Four card poker and associated games

Abstract

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

What is claimed:  
     
         1 . A casino game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, the game comprising: 
 each player placing at least one wager to participate in the casino game;    dealing a first number of cards to a dealer, said first number of cards being greater than the number of cards to be used in determination of a poker rank hand for the dealer;    dealing a second number of cards to each player, said second number of cards being greater than the number of cards to be used in determination of a poker rank hand for each player;    the dealer utilizing fewer than all of the cards dealt to form a resulting single dealer hand;    each player utilizing fewer than all of the cards dealt to form a resulting player's hand for each player, wherein the number of cards utilized in the resulting player's hands and the resulting dealer's hand are equal; and    resolving each player hand against the dealer's hand according to predetermined game rules.    
     
     
         2 . The casino game of  claim 1  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         3 . The casino game of  claim 1  wherein the first number of cards and the second number of cards are both five cards and the resulting number of dealer's cards and the resulting number of player cards are both four cards.  
     
     
         4 . The casino game of  claim 1  wherein the first number of cards is six and the second number of cards is five cards and the resulting number of dealer's cards and the resulting number of player cards are both four cards.  
     
     
         5 . The casino game of  claim 3  wherein, if the dealer's hand does not have at least a minimum predetermined rank of poker hand, the dealer is provided with one more additional card.  
     
     
         6 . The casino game of  claim 1  wherein the player makes an Ante wager prior to review of that player's second number of cards.  
     
     
         7 . The casino game of  claim 6  wherein after the player reviews that player's second number of cards, that player may place a wager of at least 1× the Ante wager to stay in the game.  
     
     
         8 . The casino game of  claim 6  wherein after the player reviews that player's second number of cards, that player may place a wager of greater then 1× the Ante wager when the player's resulting number of cards' hand exceeds at least a predetermined minimum poker ranking for a player's hand.  
     
     
         9 . The casino game of  claim 8  wherein the wager of greater than 1× is an amount equal to a multiple of the Ante wager.  
     
     
         10 . The casino game of  claim 9  wherein the multiple of the Ante wager may be selected from the group consisting of 1×, 2×, 3×, 4× and 5×.  
     
     
         11 . The casino game of  claim 5  wherein the player makes an Ante wager prior to review of that player's second number of cards.  
     
     
         12 . The casino game of  claim 11  wherein after the player reviews that player's second number of cards, that player may place a wager of at least 1× the Ante wager.  
     
     
         13 . The casino game of  claim 11  wherein after the player reviews that player's second number of cards, that player may place a wager of greater then 1× the Ante wager if the player's resulting number of cards' hand exceeds at least a predetermined minimum poker rank for a player's hand.  
     
     
         14 . The casino game of  claim 13  wherein the wager of greater than 1× may be an amount equal to a multiple of the Ante wager.  
     
     
         15 . The casino game of  claim 13  wherein the multiple of the Ante wager may be selected from the group consisting of 1×, 2×, 3×, 4× and 5×.  
     
     
         16 . The casino game of  claim 5  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         17 . The casino game of  claim 11  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         18 . The casino game of  claim 15  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         19 . The casino game of  claim 1  wherein the first number of cards exceeds the second number of cards by at least one card.  
     
     
         20 . The casino game of  claim 5  wherein the first number of cards exceeds the second number of cards by at least one card.  
     
     
         21 . The casino game of  claim 11  wherein the first number of cards exceeds the second number of cards by at least one card.  
     
     
         22 . The casino game of  claim 15  wherein the first number of cards exceeds the second number of cards by at least one card.  
     
     
         23 . The casino game of  claim 21  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         24 . The casino game of  claim 22  wherein physical cards are provided to each player and the dealer.  
     
     
         25 . The casino game of  claim 1 , wherein each player places at least one of an Ante and a Bonus Bet, and when a bonus bet is placed, paying the player a payout for achieving a predetermined winning card combination.  
     
     
         26 . The casino game of  claim 25 , wherein multiple winning combinations are predetermined, and payouts and combinations are displayed on a pay table.  
     
     
         27 . The casino game of  claim 25 , and further comprising an automatic bonus paid on the ante for at least one predetermined winning combination.  
     
     
         28 . A live casino game betting method comprising the steps of: 
 each player placing a first wager to participate in a live casino game;    a dealer dealing a plurality of cards to each player;    the dealer dealing a plurality of cards to the dealer;    each player optionally folding or making an additional bet that is a multiple of the first wager, wherein the multiple is at least 1 and can be varied at the option of the player; and    resolving the wager according to predetermined game rules.    
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  wherein both the dealer excludes at least one card from determining a hand to be ranked and each player excludes at least one card from each player's hand to form a hand to be ranked against the dealer's hand.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the dealer and the player are initially dealt exactly five cards and resolution of game rules is based upon ranking of four card hands.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the dealer is initially dealt exactly six cards and the player is initially dealt exactly five cards and resolution of game rules is based upon ranking of four card hands.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the dealer and the player are initially dealt exactly five cards and resolution of game rules is based upon ranking of four card hands, and the dealer is dealt a sixth card only if the dealer's four-card poker hand rank with the initial five cards does not at least equal a predetermined dealer's minimum hand rank.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the dealer's minimum hand rank is at least a rank less than one pair.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the dealer's minimum hand rank is at least a rank of one pair.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the at least a first wager is an Ante and the player must make the additional wager to stay in the game, and the additional wager may be a multiple selected from values between 1× and 5×.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the at least a first wager is an Ante and the player must make the additional wager to stay in the game, and the additional wager may be a multiple selected from the group consisting of 1×, 2×, 3×, 4× and 5×.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the multiple wager may exceed 1× only if the player's four-card poker rank exceeds a predetermined player's minimum four-card poker rank.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the multiple wager may exceed 1× only if the player's four-card poker rank exceeds a predetermined player's minimum four-card poker rank.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the dealer is provided with one additional card after receiving the dealer's initial plurality of cards.  
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39  wherein the player may make an additional wager before the dealer receives the additional card.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the player may make the additional wager after the dealer has determined that the four-card poker rank of the dealer's hand in the initial cards dealt does not meet at least the rank of a dealer's predetermined minimum four-card poker rank.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 1 , and further including a mandatory Super Bonus bet, wherein payouts are made on the Super Bonus bet for predetermined hand ranks.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42  wherein the Super Bonus bet pays odds for predetermined winning hands.  
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 42  wherein the Su per Bonus and Ante bets are equal.  
     
     
         45 . A live casino game betting method comprising the steps of: 
 each player placing a first wager to participate in a live casino game;    a dealer dealing a plurality of cards to each player;    the dealer dealing a plurality of cards to the dealer;    each player optionally folding or making an additional bet that is of proportionate value to the ANTE wager, but not necessarily equal to the ANTE wager; and    resolving the wager according to predetermined game rules.