System and method for playing community hand poker games utilizing dealer qualifying criteria

Abstract

A system and method for facilitating play of a poker game utilizing dealer qualification criteria that impact the manner in which the game proceeds. The player(s) and dealer ante, and starting hands are dealt to the player(s) and dealer. The player may fold and lose the ante, or place a bet. The dealer's starting hand must meet qualifying criteria, such as a particular poker rank. If it does not, the dealer does not qualify, and the player(s) win the dealer's ante amount. If the dealer's starting hand qualifies, the dealer calls the players' bets, and deals a community hand. Using their respective starting hands and the community hand, each of the players and the dealer arrives at a resulting hand. If a player's resulting hand beats the dealer's based on poker rank, that player wins. Multiple betting options and/or multiple dealer qualification criteria may be implemented to enhance gaming entertainment.

1 . A method for playing a card game, comprising:
 covering, by a dealer, a wager placed by at least one player for participation in a hand of the card game;   dealing respective starting hands to the dealer and the at least one player, wherein each of the starting hands includes one or more cards representing a potential portion of respective resulting poker hands of the dealer and the at least one player;   discontinuing the hand to the benefit of the at least one player if the dealer's starting hand does not meet one or more qualifying criteria for the hand; and   continuing the hand if the dealer's starting hand meets the at least one qualifying criterion by completing the respective resulting poker hands for the dealer and the at least one player using their respective starting hands and a community hand.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the dealer's starting hand qualifies based on whether the dealer's starting hand meets at least one dealer qualifying criterion known in advance to the at least one player. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the dealer's starting hand qualifies based on whether the dealer's starting hand meets at least one dealer qualifying criterion randomly selected from within a known range of dealer qualifying criteria. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the at least one player with an award commensurate with the wager covered by the dealer if the dealer's starting hand does not meet the one or more qualifying criteria for the hand. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , identifying a winning poker hand based on a comparison by poker rank of each of the player's resulting poker hands and the dealer's resulting poker hand. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein identifying a winning poker hand comprises:
 determining respective player poker ranks for a five-card player resulting poker hand derived from each player's starting hand of two cards and the community hand of five cards; and   determining a dealer poker rank for a five-card dealer resulting poker hand derived from the dealer's starting hand of two cards and the community hand of five cards.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising each player wagering one of a plurality of predetermined wager amounts. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising respectively establishing the qualifying criteria as a function of a wager amount wagered by each player. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising establishing the qualifying criteria as a function of the number of cards associated with the at least one player's starting hand. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one qualifying criterion comprises a qualifying poker rank for the dealer's starting hand. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein covering the wager by the dealer comprises a physical dealer matching each of the at least one player's wager. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein covering the wager by the dealer comprises providing an agreement that the dealer will provide an award to the at least one player if the dealer's starting hand does not meet the one or more qualifying criteria for the hand. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein covering the wager by the dealer comprises a virtual dealer matching each of the at least one player's wagers. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising awarding the player with a bonus if the poker rank for the respective player's resulting poker hand meets or exceeds a predetermined poker rank. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising enabling further wagers to be placed by the at least one player if the hand has been continued as a result of the dealer's starting hand meeting the at least one qualifying criterion. 
   
   
       16 . A method for playing an electronic card game, comprising:
 facilitating placement of a wager by a player for participation in a hand;   presenting a player starting hand for use by the player;   presenting a virtual dealer starting hand;   determining whether the virtual dealer starting hand meets one or more qualifying criteria;   enabling the hand to be terminated and awarding the player with an award based on the player's wager in the event that the virtual dealer starting hand does not meet the one or more qualifying criteria; and   enabling the hand to continue by presenting a plurality of community cards, deriving a player resulting hand using at least a subset of a combination of the community cards and the player starting hand, and deriving a virtual dealer resulting hand using at least a subset of a combination of the community cards and the virtual dealer starting hand, in the event that the virtual dealer starting hand meets the one or more qualifying criteria.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising comparing poker ranks of the virtual dealer resulting hand and the player resulting hand, and providing the player with an award if the player resulting hand is higher than the virtual dealer resulting hand. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising enabling further wagers to be placed by the player if the hand has been enabled to continue. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising enabling the player to select which subset of the combination of the community cards and the player's starting hand is to be used as the player resulting hand. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising identifying the subset of the combination of the community cards and the player's starting hand that has the highest poker rank, and using that subset as the player resulting hand. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the electronic card game comprises a hold'em poker game;   the player starting hand comprises two cards;   the virtual dealer starting hand comprises two cards;   the community cards comprise five community cards;   the player resulting hand comprises a five-card resulting hand having the highest poker rank possible from the collection of the five community cards and the two-card player starting hand; and   the virtual dealer resulting hand comprises a five-card resulting hand having the highest poker rank possible from the collection of the five community cards and the two-card virtual dealer starting hand.   
   
   
       22 . An apparatus facilitating participation in an electronic card game, comprising:
 a wager acceptor to accept player assets;   a user interface to facilitate placement of a wager by a player for participating in a hand of the electronic card game;   a display to present respective starting hands to the player and to a virtual dealer, wherein each of the starting hands includes one or more cards representing potential portions of respective resulting poker hands of the player and the dealer; and   a processing system configured to discontinue play of the hand to the benefit of the player if the virtual dealer's starting hand does not meet qualifying criteria for the hand, and to continue play of the hand if the virtual dealer's starting hand meets the qualifying criteria.