EP2647412A1

EP2647412A1 - Computer based interactive real time card game

Info

Publication number: EP2647412A1
Application number: EP12163499.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jörgen Post
Original assignee: Mfs Ventures Oue
Current assignee: Mfs Ventures Oue
Priority date: 2012-04-05
Filing date: 2012-04-05
Publication date: 2013-10-09

Abstract

Novel player against player card game, where at least at one stage of the game an auction is organized for the players, the winner of the auction may choose at least one desired card. The game can be played over a computer network, including the Internet.

Description

Technical Field

The intervention to the computer-based multiplayer card games played according to the rules of any poker version.

Background Art

Poker is a popular card game whose various versions are widely known. Cards are distributed to players and they can improve their hand for example by changing certain cards (draw poker), or the players are dealt more cards (e.g. seven) and the player chooses five of them, constituting the player's strongest hand (stud poker), or each player is dealt a certain number of hole cards and a certain number of community cards, and the strongest hand is formed by combining these cards (community card poker). Betting is performed in the course of one or more betting rounds, and the players remaining in the game after betting is finished (the so-called active players) open their hands, and the winner wins the money bet by all players (the pot). The result is determined based on the combination of cards whose strength order is also well-known, starting from the weakest: a high card, one pair, two pairs, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush. Drawing stronger combinations has a very low probability. Most players are not ready to place substantial bets, when having only one pair or an otherwise weak hand, as the probability of other players having stronger hands is high. Therefore many players stop betting early, decreasing the attractiveness of the game also for players who happen to have good cards. The so-called wild cards are one known solution for increasing the chances of winning and making the game more exciting; they have, however, more to do with luck than skill.
Patent of the United States of America US4662637 , "Method of playing a card selection game" (owner A. Pfeiffer) is known, describing a card playing method where the players are dealt the cards desired by them (the so-called jokers), if the desired card has not been previously dealt out yet. In the latter case the player desiring such a card is dealt a so-called zero card, i.e. a card not affecting the result of the game. The game is played according to poker rules.
Various computer games played over a computer network are known, e.g. patent US5951012 of the United States of America "Poker games", describing a poker game where the value of successive bets is determined beforehand.
Patent application US20100184501 of the United States of America "Computer-Based, Interactive, Real-Time Card Selection Game" is known, describing implementation of the game known from patent US4662637 of the US by means of a computer and over a computer network.
To increase game excitement, a game offering the players an opportunity to choose at least one card on certain conditions is required. Competitive bidding is carried out in the game of the invention for the purpose of choosing a card, and only the player who has won the competitive bidding can choose the desired card.

Summary of invention

In the novel card game played on a computer system over a computer network at least one competitive bidding is arranged for the players at least during one stage of the game, and the winner of this bidding (the highest bidder) is granted an opportunity to choose at least one desired card for him-/herself, if the desired card has not been played yet. If the desired card has already been dealt during previous rounds, a random replacement card is dealt to the winner of the competitive bidding. According to one version of the game the winner of the competitive bidding is offered an opportunity to specify more than one desired cards, and the preferred order of the desired cards (the priority). The player is dealt the card having highest priority and not dealt previously. For example, according to one version of the game the player could specify the suit or rank of the desired card as the priority. If the cards specified by the priority have also been already dealt, a random replacement card is dealt to the winner of the competitive bidding.
If the winner of the competitive binding does not receive the desired card corresponding to his/her first preference the auction participation fee is returned to him/her either partially or in full.
The card game is preferably played according to the rules of poker, preferably according to the rules of community card poker. According to the preferred version a community card is dealt in the course of the competitive bidding, preferably the fourth community card (turn), as by this time a sufficient amount of hole cards and community cards have been dealt to the players to enable informed bidding.
The novel game increases attractivity of the game both for average and good players and the game operator (the game organiser or the so-called house). Average players feel they have more control over their cards. Good players gain from long-time growing playing activity and applying new strategies related to participating in competitive bidding. The game operator earns additional profit on winning amounts of the competitive bidding.
According to the preferred version the game is as following. The game is played according to the rules of Texas Hold'em, Omaha or Omaha hi/lo. Either no limit or pot limit betting is used. Competitive bidding is performed after the flop. In the course of competitive bidding the players have a chance to bid once within a limited time period the amount they agree to pay for the right to choose a card. If several players bid equal highest amounts the competitive bidding is repeated. The highest bidder is the winner of the competitive bidding, and gets an opportunity to choose the community card dealt during this turn. If the card requested by the player has already been dealt, a random replacement card is dealt instead, and the money is returned to the winner of the competitive bidding either partially or in full. Other players do not know whether the player received the chosen card. After choosing the card the game continues according to the basic rules, and the strongest hand wins the bank (pot).
According to one version the winner of the competitive bidding also gets the opportunity to specify additional suit or rank priority. If the card chosen by the player has already been dealt, either a card of the same suit or same rank with the desired one is dealt to the player instead. If no such free cards exist, a random replacement card is dealt to him/her.
Method of the invention is a player against player card game for playing on a computer system including a game server and at least two player units equipped with a screen, involving the following steps: players participating in the game are identified on the game server; at least one playing card is dealt to each player on the game server; information pertaining to the cards dealt to the player is transferred to the player unit of this player, and the playing cards of this player are displayed on the screen of the playing unit; the players are given an opportunity to place bet; and a winner is determined among the players having placed bets based on the strength of the players' hands; a competitive bidding is arranged for the players to acquire a desired extra card, and the desired extra card is dealt to the winner of the competitive bidding.

Brief description of drawings

The first embodiment of the invention is depicted on Figure 1.
The second embodiment of the invention is depicted on Fig. 2.
The third embodiment of the invention is depicted on Figure 3.
The fourth embodiment of the invention is depicted on Figure 4.

Description of embodiments

According to the first embodiment of the invention depicted on figure Fig. 1 the method of playing the player-against-player card game involves the following steps: identifying the players participating in the game (step 100); dealing an agreed upon number (i.e. the number stated by the rules) of cards the players (step 101), arranging a competitive bidding for the players to acquire an extra card (step 102), determining a winner of the competitive bidding after the bids (step 103), determining the card requested by the winner of the competitive bidding (step 104), dealing the card requested by the winner (step 105), and determining a winner of the game based on the strength of hands (step 106).
This is the most generalised and simplest embodiment of the invention. According to one sub-version the requested card is dealt to the winner of the competitive bidding even when the card has been already dealt to someone else. According to another sub-version the winner of the competitive bidding does not receive the requested card when this card has been already dealt to someone else.
The second embodiment of the invention is depicted on Fig. 2, comprising identifying the players participating in the game (step 200), dealing out an agreed-upon number of cards the players (step 201), dealing an agreed-upon number of additional community cards to the table (step 202), arranging a competitive bidding for the players with the purpose of acquiring an extra card (step 203), determining a winner of the competitive bidding (step 204), determining the card desired by the highest bidder (step 205), dealing out the card desired by the winner as a community card (step 206), dealing out an agreed-upon number of additional community cards (step 207), and determining a winner of the game based on the strength of hands (step 208).
The third embodiment of the invention is depicted on Figure 3. First identifying the players participating in the game (300), settling the blind bets (step 301), dealing an agreed-upon number of hole cards to the players (step 302), settling the bets (step 303), dealing an agreed-upon number of community cards to the table (step 304), settling the bets (step 305), arranging a competitive bidding for the players with the purpose of acquiring an extra card (step 306), determining a winner of the competitive bidding (step 307), determining the card desired by the highest bidder (step 308), including checking the availability of the desired card within the deck of cards (step 309); if the card is available within the deck of cards, dealing it out as a community card (step 310); if the card is no longer available within the deck of cards, dealing out a random card as a community card (step 311), and determining the amount to be returned to the winner of the competitive bidding (step 312), settling the bets (step 313), dealing out at least one additional community card (step 314), settling the final bets of the players (step 315), and determining a winner of the game based on the strength of hands (step 316).
The fourth embodiment of the invention is depicted on Figure 4. First identifying the players participating in the game (step 400), settling blind bets (step 401), dealing out an agreed-upon number of hole cards to the players (step 402), settling the bets (step 403), dealing an agreed-upon number of community cards (step 404), settling the bets (step 405), arranging a competitive bidding for the players with the purpose of acquiring an extra card (step 406), determining a winner of the competitive bidding (step 407), determining the card desired by the winner of the competitive bidding (step 408), determining replacement card priorities (step 409), checking availability of the desired card within the deck (step 410); dealing out the card as a community card if it is available within the deck (step 411); if the card is no longer available within the deck then checking if any replacement card priorities by the highest bidder still exist (step 412), if any have been established, then determining the next replacement card by priority (step 413), and if this replacement card is available within the deck, dealing it out as a community card, if no desired cards are available within the deck, dealing out a random card as a community card (step 414). After that, determining the amount to be returned to the winner of the competitive bid (step 415), settling the bets (step 416), dealing out at least one additional community card (step 417), settling the bets (step 418), and determining a winner of the game based on the strength of hands (step 419).
According to the preferred version the game is a modification of the community card poker. Two or four hole cards are dealt to the players (Texas Hold 'em and Omaha, respectively). Three community cards are dealt after a betting round. A new betting round follows. A competitive bidding for the next community card is arranged after the betting round.
The competitive bidding is preferably carried out within a short period of time, so as to not slow down the progress of the game. If the card desired by the winner is available within the deck of cards, it is played to the table as a community card. If the card desired by the winner is not available, a random card is played to the table instead. According to one version of the game a replacement card is played to the table based on the preferences of the player. For example, if the player desires the queen of diamonds, and it is no longer available within the deck of cards, a card of the same rank or same suit can be specified as the next preference.
The rules of all poker forms using hole cards and community cards for playing, like Texas Hold 'em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo are best suited for the game. No limit, pot limit or limit betting are suitable for this game. The version using competitive bidding is more attractive in case of pot limit and no limit games, as in these cases average pots are larger, and strategic mistakes made during the hand played costlier. The possible costliness of the competitive bidding is also affected by the betting version, as the amount spent on competitive bidding has to be reasonably small compared to the bets to benefit the player as much as possible.
Generally only players who have been active during the current hand can participate in the competitive bidding, i.e. the players having bet in the course of previous betting rounds. To participate in the competitive bidding, a player also has to have resources either on his/her general poker room account or the competitive bidding account. The competitive bidding account is preferably kept separate from the player's money on the table, i.e. the player's money on the table cannot be used for participating in the competitive bidding. Removing money from the table would decrease the maximum amount to be won from this player by other players.
If the player still has money on the table but none on the competitive bidding account, he/she can nevertheless play without participating in the competitive bidding.
In the course of the competitive bidding money for the competitive bidding account could be obtained from the player's main account with the game provider that can be used to participate in competitive biddings held on all tables played. When the player closes all tables the resources on the competitive bidding account are transferred to the player's main account.
The competitive bidding is preferably carried out for community cards, whereas preferably for the fourth community card (the so-called turn). The fifth community card or the first three community cards could also be dealt using competitive bidding but in case of the fourth community card the hole cards and three community cards (the flop) have already been dealt, and the players have enough information regarding the hand to be played to benefit as much as possible from the card received in the case of winning the competitive bidding. The community card received could also turn out to be more useful to other players than the winner of the competitive bidding. At the same time the fifth community card has not been dealt, ensuring preservation of the luck factor characteristic to poker. This ensures that in a brief perspective winning is largely determined by one's luck but in the long run making decisions based on the positive expected value is possible.
Arrangement of the competitive bidding
Competitive bidding is used as the means for determining the player who can choose a card. The competitive bidding has to be relatively quick, so as not to slow down the progress of the game. The competitive bidding can be arranged in various ways:
- the players outbid each other during a limited period of time, and the highest bidder wins;
- the players all bid their maximum amounts during a limited period of time, and the highest bidder wins. If more than one equal highest bids are made then the process is repeated until the highest bidder can be determined.
- a combined competitive bidding is held in the course of a limited period of time, whereas the player is given an opportunity to specify his/her preferences regarding his/her maximum bids, etc., on various levels.
Preferably the competitive bidding procedure is following: a pause lasting a few seconds is made after the flop and before starting the competitive bidding. The options of START and SURRENDER are displayed on the screen of the player unit. The competitive bidding is started after the pause. The player can give up participating (SURRENDER) or enter the desired amount to be used for bidding and confirm it during a limited period of time. If the player neither surrenders nor manages to enter his/her bid the bidding of this player is considered not to have taken place at the end of the bidding period.
If only one player desires to participate in the competitive bidding the following options can be used:
- the competitive bidding is not carried through, and a random card is dealt as a community card
- this player automatically wins the competitive bidding but has to pay either his/her initial bid or a previously determined minimum amount for the right to choose a card.
According to one version of the game the player has a right to choose the card he/she desires after dealing of the flop cards or the beginning of the auction. In case he/she wins the competitive bidding this card is dealt to him/her if it is available within the deck. In that case the game goes more smoothly and is simpler for the players, enabling simultaneous playing at several tables.
The procedure of choosing a card after the competitive bidding is preferably as short as possible, so as not to slow down the progress of the game. One's own hole cards and community cards cannot be chosen. The rest of the cards can be chosen but one cannot be sure those cards are still available within the deck as they could have been dealt out to other players.
Additional selection of priority, e.g. the rank or suit of the card can be possible when choosing a card.
Choosing a random card can also be allowed as sometimes the player's hand could be so strong by the time of the flop that the exact card dealt during the turn would make no significant difference but participating in the competitive bidding enables the player to conceal the strength of his/her hand.
According to one version of the game the player can only choose the suit or rank, e.g. the player selects an eight and confirms the selection, the player selects diamonds and confirms the selection.
The choices or preferences (priorities) of the player are not displayed to the other players. Priorities offer significant added value when selecting a card, and make the competitive bidding more advantageous for the winner of the competitive bidding. If rank is selected as priority, and the card chosen by the player has already been dealt out then a random card from among available cards of the same rank is dealt in its stead. For example, if the player selects the eight of diamonds but this card has already been dealt out to another player then a random card from among any available eights is dealt. If no cards of this rank are available then a random card is dealt.
If suit is selected as priority, and the card chosen by the player has already been dealt out then a random card from among available cards of the same suit is dealt in its stead. For example, if the player selects the eight of diamonds but this card has already been dealt out to another player then a random card from among any available diamonds is dealt.
Priority could also be two-level, i.e. if no cards are available according to the first priority then the second half of the selection is automatically used as the second priority. For example, the player selects eight of diamonds for the rank priority but this card has already been dealt out. If any eights are available within the deck then a random eight is dealt. If not, diamonds are used as the next priority. If any diamonds are available within the deck then a random diamond card is dealt to the player; if not, a random replacement card is dealt.
Arranging the offering of such extra options is very easy for the game operator. If selecting rules are clear then making selections is quick and intuitive for the players. At the same time a player is not obliged to make so specific selections. Selections increase the value of choosing a card, and smart players are able to choose a card more effectively.
If displaying the desired card is not possible, and it is replaced with another card then a portion of the cost of the competitive bidding is returned to the competitive bidding account of the player. The larger the portion of the winning amount of the competitive bidding returned to the player in certain situations the more customer-friendly the gaming room.
Dealing the card at the turn: the card is dealt after making the selection, and the player is notified of the change in his/her chat window. Such messages can usually be turned off. The information regarding whether the player received the card chosen by him/her is not displayed to the other players, ensuring that poker remains a game of incomplete information. If the card chosen by the player has already been dealt neither he/she nor others are displayed any information regarding which player has the card in question. After dealing the card the game continues with the turn's betting round, and is played out as an ordinary poker hand.
Possibility of competitive bidding in situations where the player(s) is (are) all-in either before the first community cards are dealt (at pre-flop) or after dealing the first community cards (flop). Participating in the competitive bidding also requires available resources on the account in addition to the money on the table. The competitive bidding is still performed after the flop but when all players are all-in, the hole cards are displayed as customary for ordinary Internet poker, giving more information for choosing the most right card at the competitive bidding.
If some players are all-in but the players with larger amounts than theirs on the table continue playing with each other then everything proceeds as in case of an ordinary poker hand.
A version where the competitive bidding is left out in case of pre-flop or flop all-in of all the players is also possible.
The competitive bidding is exciting if in case of an early all-in the cards of all players are open. Each player can see for himself/herself which card is most useful to choose, and this also creates situations where the winner of the competitive bidding can choose such a card for the turn that the river card can no longer ruin his/her victory (or the probability of not winning is minimal).
However, a version is possible where one not counted card not displayed to the players (a so-called burn card) is first dealt out before dealing out each community card. In that case at least one card has been removed from the deck before the competitive bidding, and there always exists the probability of the winner of the competitive bidding not getting the card he/she desired.
Costliness of the competitive bidding depends on the competitive bidding procedure. The competitive bidding has to be relatively cheap as the amount spent on choosing a card must not significantly decrease the player's winnings, so as to make earning profit complicated in the long run.
According to the recommended competitive bidding arrangement no maximum bid should be used for the competitive bidding, but a button for confirming the bid should definitely be used, and warnings displayed starting from certain amounts, to avoid accidentally making too large bids. The minimum bid of the competitive bidding should be relatively low, e.g. 10% of the big blind. For example:
Purchase of NL100 is 100 units - minimum bid is 0.10 units.
NL1000 - minimum bid is 1 unit.
NL50000 - minimum bid is 50 units.
Setting a maximum for the bids of the competitive bidding that cannot be exceeded in the course of one competitive bidding is complicated, as in that case bidding becomes pointless because making the maximum bid is sufficient to end the competitive bidding, and if several players make maximum bids the winner cannot be determined quickly. Leaving the maximum bid unsettled, and using the nature of the bidding window to form the players' opinion of a normal bid would sooner be practical. When the maximum bid is not settled bidding options can be used to influence the bidding practice, e.g. a window for manually entering the amount, and a slider or buttons increasing/decreasing the bid. If the bid changing slider covers a very large range of amounts starting from the minimum bid to possible very large amounts then it induces the player to bid a reasonable amount.
The bidding practice will also surely develop in the course of playing. As winning the competitive bidding does not guarantee winning of the game (i.e. the specific hand) then bidding overmuch simply turns out to be a very costly method for increasing one's probability of winning. The last community card dealt as a random card (the river) is the main reason why winning the competitive bidding does not always guarantee winning of the specific hand, and attempting to win the competitive bidding as cheaply as possible is still sensible.
A time-limited round where everyone enters the maximum amount he/she is ready to spend for being able to choose a card, is the most sensible form of competitive bidding, and precisely this process could be influenced by using a slider where thanks to the 0.1 % bidding step the nature of the slider in itself gives an inkling starting from which point the bid would be unreasonably expensive.
Competitive biddings could, however, be arranged in a different way, for example using outbidding or single bidding, or as a combined competitive bidding.
When for players the competitive bidding offers a (perceived) greater chance to control the outcome of the game then to the game organiser or the house it offers an opportunity to earn significantly larger profit (rake) on arranging the game. The profit could be settled either as a percentage of the pot or a fixed amount or a fixed maximum amount. For example in an online gaming room the maximum rake can be 2 USD, although the pot size is for example 25,000 USD. In case of such a pot it is, however, quite feasible that a player is ready to bid 200 USD, 500 USD or even more to win the competitive bidding, and receive a suitable card, meaning a 100 or more times greater profits on the hand, i.e. greater profits even if serious competitive bidding takes place only once during some twenty-thirty to hundred hands.
In principle the game could be modified in various other ways, for example the right to participate in the competitive bidding could also be granted to persons who have not been active in the course of any betting rounds, for example to players who have quit betting. Although participating in the competitive bidding does not benefit such a player directly in any way the general progress of the game could still be influenced through the competitive bidding. The right to participate in the competitive bidding could also be granted to observers. In that case the observer winning the competitive bidding can influence the course of the game by choosing for example the most intriguing card (i.e. a card likely to cause active betting), a card advantageous for one of the players, or also simply choose a random card. The right to choose a card advantageous for one of the players could also be ruled out, to avoid possible collusions between the players and observers. Participating in the competitive bidding could also be otherwise restricted for non-active players, for example in case of such a winner a random card could be dealt.
Although the player's poker betting account and competitive bidding account are kept separate according to the preferred versions, the game could also be arranged using resources from one and the same account for poker betting and competitive bidding. When according to the preferred versions the money for participating in the competitive bidding goes to the game organiser, the game could also be arranged so that the players, for example the winner of the hand in question, receive the money for winning the competitive bidding either fully or in part.

Claims

Method for playing a player-against-player card game in a computer system, comprising dealing to all players an agreed-upon number of random cards from the card deck, characterised in that offering the players an opportunity to participate in a competitive bidding with the purpose of acquiring a card desired by the player from the card deck, and giving the player winning the competitive bidding the desired card, and determining the winner of the game by comparing the strength of the players' hands according to agreed-upon rules.
Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the strength of the players' hands is determined according to poker rules.
Method according to claim 2, characterised in that in addition to dealing the cards to the players also dealing from the deck at least one public community card that is used for determining the strength of the players' hands.
Method according to claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the winner of the competitive bidding is given the desired card only if it has not already been dealt out from the deck previously.
Method according to claim 4, characterised in that instead of the desired card the winner of the competitive bidding is given the next suitable card from the deck according to the priorities established by the winner of the competitive bidding.
Method according to claims 4 to 5, characterised in that returning to the winner of the competitive bidding at least part of the cost of the competitive bidding if the winner does not receive the desired card.
Method according to claim 1, characterised in that all players are dealt at least two cards from the deck, and at least one community card is dealt from the deck, a competitive bidding between the players is carried through with the purpose of acquiring a desired card, the card desired by the player winning the competitive bidding is dealt as a community card, betting is carried out, and a winner is determined.
Method for playing a player-against-player card game on a computer system including a game server and at least two player units equipped with a screen, involving the following steps: identifying players participating in the game on the game server; dealing at least one playing card to each player on the game server; transferring information pertaining to the cards dealt to the player to the player unit of this player, and displaying the playing cards of this player on the screen of the playing unit; giving the players an opportunity to place bets; and determining a winner among the players having placed bets based on the strength of the players' hands, characterised in that arranging a competitive bidding for the players with the purpose of acquiring a desired extra card, and dealing the desired extra card to the winner of the competitive bidding.
Method according to claim 8, characterised in that at least one community card is dealt to the players, whereas at least one of the community cards is the card desired by the winner of the competitive bidding.