Four Card Poker Game with Variable Wager

Abstract

An online 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 method of managing play of a wagering game by a processor in communication with a remote user device, comprising:
 receiving, by a processor from the user device, an indication of a mandatory ante wager and a mandatory bonus wager associated with a player to participate in the wagering game;   determining, by the processor, a set of player hands, each player hand including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards;   providing, by the processor, a player hand to the user device for display on the associated user device;   determining, by the processor, a dealer hand including five randomized playing cards from the set of playing cards;   receiving, by a processor from the user device, an indication of a best four-card poker hand for a player;   determining, by the processor, a best four-card poker dealer hand using the dealer hand;   receiving, by the processor from the user device, a game play election option including one of a fold election and a play wager election, wherein an amount of the play wager is variable and equals the ante wager or, if the player hand rank exceeds a predetermined threshold ranking, the play wager optionally equals up to three times the ante wager;   resolving, by the processor, the ante and play wager by comparing the best four-card poker hand of the player to the best four-card poker hand of the dealer;   the processor enabling paying a payout on the ante when the player hand outranks the dealer hand; and   resolving the bonus wager by comparing the player poker hand ranking to a bonus threshold and resolving the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ante wager is placed in wagering elements. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the wagering elements are play-for-fun credits. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising awarding a quantity of wagering elements to the set of players based on a hierarchy of players. 
     
     
         5 . A method of managing play of a wagering game by a processor in communication with a remote user device, comprising:
 receiving, by a processor from a remote user device, an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager for a player playing on the user device to participate in the wagering game;   determining, by the processor, a player hand, each player hand including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards;   providing, by the processor, the player hand to the user device for display on the user device;   receiving an instruction from the user device to form a best four-card hand from the player hand;   providing, for display on the user device, the best four-card player hand;   receiving, by the processor from the user device a game play election option including at least one of a fold election and a play wager election, wherein an amount of the play wager is variable and equals the ante wager or, if the player hand rank exceeds a threshold ranking, the play wager optionally equals up to three times the ante wager;   adding, by the processor, the ante, bonus and play wagers to a game pot; and   resolving, by the processor, at least the ante and play wagers by awarding at least a portion of the game pot to the player when a player poker hand ranking exceeds a dealer poker hand ranking; and   resolving the bonus wager by comparing the player hand to a bonus threshold and resolving the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , and further comprising receiving, by the processor from the remote user device, an indicate of a poker wager, wherein all poker wagers are combined in a poker pot, and wherein the poker pot has no house advantage. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising adding an additional bonus wager to the game pot, and awarding at least a portion of the game pot based on a predetermined event. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein a rake is collected from wagers combined in the game pot. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the predetermined event is selected from the group consisting of a predetermined number of hands, a predetermined number of rounds, a predetermined time limit, and a predetermined amount in the second pot. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the predetermined event is a player hand meeting a qualifying hand or better. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the game pot is a progressive pot. 
     
     
         12 . A system for managing play of a wagering game, comprising:
 a communications interface communicating with a plurality of user devices, each user device corresponding to a different player;   a processor configured to execute instructions; and   a set of instructions stored on a non-volatile medium that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
 receive, from each user device, an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager associated with a player to participate in the wagering game; 
 determine a player hand for each user device, each player hand including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards; 
 provide a player hand to each user device; 
 determine a dealer hand including five randomized playing cards from the set of playing cards; 
 receive, from each user device, an indication of a best four-card hand from a received five card player hand; 
 determine, a four-card poker dealer hand using the dealer hand; 
 receive, from each user device, a game play election option including a fold election or a play wager election, an amount of the play wager that is variable and equals the ante wager or, if the player hand rank exceeds a threshold ranking, the play wager optionally equals up to three times the ante wager; 
 resolve each ante and play wager by comparing the associated poker playing hand to the poker dealer hand; and 
 resolve each bonus wager by comparing the associated poker playing hand to a bonus threshold and resolving the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the ante wager is placed in wagering elements. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the wagering elements are play-for-fun credits. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to award a quantity of wagering elements to the set of players based on a hierarchy of players. 
     
     
         16 . A system for managing play of a wagering game, comprising:
 a communications interface communicating with a plurality of remote user devices, each operated by a different player;   a processor configured to execute instructions; and   a set of instructions stored on a non-volatile medium, that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
 receive, from each user device an indication of an ante wager and a bonus wager e 
 determine a set of player hands, each player hand including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards for each user device; 
 determine a dealer hand including five randomized playing cards from a set of playing cards; 
 provide each player hand to each user device; 
 receive, from each user device an indication of a best four-card poker hand from each five card poker hand; 
 receive, from each user device a game play option including a fold or a play wager that is variable and equals the ante wager or, if the player hand rank exceeds a threshold ranking, the play wager optionally equals up to three times the ante wager; 
 deliver, by the processor a best four card dealer hand from the five card dealer hand to each user device; 
 compare, by the processor a best four card hand of the dealer and of the player; 
 add, by the processor, the ante and play wagers to a game pot; 
 award, by the processor, at least a portion of the game pot to the player having a hand ranking that outranks a dealer hand ranking; and 
 resolve each bonus wager by comparing the associated poker playing hand to a bonus threshold and resolving the bonus wager according to a bonus pay table. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , and further comprising the processor accepting a poker wager from a user device, wherein the poker wagers are combined into a poker pot and wherein the poker pot has no house advantage. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to add an optional bonus wager to the game pot and award a portion of the game pot based on occurrence of a predetermined event. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein a rake is collected from the second pot. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the predetermined event is selected from the group consisting of a predetermined number of hands, a predetermined number of rounds, a predetermined time limit, and a predetermined amount in the second pot. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the predetermined event is a player hand meeting a qualifying hand or better. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the game pot is a progressive pot.