Methods and devices for playing a card game having multiple wagering opportunities

Abstract

A method of playing and presenting a game offers players the opportunity for multi-tier wagering and side or proposition bets. In one embodiment a card game offers an ante, secondary, tertiary and quaternary wagering options on a player hand against a dealer hand and proposition bets on the player and/or dealer hands. The game may comprise a card game in which initial cards are dealt to each player and the dealer and then then community flop, river and turn cards are dealt, with each player and the dealer forming a best five card poker hand from seven cards. The game may be presented using physical game places at a game table or via an electronic gaming device.

1 .- 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A gaming machine comprising:
 at least one controller;   at least one electronic display;   at least one player input device;   at least one memory device;   non-transitory machine readable code stored in said at least one memory device and executable by said at least one controller to:   accept an ante wager and, optionally, a proposition bet on a player hand and/or dealer hand;   cause said electronic display to display at least one initial playing card dealt to each of the player and a dealer;   cause said at least one controller to receive an election from said at least one player to fold or place a secondary wager;   cause said electronic display to display at least one flop card;   to cause said at least one controller to receive an election from said at least one player to fold or place a tertiary wager if said player has not already folded;   cause said electronic display to display at least one river and/or turn card;   cause said at least one controller to receive an election from said at least one player to fold or place a quaternary wager if said player has not already folded;   cause said at least one controller to determine an outcome of said ante, secondary, tertiary and quaternary wagers if said player has not folded by a comparison of a player hand formed from the at least one initial playing card dealt to the player and the at least one flop card and at least one river and/or turn card to a dealer hand formed from the at least one initial playing card dealt to the dealer and the at least one flop card and at least one river and/or turn card, regardless of the rank of the dealer's hand; and   cause said at least one controller to determine an outcome of said proposition bet with reference to the player's hand and/or dealer's hand.   
     
     
         20 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein if the player has placed a proposition bet, the outcome of the proposition bet is determined regardless of whether the player has folded and regardless of the outcome of the ante, secondary, tertiary and quaternary wagers. 
     
     
         21 . The gaming machine in accordance with claim  1  wherein said at least one proposition bet comprises a player hand bet that the player hand will meet predetermined criteria and/or a dealer hand bet that the dealer hand will meet predetermined criteria. 
     
     
         22 . The gaming ng machine in accordance with  claim 21  wherein said predetermined criteria comprises that the hand comprises a poker hand having a rank of Three of a Kind or higher. 
     
     
         23 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said at least one flop card comprise three flop cards and wherein said at least one river and/or turn card comprises a single river card and a single turn card. 
     
     
         24 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 23  wherein said player hand comprises a best five card poker hand formed from the seven cards comprising two initial cards dealt to the player, said three flop cards and said river and turn cards. 
     
     
         25 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 23  wherein said dealer hand comprises a best five card poker hand formed from the seven cards comprising two initial cards dealt to the dealer, said three flop cards and said river and turn cards. 
     
     
         26 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said secondary and tertiary wagers each comprise an amount equal to said ante wager. 
     
     
         27 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said quaternary wager comprises an amount of 1 or 2 times the ante wager. 
     
     
         28 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said gaming machine further comprises at least one monetary value accepting device which accepts one or more physical items having associated monetary value to create or increase a monetary credit balance with said gaming machine, and wherein said wagers and bets are placed with electronic credits associated with said gaming machine 
     
     
         29 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said player loses their ante, secondary and/or tertiary wager if they fold. 
     
     
         30 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein said determining the outcome of the proposition bet is determined regardless of whether the player folded, if the player placed at least one proposition bet. 
     
     
         31 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein the outcome of said ante, secondary, tertiary and quaternary wagers is winning if the player's hand comprises a poker hand having a rank of Three of a Kind or greater and beats the dealer's hand. 
     
     
         32 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 31  further comprising machine-readable code executable by said at least controller causing said at least one controller to award winnings according to the following pay table for a winning player hand: 
       
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Winning Hand 
                   Pays 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Royal Flush 
                   100 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Straight Flush 
                   20 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Four of a Kind 
                   4 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Full House 
                   3 to 2 
                 
                     
                   All Other Wins 
                   1 to 1 
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
                
               
               
                
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         33 . The gaming ng machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein the outcome of a proposition bet on the player's hand is winning if the player's hand has a poker rank of at least Three of a Kind and the outcome of a proposition bet on the dealer's hand is winning if the player's hand has a poker rank of at least Three of a Kind. 
     
     
         34 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 33  further comprising machine-readable code executable by said at least controller causing said at least one controller to award winnings according to the following pay table for a winning proposition bet on the player or dealer hand: 
       
         
           
                 
                 
                 
               
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Winning Hand 
                   Pays 
                 
                     
                     
                 
                     
                   Royal Flush 
                   50 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Straight Flush 
                   40 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Four of a Kind 
                   30 to 1  
                 
                     
                   Full House 
                   8 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Flush 
                   7 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Straight 
                   4 to 1 
                 
                     
                   Three of a Kind 
                   3 to 1 
                 
                     
                     
                 
             
                
                
                
               
               
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
         35 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  wherein the player loses their ante, secondary, tertiary and quaternary wagers if the player's hand has a lower poker ranking than the dealer hand. 
     
     
         36 . The gaming machine in accordance with  claim 19  where ante wager, proposition bet, secondary wager, tertiary wager and quaternary wager locations are defined at said gaming table for each player.