Four card poker game

Abstract

A method of playing a wagering game utilizing playing cards including the steps of receiving an ante wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game; dealing at least four cards to form a dealer's hand; dealing at least four cards to each of the one or more participating players to form one or more respective player's hands; receiving a play wager from each of the participating players after each of the participating players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein any of the participating players not placing the variable play wager forfeits their respective ante wager; determining the best poker rank of the dealer's hand, wherein the best poker rank is the highest possible rank achievable using four cards from the cards forming the dealer's hand; determining the best poker rank of the player's hand, wherein the best poker rank is the highest possible rank achievable using four cards from the cards forming the dealer's hand; and resolving each of the participating player's hands against the dealer's hand according to predetermined game rules.

1 . A method of playing a wagering game utilizing playing cards, the game comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an ante wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game;    dealing at least four playing cards to form a dealer's hand, but at least one more card than is needed to form a final dealer's hand;    dealing at least four playing cards to each of the one or more players to form one or more respective player's hands, but at least one card more than is needed to form a final player's hand;    receiving a play wager from each of the players after each of the players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein any of the players not placing the play wager forfeits their respective ante wager;    determining the best poker rank of the dealer's hand, wherein the best poker rank is the highest possible rank achievable using four cards from the cards forming the final dealer's hand;    determining the best poker rank of the player's hand, wherein the best poker rank is the highest possible rank achievable using four cards from the cards forming the final player's hand; and    resolving each of the final player's hands of four cards against the final dealer's hand of four cards according to predetermined game rules.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein physical cards are provided to each of the participating players and the dealer.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the following steps: 
 receiving a bonus wager prior to dealing the cards to the players, wherein the bonus wager is an optional wager that may be placed by each of the one or more players; and    resolving the bonus wager for each of the participating players placing the bonus wager by comparing the best poker rank of the player's hand with one or more predetermined poker ranks.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the bonus wager is mandatory.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more predetermined poker ranks for resolving the bonus wager is at least a pair or better.  
     
     
         6 . A method of playing a wagering game utilizing at least one deck of standard playing cards, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an ante wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game;    dealing at least four cards to form a dealer's hand and at least four cards to each of the players to form one or more respective player's hands;    requiring each of the players to place a play wager after each of the players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein the play wager is at least equal to the ante wager and any player not placing the play wager forfeits their respective ante wager and no longer participates in resolving the player hand against the dealer hand; and    resolving the ante and play wagers by comparing the best poker rank of the dealer's hand with the best poker rank of the player's hand associated with each of the participating players placing a play wager,    wherein the best poker rank of the dealer's hand is the highest possible rank achievable using a designated number of cards from the first number of cards forming the dealer's hand, and the designated number is smaller than the first number and the best poker rank of the player's hand is the highest possible rank achievable using the designated number of cards from the second number of cards forming the player's hand, and the designated number is also smaller than the second number.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein physical cards are provided to each of the participating players and the dealer.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the at least four cards comprises 5 cards.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the at least four cards dealt to the player comprises five cards.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the at least one deck of playing cards may include a wild card.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 6  wherein each player hand and dealer hand may contain a wild card.  
     
     
         12 . A method of playing a wagering game utilizing at least one deck of playing cards, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving an ante wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game against a dealer hand;    dealing at least five cards to form a dealer's hand and five cards to each of the players to form the one or more respective player's hands;    requiring each of the players to place a play wager after each of the players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein any player not placing a play wager forfeits their respective ante wager and no longer participates in resolving the wagering game against the dealer hand; and    resolving the ante and play wagers by comparing the best poker rank of the dealer's hand with the best poker rank of the player's hand associated with each of the participating players placing a play wager, wherein the best poker rank of the dealer's hand is the highest possible rank achievable using a designated number of cards from the first number of cards forming the dealer's hand and the best poker rank and the designated number is smaller than the first number and the best poker rank of the player's hand is the highest possible rank achievable using the designated number of cards from the second number of cards forming the player's hand and the designated number is also smaller than the second number of cards.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the play wager is at least the same amount as the ante wager.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the following steps: 
 receiving a bonus wager prior to dealing the cards to the players, wherein the bonus wager is an optional wager that may be placed by each of the one or more participating players; and    resolving the bonus wager for each of the participating players placing the bonus wager by comparing the best poker rank of the player's hand with one or more predetermined poker ranks.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more predetermined poker ranks for resolving the bonus wager is at least a pair or better.  
     
     
         16 . A method of playing a wagering game using at least one deck of playing cards, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game;    dealing more than four cards to each of the one or more players to form a player's four-card hand for each of the one or more players; and    resolving the wager for each of the respective one or more player's four-card hands such that the respective player's receive an award when that player's respective four-card hand is at least a predetermined rank.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the game is played with both a dealer receiving a hand as well as the respective players receiving hands.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein a first number of cards received by the dealer to form a dealer hand is a same number of cards received by the respective players to form player four-card hands, and the first number of cards is greater than 4.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein a number of cards received by the dealer to form a dealer hand is a number of cards one greater than the number of cards received by the respective players to form player hands.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17  wherein a second number of cards is received by the player to form a player hand of four cards is a number of cards received by the respective players that is greater than four.  
     
     
         21 . A method of playing a wagering game using at least one deck of playing cards, comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a wager from one or more players to participate in at least a portion of a round of the wagering game;    dealing exactly than four cards to each of the one or more players to form a player's four-card hand for each of the one or more players; and    resolving the wager for each of the respective one or more player's four-card hands such that the respective player's receive an award when that player's respective four-card hand is at least a predetermined rank.    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the game is played with both a dealer receiving an exactly 4-card hand as well as the respective players receiving hands.