Video poker system and method with multiple concurrent starting hands
View Patent ↗A method involves a video poker game in which a first set of card representations is displayed at a player station display device. The first set of card representations is organized into a number of card representation subsets comprising at least one card representation in each subset. After the player selects one of the subsets, a second set of card representations is displayed at the player station display device to combine with the selected subset. The combination is used to produce an optimum card hand that represents the player's result for the game. The player's result may be determined based on the combination of cards or may be predetermined from a lottery-type game, bingo-type game, or a result generator. In the latter cases the card representations displayed in the game are controlled so as to be consistent with the result identified for the player.
1. A method including:
(a) displaying a first set of card representations at a player station display device, the first set of card representations being organized into a number of card representation subsets, each containing two or more card representations comprising a respective individual starting hand mutually exclusive to the other subsets, and being displayed as visually grouped together but visually divided from the other subsets;
(b) receiving an input from a player to select first and second ones of the number of subsets from the first set of card representations;
(c) identifying a first and second result for the player based on one or more bingo game outcomes or predetermined outcome records; and
(d) displaying a second set of card representations at the player station display device to combine with the first selected subset of the first set of card representations to produce an optimum poker hand consistent with the first result identified for the player, and to combine the second set of card representations with the second selected subset, being played as an additional starting hand, to produce a second optimum poker hand consistent with the second result identified for the player.
2. The method of claim 1 further including associating a different electronic lottery ticket with each respective card representation subset.
3. The method of claim 1 further including associating a different bingo card representation with each respective card representation subset.
4. The method of claim 1 further including displaying a label proximate each of the number of card representation subsets after displaying the second set of card representations, the respective labels indicating an optimum value for the respective combination of card representation subset and the second set of card representations.
5. The method of claim 1 in which identifying the result for the player is based on a bingo result obtained from a bingo-type game played by grouping multiple players' game play requests at a gaming server after receiving the input to select the subsets.
6. A system including:
(a) a first player station having a display device; and
(b) a distribution controller for identifying and distributing to the first player station a first set of card representations to be displayed on the display device, the first set of card representations being organized into a number of card representation subsets, each containing two or more card representations comprising a respective individual starting hand mutually exclusive to the other subsets, and being displayed as visually grouped together but visually divided from the other subsets on the display device, the distribution controller also for identifying at least a first and a second result for the player based on one or more bingo game outcomes or predetermined outcome records, the distribution controller also for identifying and distributing to the first player station a second set of card representations after a player selects at least a first and a second respective ones of the card representation subsets from the first set of card representations, the second set of card representations combining with the first card representation subset selected by the player to produce a first optimum poker hand consistent with the first result identified for the player, the second set of card representations also combining with the second card representation subset selected by the player to produce a second optimum poker hand consistent with the second result identified for the player.
7. The system of claim 6 further including a combination controller for combining the second set of card representations with each subset of the number of card representation subsets that were not selected by the player.
8. The system of claim 6 further including a prize controller to direct the display device to display a label proximate each of the number of card representation subsets, the respective labels indicating an optimum value for the respective combination of card representation subset and the second set of card representations.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the prize controller is configured to assign at least one prize to the player consistent with the first or second result identified for the player.
10. A program product stored on at least one storage medium, the program product including a set of machine-readable instructions that when executed are configured to:
(a) display a first set of card representations at a player station display device, the first set of card representations being organized into a number of card representation subsets, each containing two or more card representations comprising a respective individual starting hand mutually exclusive to the other subsets and being displayed as visually grouped together but visually divided from the other subsets;
(b) receive an input from a player to select first and second ones of the number of subsets from the first set of card representations;
(c) identify a first and second result for the player based on one or more bingo game outcomes or predetermined outcome records; and
(d) display a second set of card representations at the player station display device to combine with the first selected subset of the first set of card representations to produce an optimum poker hand consistent with the first result identified for the player, and to combine the second set of card representations with the second selected subset, being played as an additional starting hand, to produce a second optimum poker hand consistent with the second result identified for the player.
11. The program product of claim 10 wherein the set of machine-readable instructions that when executed are configured to display the first set of card representations further includes machine-readable instructions that when executed are configured to associate a different electronic lottery ticket with each subset of card representations.
12. The program product of claim 10 wherein the set of machine-readable instructions that when executed are configured to display the first set of card representations further includes machine-readable instructions that when executed are configured to associate a different bingo card representation with each subset of card representations.