Four card poker game with variable wager

Abstract

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

1 . A method of playing a wagering game utilizing at least one deck of standard 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 a first number of cards to form a dealer's hand, wherein the first number of cards being at least one card greater than a first designated number of cards to be allowed in determining the poker rank of the dealer's hand;    dealing a second number of cards to each of the one or more participating players to form one or more respective player's hands, wherein the second number of cards being at least one card greater than a second designated number of cards to be allowed in determining the poker rank of each participating player's hand;    receiving a variable play wager from each of the participating players after each of the participating players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein the variable play wager is at least 1× the ante wager and 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 achieved using the first designated number of cards from the first number of 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 achieved using the second designated number of cards from the second number of cards forming the dealer's hand; and    resolving each player's hand against the dealer's hand according to predetermined game rules.    
     
     
         2 . (canceled)  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first number of cards is the same as the second number of cards.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first number of cards is at least one greater than the second number of cards.  
     
     
         5 . (canceled)  
     
     
         6 . (canceled)  
     
     
         7 . (canceled)  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first number of cards is six and the second number of cards is five.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first designated number and the second designated number are both four.  
     
     
         10 . (canceled)  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the variable play wager is an amount substantially equal to a multiple of the Ante wager.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the variable play wager may be a multiple of the Ante wager selected from the group consisting of 1×, 2×, 3×, 4× and 5×.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein a multiple greater than 1× may be selected if the best poker rank of the player's hand is greater than a predetermined poker rank.  
     
     
         14 . 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 a first number of cards to form a dealer's hand and a second number of cards to each of the participating players to form one or more respective player's hands;    receiving a variable play wager from the participating players after each of the participating players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein the variable play wager is a multiple of the ante wager at least 1× the ante wager and any participating player not placing the variable play wager forfeits their respective ante wager and no longer participates in resolving the round of the game; and    resolving the ante and variable 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 variable 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 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.    
     
     
         15 . (canceled)  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first number of cards is the same as the second number of cards.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first number of cards is at least one greater than the second number of cards.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the dealer is dealt at least one more additional card when the best poker rank of the dealer's hand is less than a minimum predetermined poker rank.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first number of cards and second number of cards are both five.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first number of cards is six and the second number of cards is five.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the designated number is four.  
     
     
         23 . (canceled)  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the second number of cards is equal to the designated number.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the variable play wager of a multiple greater than 1× the ante wager can only be placed when the best poker rank of the player's hand exceeds at least a predetermined minimum poker rank.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the variable play wager may be a multiple of the Ante wager selected from the group consisting of 1×, 2×, 3×, 4× and 5×.  
     
     
         27 . (canceled)  
     
     
         28 . 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 six cards to form a dealer's hand and five cards to each of the participating players to form the one or more respective player's hands;    dealing six cards to form a dealer's hand and five cards to each of the participating players to form the one or more respective player's hands;    receiving a variable play wager from each of the participating players to after each of the participating players is permitted to view their respective player's hand, wherein the variable play wager is a whole number multiple of the ante wager between 1 and 3, the multiple being at least partially dependent on the rank of the player's respective player's hand; and    resolving the ante and variable 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 variable 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 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.