WO2007002484A2

WO2007002484A2 - Method and apparatus for conducting a poker game

Info

Publication number: WO2007002484A2
Application number: PCT/US2006/024618
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth A. Scott; Matthourasy S. Soubannarath
Original assignee: Wager, Inc.
Priority date: 2005-06-22
Filing date: 2006-06-22
Publication date: 2007-01-04
Also published as: WO2007002484A3; US20060290059A1

Abstract

Each player places at least one game wager. Game wagers include player hand proposition wagers on the composition of the player hand and inclusion of cards having predetermined characteristics in the player hand; competitive wagers on the comparison of the player hand to other player hands and/or a dealer hand; and individual card proposition wagers on an identified characteristic of a designated card of the player hand. Player hands, and optionally a dealer hand, are dealt. Wagers are resolved and rewards are issued for winning wagers.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A POKER GAME

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of wagering card games.

Specifically, the present invention is a method and apparatus for conducting a card

game in which a player hand is compared against one or more of the hands of other players at the table, the dealer, and a predetermined schedule of hands with winning

characteristics.

Background of the Invention

Many variations of poker have proven extremely popular with gamblers at all

levels, including many novice players who find the play exciting, but are afraid to

play in high-stakes games or tournaments, based on a fear of playing against the

perceived experts. Poker tournaments draw large player fields (and audiences), on- like poker sites abound, and even table implementations of video poker games have

become extremely popular. Casinos face growing player demand for poker tables of

many sorts. Established table games such as Let It Ride, Three-Card Poker and

Caribbean Stud have been joined by hybrid games like Deuces Wild, and the

demand continues to grow.

Poker wagers typically fall into two categories, with many games combining

instances of each. First, there are player banked wagers where losing wagers fund

winning wagers. These are often handled through a pot where wagers are aggregated

that is awarded to the winning player. Casino versions of such wagers often

implement a "rake," or house handling fee, to ensure their profit. The second type of wager is the house banked wager, where wagers are paid

by the casino based on the occurrence, or non-occurrence, of a specified result or event, and are not considered in competition with the wagers of other players.

Games of this sort include Roulette, slot machines, and video poker and, while most

such games involve simple, one-level, wagering, games such as craps permit of

^■ multi-level, skill based, wagers as well.

Player banked wagers appeal to the competitive nature of many players. The "best" hand wins, and there is always (or almost always) a winner. However, for a

player to win, all other players must lose, and there is rarely a potential for a high- odds payout. At player at an eight-seat Hold-em table cannot win more than seven-

to-one, and wins the same whether with one of the four possible Royal Flushes, one

of the ten-thousand-plus straights, or one of the million-plus hands which have no pair, no straight, and no flush, i.e. the "high card" hands. Li other words, the rarity

of the hand does not affect the payout, only beating the other hands does.

As each category of wager has its assets and its drawbacks, games combining wagers of different types in an effort to appeal to the goals of all players are

desirable. Further, simplifying wagering system and removing the advantage

typically inuring to the professional player makes a game more enticing to the huge

pool of non-expert, novice, or casual players.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is a method for conducting a card game for one or

more players. Each player places at least one game wager. Game wagers could

include many different wagers. For example, in one optional embodiment, game wagers include an individual card proposition wager. In this game wager, the player designates an

individual card of the player hand and, for the designated card, selects a

characteristic from a plurality of predefined characteristics. In an optional embodiment, the characteristic is a subset of cards, such as the cards of a particular

suit.

In another optional embodiment, game wagers include competitive wagers.

Competitive wagers could include game wagers against the other players or against

the dealer. hi yet another optional embodiment, game wagers include player hand

1 proposition wagers. Player hand proposition wagers are based on the composition of

the player hand. In one optional embodiment, player hand proposition wagers are resolved based on the player hand forming a winning hand according to a

predetermined pay table. Li another optional embodiment, player hand proposition

wagers are resolved based on the quantity of cards in the player hand meeting a predetermined characteristic, such as suit.

Each player receives a player hand of cards. In an optional embodiment in

which the player is allowed to place a competitive wager against the dealer, the

dealer also receives a dealer hand of cards. Wagers are resolved, hi an optional embodiment including individual card

proposition wagers, each designated card is examined to determine if the designated

card includes the selected characteristic. If so, the player is rewarded based on the

individual card proposition wager for that designated card. Optionally, any reward is

based on, and varies directly and non-proportionally with, the quantity of individual card proposition wagers to which the player is entitled to a reward. In an optional embodiment including such wagers, competitive wagers

against other players are resolved by comparing the player hands of all the players

placing such competitive wagers against other players. The player with the player

hand having the highest ranking, optionally according to poker rankings, is rewarded. In an optional embodiment, the reward consists of at least a portion of a

pot where the competitive wagers are aggregated. Optionally, a player's exposure is

limited in that if the player loses, the player only contributes the lesser of the player's competitive wager, or a portion of the player's competitive wager equal to the

winning player's competitive wager, hi an optional embodiment, the house may

retain a rake from each pot awarded. hi an optional embodiment including such wagers, competitive wagers

against the dealer are resolved by comparing the player hand to the dealer hand. If

the player hand outranks the dealer hand, the player is rewarded, hi an optional embodiment including both competitive wagers against the other players and against

the dealer, the wagers may be separately rewarded.

hi an optional embodiment including such wagers, player hand proposition

wagers on the composition of the player hand are resolved by comparing the player

hand to a pay table designating at least one winning hand. If the player hand is a

winning hand, the player is rewarded. hi an optional embodiment including such wagers, player hand proposition

wagers on the quantity of cards in the player hand meeting a predefined

characteristic are resolved by determining the quantity of cards that meet the predefined characteristic. If the player hand includes at least a threshold quantity of

cards meeting the predefined characteristic, the player is rewarded. Optionally, the reward varies directly with the quantity of cards in the player hand that meet the predefined characteristic.

In an apparatus according to the present invention, an apparatus may include

a wager receiver for receiving the game wagers and an input device, through which a player may input designations of the type of game wager and, for individual card

proposition wagers, a card and characteristic designation. A data processor distributes player hands of cards and compares player hands. Game wagers are

resolved as described above with the data processor issuing a reward command

when a player is to be rewarded.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a top view of a table layout for conducting a game according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a player wager and game area for conducting a game

according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present

invention.

Description

Reference is now made to the figures wherein like parts are referred to by

like numerals throughout. The present invention is a card game. The present game

could be conducted using a conventional deck of playing cards, a supplemented deck

of playing cards, multiple decks of playing cards, a subset of a deck of playing cards,

or any other constitution of playing cards. Additionally, the playing cards need not

be a conventional deck of playing cards, but may include alternate or additional designations. In the example embodiment described herein, conventional playing

cards of two through ace in four suits (hearts, clubs, spades, and diamonds) are used to described the present game.

Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2, an optional gaming layout 100 for play of a card

game according to an optional embodiment of the present method is illustrated. The

layout 100 consists a wager and play section 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 for each

player and a play section for the dealer 170.

The wager and play section 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 for each player includes wager fields 201-224 for game wagers. It is noted that any number and

combination of game wagers may be offered. Specifically, it is noted that while the

present invention includes a plurality of different types of wagers, fewer or more

wagers or types of wagers could be offered.

According to the optional embodiment illustrated, the wager and play section

110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 for each player may include card locations 230-234

into which the cards comprising the player's hand are to be dealt. Optionally, the

play section for the dealer 170 contains the card locations 171-175 into which the dealer's hand is dealt. In addition, wager areas are included on the layout 100 to

offer the player the option of placing one or more of a Dealer wager 201, a Pot

wager 202, a Hand Bonus wager 203, a Hearts Up! wager 204, and/or one or more

Suit wagers 205-224. These wagers may be offered by the house in any combination

and wagered by the player in any combination. Although the optional embodiment

described below includes mandatory wagers, it is contemplated that any of the

wagers may be optional or mandatory.

With reference generally to FIGS. 1-3, each player places at least one game

wager. To place a wager, a player places the desired amount on a wager field 201- 224. Turning to the wagers themselves, in an optional embodiment, a competitive

wager on the rank of a player's hand against the other players' hands may be offered.

In the illustrated embodiment, this wager is referred to as a Pot wager 202. A player placing a Pot wager 202 is wagering that his player hand will outrank the player

hand of every other player that places a Pot wager 202.

Similarly, in an optional embodiment, a competitive wager on the rank of a

player's hand against the dealer's hand may be offered. In the illustrated

embodiment, this wager is referred to as a Dealer wager 201. A player placing a

Dealer wager 201 is wagering that his player hand will outrank the dealer hand, hi an optional embodiment, the Pot wager 202 and Dealer wager 201 are mandatory for

play of the game. However, this should be construed as illustrative only, since either or both of these wagers could, in an alternate optional embodiment, be optional,

hi an optional embodiment, an individual card proposition wager may be

offered. This wager is directed to a player wagering upon a characteristic of a

designated card in the player hand. To place such a wager, the player must designate the card wagered upon and select the characteristic to be wagered upon for that

designated card. While the characteristic could take any form, i.e. red or black, odd

or even, number card or face card, suit, or the like, in an optional embodiment, the

characteristic wagered upon is the suit of the designated card. Thus, in the

illustrated embodiment, this wager is referred to as a Suit wager 205-224. To place

a Suit wager, a player must designate a card from the player hand and select the suit

for that designated card. For example, by placing a wager in the leftmost column

over the image of the diamond 206, a player is wagering that the card dealt to the

card position 230 at the head of that column (optionally signifying the first card dealt

to the player's hand) will be of the diamond suit. Similarly, by placing a wager in the center column over the image of a club 216, a player is wagering that the card dealt to the card position 232 at the head of that column (optionally signifying the

third card dealt to the player's hand) will be of the club suit.

In an optional embodiment, a player is only allowed to select one suit for each card designated for Suit wager. Thus, in such an optional embodiment, a wager

on a heart for the first card 205 would preclude a wager on a diamond for the first

card 206, a spade for the first card 207, or a club for the first card 208. It is also contemplated that the player may elect to place a Suit wager for none, one, some, or

all of the cards dealt to a player hand. Thus, if a player only wishes to place a Suit wager on the fourth card dealt or on the second and fourth cards dealt, the player

may, in such an optional embodiment, be allowed to do so without placing Suit

wagers on the remaining cards dealt.

In an optional embodiment player hand proposition wagers may be offered,

hi an optional embodiment, a player hand proposition wager may be offered on the

composition of the player hand compared to a pay table. For example, in the optional embodiment illustrated, a Hand Bonus wager 203 may be offered. A player

placing a Hand Bonus wager 203 is wagering that his hand will be a winning hand

according to a pay table designating at least one winning hand.

Similarly, a player hand proposition wager may be offered on the quantity of

cards in a player hand meeting a predetermined characteristic. For example, in the

optional embodiment illustrated, a Hearts Up! wager 204 is offered. A player

placing a Hearts Up! wager 204 is wagering that his hand will contain a threshold

quantity of cards having a particular characteristic. In an optional embodiment, a

player placing a Hearts Up! wager 204 is wagering that his player hand will contain three or more cards of the heart suit. Once all wagers have been placed, the dealer deals a player hand to each

player. In an optional embodiment in which a wager on a dealer hand is offered, the

dealer may also deal a dealer hand to himself. In the optional embodiment illustrated, cards may be dealt one at a time, in sequence to players and the dealer. Optionally, the cards dealt to a dealer hand are dealt face-up and cards dealt to a

player hand are dealt face-down. However, it is also contemplated that in an

alternate embodiment, an entire five-card hand could be dealt to each player in turn, followed by an entire hand being dealt to the dealer.

It is contemplated that the sequence of the dealt cards may be identified by dealing cards to card positions. For example, as alluded to above, the first card dealt

to a player hand may be placed at a first card position 230, a second card to a second

card position 231, a third card to a third card position 232, a fourth card to a fourth

card position 233, and a fifth card to a fifth card position 234. As described in greater detail below, this sequencing may be used to identify the cards designated for

any individual card proposition wagers placed. Similarly, the dealer hand may be

dealt to dealer card positions 171-175, although in an optional embodiment, sequence is not significant in the dealing of the dealer hand.

Once player and dealer hands have been dealt, wagers may be resolved. While wagers may optionally be resolved in any order, in the optional embodiment

illustrated they are resolved in a sequence of Pot wager 202, Dealer wager 201, Hand

Bonus wager 203, Hearts Up! wager 204, and Suit wagers 205-224.

In an optional embodiment in which such a wager is provided, a competitive

wager on player hands is resolved by comparing player hands. The player hand with

the highest ranking is designated the winner and is rewarded. In an optional

embodiment, poker rankings are used; that is, for example, a player with a four of a kind would win such a competitive wager and be rewarded unless another player had a higher ranking four of a kind, a straight flush, or a royal flush. Putting it more

concretely, in a game in which three players have each placed a competitive wager

on player hands, if a first player had a pair of jacks, a second player had a non-flush straight, and a third player had ace-high, the second player would win his

competitive wager because he has the highest ranking player hand among the three

players.

For example, in the embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2, a Pot wager is resolved by determining the highest player hand. Optionally, the Pot wager is mandatory, hi

such an embodiment, all the player hands are compared to determine a winner of the

Pot wager. However, in an alternate embodiment in which the Pot wager is optional,

only those player hands held by players placing a Pot wager may be compared. Thus, in one such optional embodiment, if the highest hand belongs to a player who

did not place a Pot wager, the resolution would exclude such a player and proceed to

the next highest hand.

In an optional embodiment, a player winning the competitive wager on

player hands may be awarded at least a portion of a pot comprising at least a portion

of each competitive wager on player hands placed. For example, the competitive

wagers on player hand may be aggregated into a pot that is awarded to a player. In

an optional embodiment, all the competitive wagers may be aggregated to a pot. hi

such an optional embodiment, three players placing competitive wagers on the

player hands of $10, $20, and $40, the pot contains $70.

However, in an alternate embodiment, a player can only win an amount less

than or equal to his own competitive wager from each player with a lower ranking

player hand. That is, in such an optional embodiment, the amount collected is the lesser of the amount wagered by the winner and the amount wager by the loser.

Thus, if one player wagers $10, another $20, and a third $40, and the player

wagering $20 were to have the highest ranking hand, that player would collect $10 from the player who wagered $10 and $20 from the player who wagered $40 for a

total of $30. In such an optional embodiment, any Pot wager amount not collected

by the holder of the winning hand is returned to the player making such wager. hi another optional embodiment, the house "rakes" a percentage from the pot

as compensation for hosting the game, hi such optional embodiment illustrated, the

house deducts a "rake" or handling fee from the Pot wagers Such "rake" would be computed based on the total amount won by the holder of the winning hand, and

would be deducted from the winnings of the holder of the winning hand.

As noted above, in an optional embodiment in which competitive wagers on a dealer hand are not offered, a dealer hand may not be dealt. However, in an

optional embodiment in which a competitive wager on a dealer hand is offered, a

dealer hand is dealt. Thus, in the optional embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a dealer hand is dealt because Dealer wagers 201 are offered. To resolve Dealer

wagers, the player hand associated with each player who has placed a Dealer wager

is compared to the dealer hand. If the player hand has a higher ranking, optionally

according to conventional poker rankings, the player wins and is rewarded.

Conversely, if the dealer hand has a higher ranking than the player hand, the player's

Dealer wager may be collected by the dealer, hi an optional embodiment, the reward

paid to a player is equal to the Dealer wager placed. However, it is also

contemplated that the house may take a "rake" or handling fee from the Dealer

wagers won by the player. Any "rake" may be computed based on, and deducted

from, the reward. As previously noted, two types of player hand proposition wagers may be offered. One type of player hand proposition wager is based on the composition of

the player hand. To resolve a player hand proposition wagers on the composition of

the player hand, the player hand is compared to a predefined pay table designating at least one winning hand and a pay out associated therewith. If the player hand is a

winning hand, the player hand proposition wager is rewarded based on the associated pay out. If the player hand is not a winning hand, the player hand

proposition wager may be collected by the house.

For example, in the optional embodiment illustrated, the Hand Bonus wager

is a player hand proposition wager on the composition of a player hand. To resolve

the Hand Bonus wager, the player hand is compared to a pay table such as that

shown in Table 1. Table 1 illustrates an example pay table in such an optional embodiment. It is noted that Table 1 is merely exemplary and that greater or fewer

hands could be designated winning hands, and that the pay outs listed could be

altered.

Table 1

A second type of player hand proposition wager is based on the inclusion of at least a threshold quantity of cards meeting a predefined characteristic. As noted

above, the predefined characteristic could take any form. That is, even though the illustrated optional embodiment uses card suit, specifically heart suit, as the

predefined characteristic, in an alternate embodiment, any suit may be used in lieu of

hearts. In another alternate embodiment, any predefined subset of the deck maybe

used in lieu of card suit. Also, it is noted that while the illustrated pay table increases the pay out according to the quantity of cards meeting the predefined

characteristic, the pay outs could take any form, including pay outs at a flat rate or decreasing with the quantity of cards meeting the predefined characteristic.

For example, in the optional embodiment illustrated, the Hearts Up! wager is

a player hand proposition wager that is won when the player hand includes at least a threshold quantity of heart suit cards. To resolve the Hearts Up! wager, the quantity

of heart suit cards contained in the player's hand are counted. If the player hand

contains a quantity of heart suit cards to qualify as a winning hand, the player is

rewarded for his or her Hearts Up! wager If the player hand does not include a quantity of heart suit cards to qualify as a winning hand, the player's Hearts Up!

wager may be collected. Optionally, the reward varies with the quantity of cards

meeting the characteristic. For example, Table 2 illustrates a pay table for a Hearts

Up! wager according to an optional embodiment of the present invention. It is

specifically noted that Table 2 is exemplary only and the hands as well as the pay

outs could be altered without departing from the scope of the invention.

Table 2

As previously noted, individual card proposition wagers require that the

player designate a card from the player hand and identify a characteristic for that

designated card when placing the wager. Thus, in resolving such individual card proposition wagers, a determination is made whether the designated card has the

identified characteristic. As previously noted, although the optional embodiment illustrated uses suit as the identified characteristic, the characteristic could be any

identifiable characteristic. For example, in alternate embodiments other

subdivisions of the cards may be used in lieu of suit. For example, wagers could be

placed on odd-even, or black-red, high-low, or any other characteristic. For example, in the optional embodiment illustrated, Suit wager are

individual card proposition wagers. As shown in the figures, when placing a Suit

wager 205-224, the player identifies the suit of a card associated with a certain

physical and/or sequential card position 230-234. To resolve Suit wagers, the card at the card position designated by the location of the Suit wager is inspected to

determine if the card is of the identified suit. For example, a Suit wager placed on

the club suit for the card dealt to a first card position 230 is rewarded if, in fact, the card dealt to that position is a club suit card. Suit wagers that incorrectly identify the

suit may be collected.

Optionally, the individual card proposition wagers are not separately

rewarded. That is, in an optional embodiment the reward varies with the overall quantity of winning individual card proposition wagers. While the reward could

vary proportionally with the quantity of winning individual card proposition wagers,

in an optional embodiment the reward varies directly and non-proportionally with the quantity of winning individual card proposition wagers. For example, Table 3

illustrates an example of a pay table indicating the pay out for the quantity of

winning individual card proposition wagers. It is noted that in this optional

embodiment, the multiplier is applied to each wager. Thus, a player placing a one unit Suit wager on each of five cards who only wins one of the Suit wagers would, in

this example, be rewarded one unit for the winning Suit wager and lose four units for the four losing Suit wagers. Conversely, if the player had won three of his suit

wagers, the player would, in this example, be rewarded three units for each winning

Suit wager and lose two units for the two losing Suit wagers. It is noted that Table 3 is exemplary only and other methods of rewarding Suit wagers could be used

without departing from the scope of this invention.

Table 3

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been shown and

described it is to be understood that the present invention is subject to many

modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims

presented herein.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. A method for conducting a card game for one or more players playing against

a dealer, using playing cards, or electronic representations thereof, comprising: each player placing at least one game wager, said game wagers including

competitive wagers and individual card proposition wagers, wherein for each

individual card proposition wager placed, said player designates an individual card

of the player hand and, for the designated card, selects a characteristic from a

plurality of predefined characteristics;

each player receiving a player hand of cards; comparing each player hand to other player hands and rewarding the player

with the player hand with the highest poker ranking among all players to place said

competitive wager; and

for each individual card proposition wager, determining the characteristics of the designated card upon which the individual card proposition wager was placed

and rewarding individual card proposition wagers if the designated card has a

characteristic selected when placing the individual card proposition wager.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of rewarding the player with the

player hand with the highest poker ranking includes awarding at least a portion of a

pot formed from at least a portion of each competitive wager.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the dealer receiving a hand of cards; and comparing each player hand to a dealer hand and rewarding each player

whose player hand outranks said dealer hand.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said playing cards include suit identification,

and said predefined characteristics used in said individual card proposition wagers

are suits.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising player hand proposition wagers

include a wager on the quantity of cards in a player hand meeting a predefined characteristic and said pay table includes a reward for said player hand proposition

wager when a player hand includes at least a threshold quantity of cards meeting said

predefined characteristic, said reward varying directly with the quantity of cards in said player hand meeting said predefined characteristic.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said playing cards include suit identification,

and said predefined characteristic is one or more of said suits.

7. A method for conducting a card game for one or more players playing against

competitive wagers and individual card proposition wagers, wherein for each individual card proposition wager placed, said player designates an individual card

plurality of predefined characteristics;

each player receiving a player hand of cards;

the dealer receiving a dealer hand of cards;

for each competitive wager, comparing the player hand to the dealer hand

and rewarding each player whose player hand outranks said dealer hand; and for each individual card proposition wager, determining the characteristics of the designated card upon which the individual card proposition wager was placed

and rewarding individual card proposition wagers if the designated card has a characteristic selected when placing the individual card proposition wager.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising comparing each player hand to other player hands and rewarding the player with the player hand with the highest

poker ranking among all players to place said competitive wager.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of rewarding the player with the player hand with the highest poker ranking includes awarding at least a portion of a

pot formed from at least a portion of each competitive wager.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein said playing cards include suit identification,

and said predefined characteristics used in said individual card proposition wagers are suits.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising player hand proposition wagers include a wager on the quantity of cards in a player hand meeting a predefined

characteristic and said pay table includes a reward for said player hand proposition

predefined characteristic, said reward varying directly with the quantity of cards in

said player hand meeting said predefined characteristic.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said playing cards include suit identification, and said predefined characteristic is one or more of said suits.

13. A method for conducting a card game for one or more players playing against

player hand proposition wagers and individual card proposition wagers, wherein for

each individual card proposition wager placed, said player designates an individual card of the player hand and, for the designated card, selects a characteristic from a plurality of predefined characteristics;

each player receiving a player hand of cards;

the dealer receiving a dealer hand of cards;

comparing each player hand to a predefined pay table designating at least one

winning hand and rewarding player hand proposition wagers for each player having a winning hand; and

for each individual card proposition wager, determining the characteristics of

the designated card upon which the individual card proposition wager was placed

and rewarding individual card proposition wagers if the designated card has a

characteristic selected when placing the individual card proposition wager.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said game wagers further comprise

competitive wagers, said competitive wagers resolved among players by comparing

each player hand to other player hands and rewarding the player with the player hand

with the highest poker ranking among all players to place said competitive wager.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of rewarding the player with the player hand with the highest poker ranking includes awarding at least a portion of a

pot formed from at least a portion of each competitive wager.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein said dealer receives a hand of cards and said

game wagers further comprise competitive wagers, said competitive wagers resolved between said dealer and said player by comparing each player hand to a dealer hand

and rewarding each player whose player hand outranks said dealer hand.

17. A method for conducting a card game for one or more players playing against a dealer, using playing cards, or electronic representations thereof, comprising;

each player placing at least one game wager, said game wagers including competitive wagers, player hand proposition wagers on the quantity of cards in a

player hand meeting a predefined characteristic, and individual card proposition

wagers, wherein for each individual card proposition wager placed, said player designates an individual card of the player hand and, for the designated card, selects

a characteristic from a plurality of predefined characteristics;

each player receiving a player hand of n cards;

the dealer receiving a dealer hand of n cards;

comparing each player hand to other player hands and dealer hand and

rewarding the player with the player hand with the highest poker ranking among all

players to place said competitive wager and separately rewarding each player whose

player hand outranks said dealer hand;

comparing each player hand to a predefined pay table and rewarding player

hand proposition wagers when a player hand includes at least a threshold quantity of cards meeting said predefined characteristic, said reward varying directly with the

quantity of cards in said player hand meeting said predefined characteristic; and

for each individual card proposition wager, determining the characteristics of the designated card upon which the individual card proposition wager was placed and rewarding individual card proposition wagers if the designated card has a

characteristic selected when placing the individual card proposition wager.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said step of rewarding the player with the

player hand with the highest poker ranking includes awarding at least a portion of a pot formed from at least a portion of each competitive wager.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said pot is formed from the aggregation of the competitive wagers placed by each player not having the highest ranking poker

hand.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein if the competitive wager placed by a player

not having the highest ranking poker hand is greater than the competitive wager placed by the player having the highest ranking poker hand, only a portion of the

competitive wager of a player not having the highest ranking poker hand equal to the

competitive wager of the player having the highest ranking poker hand is contributed to said pot.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said player having the highest ranking poker

hand is awarded the entire pot less a rake.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein said predefined characteristics used m resolving said individual card proposition wagers include subsets of said playing cards.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said subsets are mutually exclusive.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said playing cards include suit identification, and said subsets are suits.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein said player hand proposition wagers include

a wager on the quantity of cards in a player hand meeting a predefined characteristic and said pay table includes a reward for said player hand proposition wager when a

player hand includes at least a threshold quantity of cards meeting said predefined

characteristic, said reward varying directly with the quantity of cards in said player

hand meeting said predefined characteristic.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said playing cards include suit

identification, and said predefined characteristic is one or more of said suits.

27. A method for conducting a card game for one or more players playing against

a dealer, using at least one deck of playing cards, or electronic representations

thereof, comprising:

each player placing at least one game wager, said game wagers comprising:

competitive wagers, comprising: wagering on the relative ranking of said player's hand as compared to said dealer hand; and

wagering on the relative ranking of said player's hand as compared to said player hands of such other players who have placed

a wager on the relative ranking of their player hands in relation to the

player hands of other players;

player hand proposition wagers, comprising: wagering on the composition of the player hand according to a predetermined pay table designating at least one winning hand; and

wagering on the number of cards within said player hand

belonging to said predetermined suit; and individual card proposition wagers, wherein for each individual card

proposition wager placed, said player designates an individual card of the

player hand and, for the designated card, selects the suit of said designated

card;

each player receiving a hand of cards; the dealer receiving a hand of cards;

resolving competitive wagers comprising:

for competitive wagers placed against other players hands, comparing

the poker ranking of each player hand for which a competitive wager against

other players was placed and rewarding the player with the player hand with

the highest poker ranking among all players to place said competitive wager,

said reward comprising at least a portion of a pot formed from the

aggregation of the competitive wagers placed by each player not having the highest ranking poker hand, wherein if the competitive wager placed by a player not having the highest ranking poker hand is greater than the competitive wager placed by the player having the highest ranking poker

hand, only a portion of the competitive wager of a player not having the highest ranking poker hand equal to the competitive wager of the player

having the highest ranking poker hand is contributed to said pot; and

for competitive wagers placed against the dealer hand, comparing the

player hand to the dealer hand and rewarding each player whose player hand outranks said dealer hand;

resolving said player hand proposition wagers, comprising: for player hand proposition wagers on the composition of the player

hand, comparing said player hand to a pay table and rewarding said player if

said player hand is a winning hand; and for player hand proposition wagers on the quantity of cards in a

predetermined suit, rewarding said player when said player hand includes at

least a threshold quantity of cards in said predetermined suit, said reward

varying directly with the quantity of cards in said player hand in said predetermined suit; and

rewarding individual card proposition wagers for which said designated card

is a card within said selected suit, wherein if said player places more than one

individual card proposition wager, said reward varies directly and non-proportionally

with the quantity of individual card proposition wagers for which the player is

rewarded.

28. An apparatus for conducting a card game for one or more players playing

against a dealer, using electronic representations of playing cards, comprising: a wager receiver, said wager receiving at least one game wager;

an input device receiving a designation of each game wager as a competitive

wagers or an individual card proposition wagers and, for each individual card proposition wager placed, receiving a designation of an individual card of a player

hand and, for said designated card, a designation of a characteristic from a plurality

of predefined characteristics; and

a data processor distributing at least one player hand of cards, comparing said player hand to any other player hands dealt, and issuing a command to reward the

player with the player hand with the highest poker ranking among all players to place said competitive wager, and said data processor determining, for each individual

card proposition wager, the characteristics of the designated card upon which the

individual card proposition wager was placed and issuing a command to reward individual card proposition wagers if the designated card has a characteristic selected

when placing the individual card proposition wager.