Gaming method and a gaming system

1. An electronic gaming system, comprising:

a game server configured to conduct a first instance of a base game;

a first gaming machine having a credit input mechanism through which a first credit balance is established for a first player, said first gaming machine including:

a first game controller; and

a first tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the first game controller, cause the first game controller to perform operations comprising:

selecting a first plurality of symbols to form a first player hand for play in the first instance of the base game in response to receiving a wager from the first player against the first credit balance, the first plurality of symbols including a first number of hole cards dealt only to the first player and at least one community card;

selecting a second plurality of symbols to form a first jackpot hand;

determining whether at least one of the first plurality of symbols forming the first player hand for the first instance of the base game matches at least one of the second plurality of symbols forming the first jackpot hand; and

adjusting, based on the determining, the first credit balance by a first jackpot award, wherein the first jackpot award is associated with a first value when the first number of hole cards in the first player hand matches a first number of symbols in the first jackpot hand, and wherein the first jackpot award is associated with a second value when the first number of hole cards in the first player hand matches a second number of symbols in the first jackpot hand; and

a second gaming machine having a credit input mechanism through which a second credit balance is established for a second player, said second gaming machine including:

a second game controller; and

a second tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the second game controller, cause the second game controller to perform operations comprising:

selecting a third plurality of symbols to form a second player hand for play in the first instance of the base game in response to receiving a wager from the second player against the second credit balance, the third plurality of symbols including a second number of hole cards dealt only to the second player and at least one community card;

selecting a fourth plurality of symbols to form a second jackpot hand wherein the fourth plurality of symbols differs from the second plurality of symbols;

determining whether at least one of the third plurality of symbols forming the second player hand for the first instance of the base game matches at least one of the fourth plurality of symbols matching the second jackpot hand; and

adjusting, based on the determining, the second credit balance by a second jackpot award, wherein the second jackpot award is associated with a first value when the second number of hole cards in the second player hand matches a first number of symbols in the second jackpot hand, and wherein the second jackpot award is associated with a second value when the second number of hole cards in the second player hand matches a second number of symbols in the second jackpot hand.

2. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a player interface including at least a game play mechanism, an input device, an output device, and at least one speaker.

3. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first game controller is communicatively coupled to at least one of a display, a touch screen, a button, a ticket reader, a card reader, a printer, a bill acceptor, a coin input mechanism, and a coin output mechanism.

4. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of symbols and the second plurality of symbols correspond to cards in the first instance of the base game, wherein the base game comprises a poker game and the symbols comprise playing card symbols.

5. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of symbols are selected from one set of fifty-two playing card symbols and the second plurality of symbols are selected from another set of fifty-two playing card symbols.

6. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises five symbols and the second plurality of symbols comprises five symbols.

7. The electronic gaming system in accordance with claim 1 wherein, when the at least one of the first plurality of symbols matches the at least one of the second plurality of symbols, and the at least one of the third plurality of symbols matches the at least one of the fourth plurality of symbols, the first game controller is further configured to:

select, in response to the determining, at least one first additional symbol for the first player associated with the first player hand; and

wherein the second game controller is further configured to:

select, in response to the determining, at least one second additional symbol for the second player associated with the second player hand; and

determine whether to award the jackpot award to the first player or to the second player based upon a comparison of the at least one first additional symbol and the at least one second additional symbol.

8. An electronic method of gaming implemented using a gaming system, the gaming system including a display configured to display a wagering game, a player input interface, a credit input mechanism including at least one of a card reader, a ticket reader, a bill acceptor, and a coin input mechanism, the credit input mechanism configured to establish a credit balance that is increasable and decreasable based on wagering activity, and a game server including a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable memory, and a game controller communicatively coupled to the memory, the method comprising:

conducting an instance of a base game on the game server;

selecting, by the game controller, a first plurality of symbols to form a first player hand for the instance of the base game, the first plurality of symbols including a first number of hole cards dealt only to the first player and at least one community card;

selecting, by the game controller, a second plurality of symbols to form a first jackpot hand;

selecting, by the game controller, a third plurality of symbols to form a second player hand for the instance of the base game, the third plurality of symbols including a second number of hole cards dealt only to the first player and at least one community card;

selecting, by the game controller, a fourth plurality of symbols to form a second jackpot hand wherein the fourth plurality of symbols differs from the second plurality of symbols;

determining, by the game controller, whether at least one of the first plurality of symbols forming the first player hand matches at least one of the second plurality of symbols forming the first jackpot hand;

determining, by the game controller, whether at least one of the third plurality of symbols forming the second player hand matches at least one of the fourth plurality of symbols forming the second jackpot hand;

generating, by the game controller and in response to the determining, a first jackpot award for the first player, wherein the first jackpot award is associated with a first value when the first number of hole cards in the first player hand matches a first number of symbols in the first jackpot hand, and wherein the first jackpot award is associated with a second value when the first number of hole cards in the first player hand matches a second number of symbols in the first jackpot hand; and

generating, by the game controller and in response to the determining, a second jackpot award for the second player, wherein the second jackpot award is associated with a first value when the second number of hole cards in the second player hand matches a first number of symbols in the second jackpot hand, and wherein the second jackpot award is associated with a second value when the second number of hole cards in the second player hand matches a second number of symbols in the second jackpot hand.

9. The method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the first plurality of symbols and the second plurality of symbols correspond to cards in the instance of the base game, wherein the base game comprises a poker game and the symbols comprise playing card symbols.

10. The method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the first plurality of symbols are selected from one set of fifty-two playing card symbols and the second plurality of symbols are selected from another set of fifty-two playing card symbols.

11. The method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises five symbols and the second plurality of symbols comprises five symbols.

12. The method in accordance with claim 8 further comprising:

determining, by the game controller, that at least one of the third plurality of symbols forming the second player hand matches at least one of the second plurality of symbols forming the first jackpot hand;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the determining, at least one first additional symbol for a first player associated with the first player hand;

selecting, by the game controller and in response to the determining, at least one second additional symbol for a second player associated with the second player hand; and

determining, by the game controller, whether to award the jackpot award to the first player or to the second player based upon a comparison of the at least one first additional symbol and the at least one second additional symbol.

13. The method in accordance with claim 8 further comprising:

determining, by the game controller, that the second player hand matches the first jackpot hand;

randomly selecting, by the game controller and in response to the determining that the second player hand matches the first jackpot hand, at least one first additional symbol for a first player associated with the first player hand and at least one second additional symbol for a second player associated with the second player hand;

comparing, by the game controller, a rank value associated with the at least one first additional symbol to a rank value associated with the at least one second additional symbol; and

awarding, by the game controller, the jackpot award based upon the comparison.