212 the card value(s) and/or card suit(s) in which to hold in any of the cards of the hand. For example, a user interface may be provided 212A to enable the player to specify card value(s)/suit(s) to hold for each card, and/or a user interface may be provided 212B to enable the player to specify card value(s)/suit(s) to replace in each card. Allowing the player to identify 212 which of the cards values/suits to hold may be accomplished in an electronic embodiment by providing one or more user interface mechanisms, such as buttons, touch screen, voice input, joystick, and/or any other manner of facilitating user designation of one or more of the presented card values/suits to hold.
It should be recognized that specifying which cards to “hold” also suggests which cards will be discarded; i.e. those that are not specified to be held are discarded. Therefore, in an embodiment where card values and suits represent the card characteristics, unless otherwise noted references to selecting card values and/or suits in which to “hold” includes identifying those values/suits by explicit identification of the values/suits to hold, or by implicit identification of the values/suits by identifying those that are to be discarded. Analogously, unless otherwise noted, references to selecting card values and/or suits in which to “discard” includes identifying those values/suits by explicit identification of the values/suits to discard, or by implicit identification of the values/suits by identifying those that are to be held.
In response to the user's identification 212 of which card values and/or suits to replace in any of the cards, the respective card values and/or card suits are replaced 214. A resulting hand that includes the held and replaced card values and suits may be presented 216.
Other embodiments involve an apparatus configured to enhance resulting hands through selective retention of discrete card characteristics. For example, a display may be configured to present the hand(s) of cards, and a user interface may be provided to enable the user to identify the card values/suits in which to hold. A processing module may be configured to replace the card values and/or card suits for any of the card values/suits not held, such that the display can present the resulting hand including those held and replaced card values/suits.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a representative manner in which a player, or automated system, may hold and replace card values and suits to arrive at a resulting hand. One or more hands of cards are dealt 300. In one embodiment, one hand of cards, such as five cards, is dealt for consideration by the player. In other embodiments, multiple hands may be dealt 300, whereby the player is allowed to make hold/discard decisions for the card values and suits in each of the concurrently-played hands. Other embodiments involve dealing 300 one hand, and replicating those card values/suits that are held into one or more other concurrently played hands, thereby allowing card value/suit replacement in each instance where the value/suit was not held or replicated.
In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a replaceable card value and replaceable card suit is presented 302 for each card in the one or more concurrently played hand(s). A first hand includes initial card-I_INITIAL 304, initial card-2 _INITIAL 306, initial card-3 _INITIAL 308, initial card-4 _INITIAL 310 and initial card-5 _INITIAL 312. For each of the cards, the player is allowed to specify whether the value and/or suit presented for that card is to be held or replaced. For example, if it is decided to hold 314 the value and hold 315 the suit of card-1 _INITIAL 304, then the corresponding resulting card-1 _RESULT 330 of the resulting hand 328 will retain the value and suit of the original card-1 _INITIAL 304. On the other hand, if either or both of the value and suit are not held 314, 315, then a replacement value and/or suit is obtained 326. Such a decision is made for each of the initial cards 304, 306, 308, 310, 312 as noted by the decision blocks 314-323, ultimately providing the resulting hand 328 including resulting cards 330, 332, 334, 336, 338.
If there is another hand 340 to consider (i.e. a multiple hand embodiment), then decisions 314-323 may be made for the cards 304-312 of the additional hand(s) to produce corresponding resulting hands 328. When the resulting hand(s) 328 have been identified, results can be calculated 342 to determine whether the hand(s) results in a payout as determined from a paytable of winning poker hands.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting another representative manner in which a player, or automated system, may hold and replace card values and suits to arrive at a resulting hand. In this embodiment, card values and/or suits that are discarded may be replaced prior to decisions to hold/discard card values and/or suits from the other cards in the hand that have not yet been considered. Similarly to that of FIG. 3, one or more hands are dealt 400, and replaceable card values and suits are presented 402 for each card 404, 406, 408, 410, 412. In one embodiment, any card such as _card-INITIAL 404 may be considered for card value and/or suit replacement. It is determined 414, 415 whether to hold the value and/or suit for that card 404, replacements are obtained 416 if necessary, and a resulting card-1 _RESULT 417 is provided. The result of this card-1 _RESULT 417 may influence the decision 420, 421 whether or not to hold the value and/or suit of a next card, such as card-2 _INITIAL 406. Replacements are obtained 422 if necessary, and a resulting card-2 _RESULT 423 is provided. Again, the result of this card-2 _RESULT 423 may influence the decision 426, 427 whether or not to hold the value and/or suit of a next card, such as card-3 _INITIAL 408. For example, if the resulting cards 417, 423 are both Hearts, and the initial cards 410, 412 are also Hearts, the player may choose 427 to discard a non-Heart suit for card-3 _INITIAL 408 in the hopes of ultimately drawing to a flush in the resulting hand 445. Replacements are obtained 428 if necessary and card-3 _RESULT 429 is provided. Similar decisions 432, 433 and possible replacement 434 occurs for card-4 _INITIAL 410 to provide resulting card-4 _RESULT 435, as well as decisions 438, 439 and possible replacement 440 for card-5 _INITIAL 412 to provide resulting card-5 _RESULT 441. Results 448 are calculated for the resulting hand 445 and any other resulting hands occurring if other initial hands are dealt as depicted at decision block 450.
Thus, the embodiment of FIG. 4 provides replacement card values/suits as card values/suits are discarded, thereby providing the player with mid-hand decisions as the state of the resulting hand 445 incrementally changes.
Various alternative embodiments may be used in connection with the techniques described herein. Some representative alternative embodiments are described in connection with FIG. 5. For example, one or more initial hands of cards may be presented 500, where different numbers of initial cards may be dealt. In one embodiment, the initial cards dealt is five 500A. This embodiment may provide five initial cards in which card values and/or card suits may be subject to a draw. Another embodiment involves dealing more than five cards, as shown at block 500B. In such an embodiment, card values and/or card suits for greater than five cards may be subject to a draw, but only a subset of the total number of cards initially dealt are used to create the resulting hand. For example, if seven cards are initially dealt, card values and/or card suits may be selectively held/discarded for each of the seven cards, while five of the resulting seven cards may be used to create the best five-card resulting hand.
In another embodiment, less than the number of cards used in the resulting hand may initially be dealt as depicted at block 500C. For example, three cards may initially be dealt, where card values and/or card suits may be selectively held/discarded for each of these three cards. An additional two cards having no selectable card values and/or card suits may then be provided to complete the resulting hand. In this manner, a subset of the total cards are available for card value/suit replacement, while another subset of the cards are not.
When the initial cards have been presented, card values and suits to hold in the hand(s) of cards are identified 502. In one embodiment, all cards 502A are provided with the opportunity to hold or discard card values and/or suits. In another embodiment, only a subset of the cards 502B are available for card value and/or suit replacement. In yet another embodiment depicted at block 502C, one or more cards may be presented that afford the player the opportunity to select only a subset of the card characteristics for replacement. For example, some cards may only allow the suit to be held or discarded, some cards may only allow the rank to be held or discarded, while other cards may allow both the suit and rank to be held or discarded.
Thus, some embodiments may not provide the option of selecting both the card value and/or card suit for every card of every played hand. In one embodiment, the occurrence of cards that enable card value and/or card suit to be individually held/discarded is purely random. In other instances, it is random but weighted in the sense that the likelihood of one or more cards providing such options is somewhat controllable or adjustable. The term “random” is used herein regardless of the level of randomness used; e.g., “random” is used whether purely random or weighted-random. Thus, cards exhibiting the ability to individually hold or discard card value and/or card suit may or may not be provided in connection for every dealt card. In some embodiments, more than one, and up to all of the dealt cards may enable individual selection of card values and/or card suits to hold. For example, where five cards are dealt, one card may be a normal card with no card value/suit selection opportunity, while others may provide the ability to hold either or both the card value and card suit.
The individual card characteristic selection features may be an integral part of the poker game, or may be selectively activated. For example, the frequency of such opportunities may be dependent on wagering factors, such as how much was wagered, whether the maximum credits are played, etc. In one embodiment, the feature is activated when a side bet is placed, or other monetary amount is paid to activate the feature. Still other factors may be used, such as a number of consecutive plays without a payout, a number of consecutive plays with a payout, number of consecutively played hands, etc. These and other manners of invoking the features described herein may be implemented.
Other alternative embodiments may involve criteria-based opportunities 502D. In one embodiment, the ability to hold/discard card values and card suits may be presented when a certain condition(s) is met. For example, the opportunity may be presented when the initially dealt hand meets a threshold to reach a particular resulting hand. One example is to present the ability to hold/discard card values and card suits for each of the cards of the initial hand when the initial hand is one, or two cards from reaching a flush. More particularly, if three of five initially dealt cards are one suit such as Hearts, each of the cards may be presented with the opportunity to hold/discard card suits, or both the card values and card suits. Another example is where the option to individually hold/discard card values/suits is presented where the initial hand can theoretically reach a straight flush if the appropriate replacement card values and/or card suits are drawn.
Still other alternatives involve the manner in which the card characteristics may be identified for holding or discarding. In one embodiment, the player selects the card characteristics in which to hold or discard. For example, the player may select the card values and/or card suits in various cards using a user interface, such as buttons, touch screen, voice command, joystick, etc. In another embodiment, an assisted identification feature 502F is employed, which automatically holds card values and/or card suits for the player. Programmed rules may be consulted by a processor or other controller to automatically determine which card values/suits, if any, to hold on the player's behalf. For example, the processor or other control mechanism may determine which card values/suits to hold based on which resulting cards have the highest probability of providing a resulting hand(s) with the highest poker rank. This, or any other desired criteria, may be used to automatically hold cards. Such an auto-hold feature may be mandatory in some embodiments, or may be a selectable feature available to the player in other embodiments. In yet other embodiments, such as that described above, the player is allowed to specify which card values and suits, if any, to hold.
The card values and/or card suits for any of the discarded card values/suits are replaced 504. As previously noted, the replacement card values/suits may be provided such that duplicate cards are allowed 504A, or such that the resulting cards correspond to cards of a standard deck without duplicates 504B.
A resulting hand(s) is presented 506, which includes cards having the held and replaced card values and card suits. In one embodiment, the resulting hand has the same number of cards as the initial hand as depicted at block 506A. In another embodiment, such as where the initial hand presents X cards greater than five 500B, the resulting hand uses the best five of the X cards as shown at block 506B. Where the initial hand includes fewer than five cards 500C, one or more cards may be added to reach a five-card resulting hand as shown at block 506C. It should be noted that a five card resulting hand is assumed in these examples, but other poker games may utilize more or fewer cards in the resulting hand.
The resulting hand(s) is provided when the replacements of card values and/or card suits have been made, and a payout(s) may be provided 508 for any resulting hands meeting defined payout criteria. For example, the resulting hand(s) may be compared 508A against a paytable that lists a plurality of resulting hand poker ranks in which a payout will be provided. In other embodiments, the payout may be adjusted 508B based on the extent to which replacement card values and card suits were needed. For example, a higher payout may be provided for a resulting hand of a straight flush if only one card suit was replaced than for a straight flush where multiple card values and/or card suits were replaced.
The operational and structural features described herein may be used in connection with numerous poker-related card games involving a draw. An exemplary use case is now described in connection with a draw poker game shown in FIG. 6.
In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a paytable 600 is provided that includes numerous poker rank thresholds in which a payout is provided, as well as different payouts depending on the amount wagered by the player. For example, assuming increasing wagers from bet-1 602 to bet-5 610, the payout amount increases for each given poker rank threshold (e.g., royal flush, straight flush, etc.). As a more specific example, if the player wagered three credits (BET 3 606) and obtained a full house, the player would win twenty-seven credits. As noted above, the features described herein may be integral to all gaming activity, or may be triggered upon a wagering or other event such as by wagering the maximum of five credits. However, for purposes of the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that the feature is integral to the game and available at all times during play.
The example of FIG. 6 assumes a draw poker embodiment where five cards 612, 614, 616, 618, 620 are dealt in an initial hand 622. The illustrated embodiment is an electronic embodiment played on a video poker machine or other computer-implemented apparatus, and therefore it is assumed the cards 612, 614, 616, 618, 620 are “dealt” by presenting the cards via a display screen. The cards may be dealt face down and then turned face up, or may be initially dealt face up.
In one embodiment, multiple hands are initially presented, as depicted by the one or more other hands 624. For example, multiple hands 622 through 624 may initially be dealt, and the card values and card suits in each card of each hand 622, 624 may be held, or discarded to obtain replacement card values/suits. In another embodiment, an initial hand 622 may be presented, and upon holding card values and card suits in that hand 622, those held card values and card suits are replicated into one or more additional hands 624. In these and other multi-hand embodiments, card values and card suits that are not held will be replaced to ultimately provide respective resulting hands from the initial hands.
FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment where a single initial hand 700A is presented for play, although the principles described are equally applicable to multiple hands. Like reference numbers are used in FIG. 7 in the various stages of play where applicable.
A hand 700A of five cards 701, 702, 703, 704, 705 is presented in the illustrated embodiment, although other numbers of cards could be presented. The hand may initially be presented face down, or face up as shown at hand 700B. The example shows that the five cards 701-705 of hand 700B include card 701 which is the Two of Spades, as noted by the Two value 711 and the Spade suit 716. Similarly, card 702 of hand 700B includes the Three 712 of Spades 717, card 703 includes the Four 713 of Spades 718, card 704 includes the Five 714 of Spades 719, and card 705 includes the Six 715 of Hearts 720. In accordance with one embodiment, as few as none, and as many as all of the card values 711-715 and card suits 716-720 may be identified for discarding and replacement. In other embodiments, there may be a limit based on established rules of play as to how many card characteristics may be held.
Referring to hand state 700C, it can be seen that various card characteristics have been held. Particularly, the card values Two 711, Three 712, Four 713, Five 714 and Six 715 of the respective cards 701-705 have been held. These held cards are depicted as highlighted in FIG. 7. Additionally, card suits 716, 717, 718 and 719 of the respective cards 701-704 have been held. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, only suit 720 of card 705 has been identified for discarding and replacement. It should be noted that whether cards are identified to hold, or whether cards are identified to discard, is not relevant as the result of replacing the discarded or non-held cards is the same. As can be seen, the player can “hold” the straight including the Two 711, Three 712, Four 713, Five 714 and Six 715, and hold four Spades 716, 717, 718, 719, while discarding the Heart 720 in the hopes of drawing to a straight flush.
Hand state 700D shows the cards 701-705 after the discarded card characteristic (Heart 720) has been replaced. As can be seen, the replacement suit is a Spade 721, which provides a resulting hand 700D of a straight flush. Thus, the embodiment of FIG. 7 involves a five-card initial hand of draw poker where the player receives a straight on the deal, and is four cards to a straight flush. The feature of enabling selective holding/discarding of discrete card characteristics enables the player to lock up the straight, while still drawing to a possible straight flush.
Other representative examples are provided in FIGS. 8A and 8B to further illustrate the features described herein. FIG. 8A again illustrates an embodiment where one initial hand 800A is presented for play, although the principles described are equally applicable to multiple hands. Like reference numbers are used in FIG. 8A in the various stages of play where applicable.
A hand 800A of five cards 801, 802, 803, 804, 805 is presented in the illustrated embodiment, although other numbers of cards could be presented. The example shows that the five cards 801-805 of hand 800A include card 801 which is the Ten of Hearts, as noted by the Ten value 811 and the Heart suit 816. Similarly, card 802 of hand 800A includes the Jack 812 of Hearts 817, card 803 includes the Queen 813 of Hearts 818, card 804 includes the King 814 of Hearts 819, and card 805 includes the Eight 815 of Hearts 820.
Referring to hand state 800B, it can be seen that various card characteristics have been held. Particularly, the card values Ten 811, Jack 812, Queen 813 and King 814 of the respective cards 801-804 have been held. The held cards are depicted as highlighted in FIG. 8A. Additionally, card suits 816, 817, 818, 819 and 820 of the respective cards 801-805 have been held. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, only card value 815 of card 805 has been identified for discarding and replacement. As can be seen, the player can “hold” the flush including the Hearts 816-820, and hold the Ten 811, Jack 812, Queen 813 and King 814, while discarding the Eight 815 in the hopes of drawing to a royal flush.
Hand state 800C shows the cards 801-805 after the discarded card characteristic (Eight 815) has been replaced. As can be seen, the replacement value is an Ace 821, which provides a resulting hand 800C of a royal flush. Thus, the embodiment of FIG. 8A involves a five-card initial hand of draw poker where the player receives a flush on the deal, and is four cards to a royal flush. The feature of enabling selective holding/discarding of discrete card characteristics enables the player to lock up the flush, while still drawing to a possible royal flush.
FIG. 8B illustrates another example where the feature is used to give the player a better opportunity to achieve one of multiple possible outcomes. FIG. 8B again illustrates an embodiment where one initial hand 850A is presented for play, although the principles described are equally applicable to multiple hands. Like reference numbers are used in FIG. 8B in the various stages of play where applicable.
A hand 850A of five cards 851, 852, 853, 854, 855 is presented in the illustrated embodiment, although other numbers of cards could be presented. The example shows that the five cards 851-855 of hand 850A include card 851 which is the King of Hearts, as noted by the King value 861 and the Heart suit 866. Similarly, card 852 of hand 850A includes the Seven 862 of Hearts 867, card 853 includes the Ace 863 of Hearts 868, card 854 includes the Ace 864 of Clubs 869, and card 855 includes the King 865 of Spades 870.
Referring to hand state 850B, it can be seen that various card characteristics have been held. Particularly, the card values King 861, Ace 863, Ace 864 and King 865 of the respective cards 851, 853, 854 and 855 have been held. The held cards are depicted as highlighted in FIG. 8B. Additionally, card suits 866, 867 and 868 of the respective cards 851-853 have been held. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the card characteristics identified for discarding and replacement are card value 862 of card 852, and suits 869 and 870 of cards 854, 855 respectively. As can be seen, the player has held the two pair (Kings 861/865 and Aces 863/864), while discarding other card characteristics s in the hopes of drawing to either a full house or a flush.
Hand state 850C shows the cards 851-855 after the discarded card characteristics (Seven 862, Club 869 and Spade 870) have been replaced. As can be seen, the replacement values are the King 871 in card 852, the Diamond 872 in card 854, and the Club 873 in card 855. The resulting hand 850C has resulted in a full house of Kings 861, 871, 865 over Aces 863, 864. Thus, the embodiment of FIG. 8B involves a five-card initial hand of draw poker where the player receives two pair on the deal, is two cards to a flush, and one card to a full house. The feature of enabling selective holding/discarding of discrete card characteristics enables the player to lock up any desired cards (e.g., the two pair), while still drawing to one or more other possible outcomes such as a full house or a flush. As can be seen, the features described herein enable holding of any cards to preserve, or increase or otherwise change the chances of, a winning outcome.
It is noted that in the example of FIG. 8B the player did not additionally or alternatively receive a flush outcome in response to the draw to new suits 872, 873. In one embodiment, duplicate cards are not allowed; e.g., the Ace of Hearts cannot be provided twice in the same resulting hand. In other embodiments, such duplicates are allowed in the resulting hand as a result of the card characteristics draw.
For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 8B, if duplicates are allowed, the player could obtain both a full house and a flush. This is because multiple card values having the same suit would be required to obtain both a resulting hand based on matching card values (e.g., pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, full house, four-of-a-kind, etc.), and a resulting hand based on matching suits (e.g., flush, straight flush, royal flush, etc.).
If duplicates are not allowed as in some embodiments, the player could obtain only one of the full house or flush outcomes. For example, rules can be provided to enable a processor or other controller to prohibit providing replacement cards that will result in duplicate cards. As a more particular example, if the King 861 of Hearts 866 in hand state 850B were both held, the processor or other controller would not allow a King 871 to be the replacement rank at card 852 of hand 850C, since Card 851 of hand 850C is already a King of Hearts.
The embodiments of FIGS. 6, 7, 8A and 8B assumes a draw poker embodiment in an electronic embodiment played on a video poker machine or other computer-implemented apparatus, and therefore it is assumed the cards are “dealt” by presenting the cards via a display screen.
The features described herein may be used in connection with slot machines, computing devices and/or other gaming devices. FIG. 9 illustrates a representative embodiment of a casino-style gaming device in which the principles described herein may be applied. For purposes of explanation, the description of the gaming device is FIG. 9 is provided in terms of a kiosk, slot machine, or video poker machine 900. However, the present invention is analogously applicable to other computer-based systems.
The illustrated gaming machine 900 includes a computing system (not shown) to carry out operations according to the disclosure. The illustrated gaming machine 900 includes a display 902, and a user interface 904, although some or all of the user interface may be provided via the display 902 in touch screen embodiments. The user interface 904 allows the user to control and engage in play of the gaming machine 900. The particular user interface mechanisms associated with user interface 904 is dependent on the type of gaming machine. For example, the user interface 904 may include one or more buttons, switches, joysticks, levers, pull-down handles, trackballs, voice-activated input, or any other user input system or mechanism that allows the user to play the particular gaming activity.
The user interface 904 may allow the user to enter coins, bills, or otherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, credit cards, tickets, etc. Various mechanisms for entering such vouchers, tokens, credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are known in the art. For example, coin/token input mechanisms, card readers, credit card readers, smart card readers, punch card readers, and other mechanisms may be used to enter wagers. It is through the user interface 904 that the user can initiate and engage in an electronic poker activity as described herein. For example, the player can use the user interface 904 and/or touch screen inputs to indicate the number of hands to play 906, place wagers 908, make gaming decisions (e.g., bet max) 910 or place side bets 912 that will otherwise make the player eligible for such features, etc. The user interface 904 may also enable the user to identify which card characteristics will be held/discarded for the cards in play, as depicted by user interface block 914. While the illustrated embodiment depicts various buttons for the user interface 904, it should be recognized that a wide variety of user interface options may be used, including pressing buttons, touching a segment of a touch-screen, entering text, entering voice commands, or other known user entry methodology.
As noted above, touch screen technology may be used to enable the player to identify card characteristics (e.g., card value, card suit, etc.) and perform other actions in connection with the games. The desired card characteristics in cards of a hand 920 may, in addition to or in lieu of using the user interface 904, be identified for holding or discarding by touching an area of the display 902, such as touching 922 proximate the particular card characteristic 924 and/or other designated areas 926.
The display device 902 may include one or more of an electronic display, a mechanical display, and fixed display information such as paytable information associated with a glass/plastic panel 928. A display segment or panel 930 may also be provided to present information such as the accumulated credits, current bet amount such as “10” credits (where credits may represent, for example, coins, tokens, dollars, etc.), the number of hands played, total bet, the number of credits paid out or “won” on a particular play, etc. A wager acceptor 932 is operative to receive wager tokens, coins, bills, credit/debit cards, coupons, smart cards, prepaid casino cards, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, and the like.
In the illustrated embodiment, the user is shown to play a draw poker hand 920, where the player is selecting the card characteristic 924 of a Spade to hold in the card 934. The card characteristic 924 may be highlighted or otherwise indicated as a held (or alternatively discarded) card characteristic. In a single hand game as shown, any discarded card characteristics will be replaced. Embodiments also include enabling the player to concurrently play multiple hands, whether dealt initially, created through replication of held card characteristics, etc. For example, where created through replication, any held card characteristics may be replicated into other corresponding cards of one or more additional hands. These other hands would also receive replacement card characteristics.
An example of a multi-hand game employing features described herein is illustrated in FIG. 10. Assume a first hand 1000 is dealt, including cards 1001-1005. The player may opt to hold all card characteristics except for the Eight 1006, which is thus discarded. The held card characteristics are replicated into one or more other hands, such as hands 1010 and 1020 including cards 1011-1015 and 1021-1025 respectively. Each of the hands 1000, 1010, 1020 then receives replacement card characteristics for those card characteristics that were not held, such as shown at card characteristic locations 1006, 1016 and 1026. In this manner, held card characteristics are replicated into one or more other playable hands in an attempt to increase the chances of obtaining a winning payout and/or increase the chances of obtaining a higher paying award.
Returning to FIG. 9, the device 900 may be programmed to facilitate these and other embodiments. The features described herein may be implemented as a casino gaming machine such as a video poker machine or other special purpose gaming kiosk as described in FIG. 9, or may be implemented via computing systems operating under the direction of local gaming software, and/or remotely-provided software such as provided by an application service provider (ASP). The casino gaming machine may utilize a computing system to control and manage the gaming activity. An example of a representative computing system capable of carrying out operations in accordance with the disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 11.
Hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof may be used to perform the various gaming functions, display presentations and operations described herein. The functional modules in accordance with the disclosure may reside in a gaming machine as described, or may alternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computing device/system. The computing structure 1100 of FIG. 11 is an exemplary computing structure that can be used in connection with such electronic gaming machines, computers, or other computer-implemented devices to carry out operations described herein. It should be noted that the representative computing structure of FIG. 9 or analogous computing structure may be used on a local computer, kiosk, server, or any other device providing or serving the gaming functions. It should also be noted that the computing arrangement of FIG. 11 may be distributed across multiple devices (e.g., processing components at a server, and display and user interface components at a local gaming machine, etc.).
The example computing arrangement 1100 suitable for performing the gaming functions according to the disclosure typically includes a central processor (CPU) 1102 coupled to random access memory (RAM) 1104 and some variation of read-only memory (ROM) 1106. The ROM 1106 may also represent other types of storage media to store programs, such as programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), etc. The processor 1102 may communicate with other internal and external components through input/output (I/O) circuitry 1108 and bussing 1110, to provide control signals, communication signals, and the like.
Chance-based gaming systems such as video poker machines, in which the present disclosure is applicable, may be governed by random numbers and processors. A display device 1111 is used to display the gaming activity as facilitated by one or more random number generators (RNG). RNGs are known in the art, and may be implemented using hardware, software operable in connection with the processor 1102, or some combination of hardware and software. Any known RNG may be used, and may be integrally programmed as part of the processor 1102 operation, or alternatively may be a separate RNG controller 1140.
The computing arrangement 1100 may also include one or more data storage devices, including hard and floppy disk drives 1112, CD-ROM drives 1114, and other hardware capable of reading and/or storing information such as DVD, FLASH drives, etc. In one embodiment, software for carrying out operations in accordance with the disclosure may be stored and distributed on a CD-ROM 1116, diskette 1118, DVD, FLASH device or other form of media capable of portably storing information. These storage media may be inserted into, and read by, devices such as the CD-ROM drive 1114, the disk drive 1112, etc. The software may also be transmitted to the computing arrangement 1100 via data signals, such as being downloaded electronically via a network, such as the Internet. Further, as previously described, software for carrying out functions associated with the present disclosure may alternatively be stored in internal memory/storage of the computing device 1100, such as in the ROM 1106 or other storage.
The computing arrangement 1100 may be coupled to the display 1111, which represents a display on which the gaming activities may be presented. The display 1111 may be any type of known display or presentation screen, such as LCD displays, plasma display, cathode ray tubes (CRT), etc. Where the computing device 1100 represents a stand-alone or networked computer, the display 1111 may represent a standard computer terminal or display capable of displaying multiple windows, frames, etc. Where the computing device is embedded within an electronic gaming machine (see FIG. 9), the display 1111 corresponds to the display screen of the gaming machine/kiosk. A user input interface 1122 such as a mouse, buttons, keyboard/keypad, microphone, touch pad, trackball, joystick, touch screen, voice-recognition system, etc. may be provided.
The computing arrangement 1100 may be connected to other computing devices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computing arrangement 1100 may be connected to a network server 1128 in an intranet or local network configuration. The computer may further be part of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN) such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer may access one or more web servers 1130 via the network/Internet 1132.
Other components directed to gaming machine implementations include manners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. For example, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 1100 may also include a hopper controller 1142 to determine the amount of payout to be provided to the participant. The hopper controller may be integrally implemented with the processor 1102, or alternatively as a separate hopper controller 1142. A hopper 1144 may also be provided in gaming machine embodiments, where the hopper serves as the mechanism holding the coins/tokens of the machine. The wager input module 1146 represents any mechanism for accepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills, electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, credit cards, smart cards, membership cards, etc., for which a participant inputs a wager amount.
Additionally, the computing arrangement 1100 may include a transmitter (TX) 1150, and may include a receiver (RX) 1152. These TX 1150 and RX 1152 components may be discrete components, or aggregated such as in the case of a transceiver. The receiver function provided by the RX 1152 can be configured to receive information from any type of network, such as a local area network (LAN), wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11 a/b/g/n), wired network (e.g., Internet), wireless network (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS), proximity networks (e.g., Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networks), and/or other wired/wireless network technologies. For example, the RX 1152 may receive programming and/or operational information from a server 1128 or 1130 where the system is server-based. Any such server may include computing components analogous to those depicted in FIG. 11. Information such as wager information or other data used by a server can be provided to the appropriate server 1128, 1130 or other device or network entity via the TX 1150. It should also be recognized that the computing arrangement 1100 of FIG. 11 may be implemented in a gaming apparatus, or in a server or other network entity.
The operational principles described herein may be played in connection with electronic embodiments, or in live table games. In live table games, the deck(s) of cards may include identifiable card characteristics, or other items, circuits, or the like may be used to identify the values, suits and/or other card characteristics to be held/discarded by the player.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to precise forms that are disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. For example, the present disclosure is equally applicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines, and is also applicable to live table versions of gaming activities that are capable of being played in a table version (e.g., slot machines involving poker or card games that could be played via table games).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

presenting a hand of a plurality of cards on a display, wherein each of the cards has a card value and a card suit;

facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in each of the cards via a user interface;

replacing the card values for any of the card values not held, and replacing the card suits for any of the card suits not held; and

presenting via the display a resulting hand of the cards that includes the held and replaced card values and card suits.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting a plurality of the hands, wherein each of the cards in each of the plurality of the hands has a card value and a card suit, and wherein:

facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits comprises facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in each of the cards of each of the plurality of hands;

replacing the card values for any of the card values not held and replacing the card suits for any of the card suits not held comprises replacing the card values and card suits for any of the card hands and suits not held in each of the cards of each of the plurality of hands; and

presenting a resulting hand of the cards comprises presenting a plurality of the resulting hands of the cards, each of which includes the held and replaced card values and card suits for the respective resulting hand.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the hand of cards comprises enabling user selection of the card values and the card suits in which to retain and not replace.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the hand of cards comprises enabling user selection of the card values and the card suits in which to replace and not retain.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting a hand of a plurality of cards comprises presenting a five-card hand.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting a hand of a plurality of cards comprises presenting an initial number of cards greater than five cards, and wherein presenting a resulting hand of the cards comprises presenting the resulting hand using five of the cards of the initial number of cards that create the highest poker rank after the replacement any of the card values and card suits.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein replacing the card values for any of the card values not held and replacing the card suits for any of the card suits not held comprises replacing the card values and/or card suits such that no resulting cards of the resulting hand are duplicates.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein replacing the card values for any of the card values not held and replacing the card suits for any of the card suits not held comprises replacing the card values and/or card suits such that one or more of the resulting cards of the resulting hand are duplicates as a result of the replacement.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the presented hand meets at least one defined criteria; and

enabling the user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in response to the presented hand meeting the at least one defined criteria.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein facilitating user identification comprises determining, based on defined play rules, which of the card values and card suits to hold on behalf of the user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a paytable of poker ranks, and providing a payout for the resulting hand based on which of the poker ranks in the paytable correspond to the resulting hand.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a display configured to present at least one initial hand of a plurality of cards, wherein each of the cards has a card value and a card suit;

a user interface configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain for each of the plurality of cards in the at least one initial hand;

a processor configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained; and

wherein the display is further configured to present at least one resulting hand for each of the at least one initial hands that includes the retained card values, the retained card suits, the replacement card values and the replacement card suits.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user interface comprises a touch screen configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain by touching the display proximate the card values and the card suits in which to retain.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user interface comprises a touch screen configured to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain by touching the display proximate the card values and the card suits that are to be replaced.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the processor is further configured to replicate the retained card values and retained card suits into one or more additional hands presented on the display, and to additionally replace the card values and the card suits for cards of the additional one or more additional hands presented on the display; and

the display is further configured to present a plurality of resulting hands corresponding to the at least one initial hand and the one or more additional hands, wherein the cards in each of the plurality of resulting hands includes the retained and replaced card values and card suits.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the display is configured to present the at least one initial hand having an initial number of cards greater than five, and wherein the processor is further configured to identify the at least one resulting hand using five of the cards of the initial number of cards that yield a highest poker rank attainable on a paytable after replacement of any of the card values and card suits.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained by providing resulting cards that conform to a standard fifty-two card virtual deck of cards without duplication.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to provide replacement card values and replacement card suits for any of the card values and card suits that are not retained by providing resulting cards that conform to cards of a standard fifty-two card virtual deck of cards while allowing duplication of the resulting cards.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the at least one initial hand meets at least one defined criteria, and to enable the user interface to facilitate player designation of the card values and the card suits in which to retain for each of the plurality of cards in the at least one initial hand in response to the initial hand meeting the at least one defined criteria.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize play rules to determine which of the card values and card suits to automatically retain on behalf of the player.

21. A method comprising:

presenting an initial hand of cards having a plurality of cards on a display, wherein each of the cards has a card value and a card suit;

facilitating user identification of the card values and the card suits in which to hold in the initial hand of cards;

replicating the held card values and held card suits into one or more additional hands presented on the display;

replacing the card values for any of the card values and card suits that are not held for the initial hand and the one or more additional hands; and

presenting via the display resulting hands of the cards corresponding to the initial hand and each of the one or more additional hands, wherein the cards in each of the resulting hands includes the held and replaced card values and card suits.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein replacing the card values and the card suits comprises replacing the card values and the card suits for each corresponding card in the hand and in each of the one or more additional hands with like card values and card suits.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein replacing the card values and the card suits comprises replacing the card values and the card suits for each corresponding card in the hand and in each of the one or more additional hands with different card values and card suits.