Video poker game with discard play method

Abstract

A monitor screen is provided on which playing card symbols may be provided for use in video wagering games. The player makes a wager to play a draw poker game and an initial dealt hand is displayed. The player may choose to hold none, one or up to all of the cards in the dealt hand, with the remaining cards being designated as discards. The player is then given the choice to either (a) eliminate the discards or (b) pay an additional fee to save the discards as a partial dealt hand in a subsequent game. The additional fee may be a flat fee, or it may be variable as determined by the makeup of the discards. In either case (a or b), replacement cards are added to the held cards to form a final hand, and the final hand is evaluated for wins against a predetermined paytable.

1 . A method of playing an electronic poker game comprising:
 a player placing at least a first wager to play in the electronic poker game;   the player receiving an initial first set of playing cards;   the player electing to keep all, some or none of the initial first set of playing cards as a Play hand and to respectively discard none, some or all of the initial set of playing cards into a discard partial hand;   the player receiving replacement or completing cards as needed for the Play hand and retaining the discard hand for available play as a separate hand to receive additional or completing cards to for a discard partial hand; and   resolving the at least first wager.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  in which the discard partial hand is played contemporaneously with the Play hand. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the discard partial hand is retained by the player and used in a subsequent play of the electronic poker game. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the player must make an additional wager to enable retention of the discard partial hand. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the Play hand is shown in one area of a display screen and the partial discard hand is shown in another area of the display screen. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the additional wager is a fixed number of credits. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the additional wager is a player selectable number of credits between a range of allowable wagers. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 4  wherein an amount for the additional wager is dependent upon potential maximum payout on a best completed hand from the partial discard hand. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the additional wager for at least one potential maximum payout is higher than the additional wager for a partial discard hand with a lower another potential maximum payout. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the partial discard hand may be retained for use in more than one subsequent play of the electronic poker game. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the partial discard hand may be retained for use in more than one subsequent play of the electronic poker game. 
   
   
       12 . An electronic apparatus for playing an electronic wagering video game comprising a display screen and a processor containing game rules and a random number generator for enabling play of the method of  claim 1 . 
   
   
       13 . An electronic apparatus for playing an electronic wagering video game comprising a display screen and a processor containing game rules and a random number generator for enabling play of the method of  claim 3 . 
   
   
       14 . An electronic apparatus for playing an electronic wagering video game comprising a display screen and a processor containing game rules and a random number generator for enabling play of the method of  claim 4 .