System and Method for Playing Community Hand Poker Games

Description

This application is claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/867,113, filed Nov. 23, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to card games, and more particularly to a method of playing a poker card game involving a poker hand wager by a player of the game and a hand of community cards used in determining an outcome of the poker hand wager.

BACKGROUND

Card games, in particular poker card games are known to be enjoyed by various persons as a means for entertainment. One particular poker game which is recently very popular involves players being dealt two cards in a player's hand for forming a poker hand rank with a plurality of face up community cards shared by all of the players. Wagers are placed by each player with the winner typically being the player with the best poker hand rank. Due to the popularity of such known poker games, it is desirable to provide other similar games for players to enjoy, in particular within casino environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of playing a card game with at least one player, comprising:

providing an opportunity to place a first poker hand wager by said at least one player;

providing an opportunity to place a second poker hand wager by said at least one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting hand comprising one or more cards representing a potential portion of resulting poker hands;

dealing a first community hand;

determining a first poker rank from a first one of the resulting poker hands of said at least one player derived from cards including the first community hand and at least one card from the player's starting hand;

paying a first winning amount on the first poker hand wager of said at least one player if the first poker hand wager is placed and the first poker rank meets a first winning criteria;

dealing a second community hand;

determining a player second poker rank for a second one of the resulting poker hands of said at least one player derived from cards including at least one card from the player's starting hand and the second community hand;

paying a second winning amount on the second poker hand wager of said at least one player if the second poker hand wager is placed and the second poker rank meets a second winning criteria.

By providing a card game including both a first poker hand wager and a second poker hand wager for comparison with two different community hands, greater amusement is provided to the player as there is a greater perception of a winning opportunity for the player. There is a further opportunity to provide amusement and entertainment to players by modifying a traditional poker game including community hands where both the player and dealer select cards in their respective hands from a plurality of cards before combining their hand with the community hand to form a poker hand rank. The player's interactive experience with the game is further enhanced when the dealer must select cards according to preset rules but where the player has the freedom to improve their odds of winning by selecting cards according to a different strategy compared to the dealer. When playing in a casino environment, the method of play at a poker table can be enhanced by providing indicia on the table surface which represents cards in the players starting hand so that the player can select a card to be discarded by simply contacting the indicia. This speeds up the game play as possible confusion of a player's opportunity to cheat or tamper with the cards is reduced.

When said at least one player comprises a plurality of players, the method includes paying the first winning amount on the first poker hand wager of each player if that player has placed the first poker hand wager and the respective first poker rank of that player meets the first winning criteria and paying the second winning amount on the second poker hand wager of each player if that player has placed the second poker hand wager and the respective second poker rank of that player meets the second winning criteria.

Preferably one of the first and second winning criteria comprises a poker hand which ranks below a low ranking designated poker rank and the other of the first and second winning criteria comprises a poker hand which is higher than a high ranking designated poker rank. One of the designated poker ranks may comprise a poker rank of the hand of the dealer. Preferably the high ranking designated poker rank comprises a poker rank of the hand of the dealer.

Preferably the player is permitted to increase only one of the first poker hand wager or the second poker hand wager after receiving the starting hand.

The player may receive an additional starting hand card and be permitted to discard one card from the starting hand prior to determining the poker rank which is not associated with an increased wager.

The player is preferably only permitted to increase the poker hand wager associated with the winning criteria being a low ranking poker rank after receipt of the starting hand but prior to dealing the first community hand.

Preferably the player is permitted to discard one card from the starting hand when determining only one of the first and second poker ranks of the player. In this instance, the player is not permitted to increase one of the poker hand wagers which is associated with a poker rank where said at least one player is permitted to discard one of the cards of the starting hand of the player.

The first winning criteria may be that the first poker rank of the player comprises no cards which are equal in magnitude. Alternatively, the first winning criteria may be that the first poker rank of the player comprises no cards which are equal in magnitude and greater than a designated magnitude.

The first poker rank may be determined from a resulting poker hand of the player derived from all of the cards of the players starting hand.

Alternatively, the second poker rank may be determined from the player's resulting poker hand derived from cards including a selected hand of the player in which at least one card from the starting hand has been discarded.

Preferably the first poker rank and the second poker rank are determined using at least one common card from the player's starting hand.

The method may include paying said at least one player an auxiliary winning amount if one of the determined poker ranks equals one of a plurality of designated paying poker hand ranks.

The method may further include dealing a starting hand to the dealer representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand, determining a dealer poker rank for the dealers resulting poker hand derived from cards including the second community hand and at least one card from the dealer's starting hand, and paying the second winning amount based on the player's second poker rank exceeding the dealer poker rank.

Preferably each of the players and the dealer are permitted to discard one card from the starting hand to form a selected hand which is combined with the community cards when determining the respective poker ranks.

When both the player and the dealer are dealt an equal number of cards prior to a card selection being made, both the player and the dealer are preferably permitted to select a same number of cards to be discarded.

Card selection by the dealer may be determined according to dealer rules including categorizing the starting hand of the dealer into one of a plurality of dealer hand categories and selecting one card from the starting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to a discard associated with the respective dealer hand category in which the dealer hand categories comprise five categories distinct from one another.

The dealer categories preferably include: i) three cards matching in magnitude and matching in suit, ii) three cards matching in magnitude among which only two match in suit, iii) three cards matching in magnitude among which none match in suit, iv) only two cards matching in magnitude, and v) no cards matching in magnitude.

The dealer rules may thus include: selecting a card to be discarded so as to keep cards which are paired over keeping cards matched in suit, selecting a card so as to keep cards which are paired over keeping cards which are in sequence, selecting a card so as to keep cards which are paired over cards matching in suit and which are in sequence, selecting a card so as to keep cards which are paired regardless of a card selection made by said at least one player, selecting a card so as to keep cards which are paired over cards which are higher in magnitude, and selecting a card so as to keep cards which are highest in magnitude when no cards are paired.

According to one embodiment, selection of a card to be discarded from the player's starting hand is accomplished by the player selecting indicia on a table surface of the game in which the indicia represent the cards in the player's hand.

In alternative embodiments, the cards are held in the hand of the player and card selection involves discarding a selected card from the cards held in the hand of the player.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a card game with at least one player, comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

• • dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting hand comprising a dealt number of cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by said at least one player, a discard number of cards from the player's starting hand to define a selected hand of the player comprising at least one card;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at least one player derived from cards including the community hand and the player's selected hand;

• • dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising the dealt number of cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by the dealer, the discard number of cards from the dealer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the dealer comprising at least one card;

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand derived from cards including the dealer's selected hand and the community hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank of said at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a card game with at least one player, comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting hand comprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at least one player derived from cards including the community hand and at least one card from the player's starting hand;

dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by the dealer according to dealer rules, at least one card from the dealer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the dealer comprising at least one card;

the dealer rules comprising categorizing the starting hand of the dealer into one of a plurality of dealer hand categories and selecting one card from the starting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to a discard associated with the respective dealer hand category, the dealer hand categories comprising five categories distinct from one another.

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand derived from cards including the dealer's selected hand and the community hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank of said at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a card game on a table surface with at least one player, the method comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting hand comprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by said at least one player, at least one card from the player's starting hand to define a selected hand of the player comprising at least one card;

selection of said at least one card from the player's starting hand to be discarded being accomplished by said at least one player selecting indicia on the table surface representing the cards in the player's starting hand;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at least one player derived from cards including the community hand and the player's selected hand;

dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker hand derived from cards including the community hand and at least one card from the dealer's poker hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank of said at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the method of playing a card game according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a poker card table surface particularly suited for playing a card game according to the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a method of playing a card game according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The card game according to the present invention is referred to herein as Tennessee 2 Card Poker. There are some variations to the card game, but in each instance, the game initially begins with each of a plurality of players deciding if they wish to play by placing bets at a first low poker hand wager location 12 and/or at a second high poker hand wager location 14 on the playing surface of a poker table. The low wager location 12 includes an area adjacent thereto for placing an optional increased or double-up wager, however the high wager location does not provide an opportunity to increase the original bet.

In a first version of the card game, according to FIGS. 1 and 2, each player must initially place an equal bet on both of the wager locations 12 and 14 in order to play.

Dealing of the cards begins by the dealer dealing two cards to a starting hand location 16 for each player. The low wager is a wager that the player will not be able to form a ranking first poker rank with the starting hand cards and a first set of community cards to be dealt to the community card location 18 on the table. Upon viewing the starting hand cards, the player has the option of placing the double up wager adjacent the low wager location 12.

If the starting hand includes a pair, the first winning criteria of the first low poker hand wager has already not been met and accordingly comparison of the cards with the community cards to form a first poker hand rank is unnecessary. Provided that at least one player does not have a pair of cards, the community cards are dealt to the community card location 18 by the dealer. Each player then determines a first poker rank resulting from a poker hand derived from cards including the first community hand and the cards in the players starting hand. If a pair or any other higher ranking poker hand is formed in the players first poker rank the first winning criteria is not met and the low wager is lost. The cards at the community card location can then be discarded.

Each player is then dealt a third card at a card selection location 20 adjacent their starting hand cards 16 so that the cards form a triangular pattern. Three indicating markers 22 are located on the table surface in the same pattern as the cards at locations 16 and 20 associated with each player so that the player may then select one of the three cards to be drawn by the dealer as a discard. Once the player has contacted one of the three markers the dealer removes the associated card from the players hand and places the two remaining cards back at the starting hand location 16.

The dealer then draws three cards to a dealer starting hand location 24 and similarly selects one of the three cards to be discarded. The dealer accordingly is dealt the same number of cards overall as the player and also discards the same number of cards as the player to result in a two card selected hand of the dealer.

Discarding by the dealer is done according to dealer rules. The dealer rules generally comprise categorizing the starting hand of the dealer into one of five dealer hand categories and selecting one card from the starting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to a discard associated with the determined dealer hand category.

The dealer then deals a second set of three community cards to the community hand location 18. Each player and the dealer then determine a respective poker rank of the resulting poker hand derived from cards including the second community cards dealt to location 18 and the resulting two cards in their hand which have been selected. If the players' second poker rank using the second community hand exceeds the dealer's poker rank, a second winning criteria is met and the player is paid a winning amount on the second high poker hand wager at location 14 on the table.

More particulars with regard to the particular rules of play will now be described in the following.

Rules of Play

• 1. Tennessee 2 Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows the Player to wager on two outcomes.
  • 1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card Low-rank poker hands.
  • 1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands
• 2. Tennessee 2 Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks of playing cards (312 cards).
• 3. All cards are distributed face up.
• 4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the Player initially places two equal wagers in the front two betting spots:
  • 4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)
  • 4.2. Tennessee 2 (Left spot—red).
• 5. Three additional spots will be positioned behind the betting spots.
  • 5.1. “1^st”, “3^rd”, & “2^nd” spots are used by the player to indicate which card they wish to draw for the Tennessee 2 bet.

Lo-Hand Bet

• 6. Each Player receives two cards
• 7. All hands that are pairs automatically lose the Lo-Hand bet.
  • 7.1. Note: If there are no Lo-Hand bet wagers left, the Dealer will proceed to step 14.
• 8. Upon viewing their original two cards, the remaining players with Lo-Hand bets are given the option of doubling their Lo-Hand bets by posting an equal amount in the betting spot behind it.
• 9. After each of the players with live Lo-Hand bets has exercised their options to “Double-Up”, the dealer will announce “Double Up closed”.
• 10. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the center of the layout.
• 11. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community cards, the player will win providing there are not any pairs, two pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, full houses, 4-of-a-kinds, or 5-of-a-kinds.
• 12. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card value
  • 12.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets
  • 12.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights & flushes which are not considered)

	High Card	Pays
	K to 10	1 to 1
	9 or 8	2 to 1
	7	3 to 1
	6	5 to 1
	5	10 to 1

Tennessee 2 Bet

• 13. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will discard the three community cards.
• 14. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide the front card over so that it is parallel to the first card.
• 15. A third card is drawn to the area between the two cards forming a “V′” shape.
• 16. Using the designated “1^st”, “2^nd”, or “3^rd” spots behind the bets, the player will indicate which card he wishes to draw and the dealer will place that card face down in the middle of the table.
• 17. Each hand will be played accordingly, until all hands have two cards once again.
• 18. The dealer will then discard all of the player's drawn cards.
• 19. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the Tennessee 2 Strategy, will draw one of the cards.
• 20. The dealer will discard the drawn card and slide the remaining two cards toward him.
• 21. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three more community cards.
• 22. Each player hand will be compared to the dealer hand and each bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher than the dealer's hand.
• 23. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.
  • 23.1 Hands are considered ties only when hand rank and card values are identical. When both hands are the same hand rank, the individual card values will determine the winner based on high card(s) per normal poker hand ranking.
• 24. Note: Hands rank as follows:
  • 24.1. Straight Flush
    • 24.1.1. Note A-2-3-4-5 is lowest
  • 24.2. 5-of-a-kind
  • 24.3. 4-of-a-kind
  • 24.4. Full-House
  • 24.5. Flush
    • 24.5.1. Note: Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is made
  • 24.6. Straight
    • 24.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is lowest
  • 24.7. 3-of-a-kind
  • 24.8. 2 pair
  • 24.9. Pair
  • 24.10. High card
• 25. Note: Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is made

Tennessee 2 Strategy - (House Way)

	26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited)	Draw any
	27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited)	Draw unsuited
	28. Three-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	Draw 1st card on dealer's right
	29. Pair	Draw odd card
	30. No-pair	Draw lowest card

Tennessee 2 Bet Bonus Table (Optional)

• 31. Player's five card hand is an automatic winner and is paid at odds if it qualifies as one of the following:

	Hand	Bonus Pays
	Five-of-a-kind (Suited)	1000 to 1
	Straight Flush	100 to 1
	Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	50 to 1
	4-of-a-Kind	5 to 1

According to a second embodiment of the card game, each player begins by choosing to place an independent bet on either one of the high or low hand wager locations 12 and 14 in order to play, but the game is played on a similar table with indicia as shown in FIG. 2. The rules of play according to the second embodiment will now be described in the following:

• 1. Tennessee Two Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows the Player to wager on two outcomes.
  • 1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card Low-rank poker hands.
  • 1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands
• 2. Tennessee Two Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks of playing cards (312 cards).
• 3. All cards are distributed face up.
• 4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the Player initially places two wagers in the front two betting spots:
  • 4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)
  • 4.2. Tennessee Two (Left spot—red).
• 5. Three additional spots called “card silhouettes” will be positioned behind the betting spots.
  • 5.1. Card silhouettes are used by the player to indicate which card they wish to draw for the Tennessee Two bet.
• 6. Players are not restricted to one spot and are encouraged to play multiple Tennessee Two Card Poker and Lo-Hand spots.

How the Game is Played

Lo-Hand Bet

• 7. Each Player receives two cards face up and overlapped, as in blackjack.
• 8. All two card hands that are pairs automatically lose the Lo-Hand bet.
  • 8.1. Note: If there are no Lo-Hand bet wagers left, the Dealer will proceed to step 15.
• 9. Upon viewing their original two cards, the remaining players with Lo-Hand bets are given the option of “raising” their Lo-Hand bets by posting an equal amount in the second yellow betting spot immediately behind the first wager.
• 10. After each of the players with live Lo-Hand bets have exercised the option to “raise”, the dealer will announce “No more raises”.
• 11. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the center of the layout.
• 12. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community cards, the player will win providing his hand does not contain two cards equal in rank.
• 13. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card value
  • 13.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets
  • 13.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights & flushes, which are not considered)

	High Card	Pays
	K to 10	1 to 1
	9 or 8	2 to 1
	7	4 to 1
	6	7 to 1
	5	15 to 1

Tennessee Two Bet

• 14. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will discard the three community cards.
• 15. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide the front card over so that it is parallel to the first card.
• 16. A third card is drawn to the area between the two cards forming a “V′” shape.
• 17. Using the designated card silhouettes behind the bets, the player will indicate which card he wishes to discard and the dealer will place that card face down in the middle of the table.
• 18. Each hand will be played accordingly, until all hands have two cards once again.
• 19. The dealer will then place all of the player's discarded cards into the discard rack.
• 20. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the Tennessee Two Strategy, will discard one of these three cards.
• 21. The dealer will place the discarded card into the rack and slide the remaining two cards toward him.
• 22. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three more community cards.
• 23. Each player's 5 card hand will be compared to the dealer's 5 card hand and each T2 bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher than the dealer's hand.
• 24. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.
  • 24.1. Hands are considered ties only when “Hand Rank” and card values are identical. When both hands are the same Hand Rank, the individual card values will determine the winner based on high card(s) per normal poker hand rankings.
• 25. Hands Rank as follows:
  • 25.1. Straight Flush
    • 25.1.1. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight Flush
  • 25.2. 5 of a Kind
  • 25.3. 4-of-a-kind
  • 25.4. Full-House
  • 25.5. Flush
    • 25.5.1. Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is made
    • 25.5.2. The higher flush is determined by high card, regardless of pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, etc.
  • 25.6. Straight
    • 25.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight
  • 25.7. 3-of-a-kind
  • 25.8. 2 pair
  • 25.9. Pair
  • 25.10. High card

Tennessee Two Strategy - (House Way)

26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited)	Discard any
27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited)	Discard unsuited
28. Three-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	Discard 1st card on dealer's right
29. Pair	Discard odd card
30. No-pair	Discard lowest card

Tennessee Two Bonus Table (Optional)

• 31. Player's five card hand automatically wins the original bet and is paid an additional bonus if it qualifies as one of the following:

	Hand	Additional Bonus
	Five-of-a-kind (Suited)	1000 × Wager
	Straight Flush	100 × Wager
	Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	20 × Wager
	4-of-a-Kind	1 × Wager

• 32. The Casino may elect to post an aggregate maximum payoff for these outcomes.

In a third embodiment of the card game, as represented in FIG. 3, the game play is similar to the second embodiment noted above, but the cards are held in the hand's of the player so that card selection involves discarding cards from the hands of the player instead of using table indicia as described above. The rules of play according to the third embodiment will now be described in the following:

• 1. Tennessee Two Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows the Player to wager on two outcomes.
  • 1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card Low-rank poker hands.
  • 1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands
• 2. Tennessee Two Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks of playing cards (312 cards).
• 3. All cards are distributed face down to the player.
• 4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the Player initially places two wagers in the front two betting spots:
  • 4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)
  • 4.2. Tennessee Two (Left spot—red).
• 5. Players are not restricted to one spot and are encouraged to play multiple Tennessee Two Card Poker and Lo-Hand spots (House rules for handling cards may apply).

How the Game is Played

Lo-Hand Bet

• 6. The Dealer will slide each Player two cards face down.
  • 6.1. If there are no Lo-Hand bets, the Dealer will go to procedure 14
• 7. Upon viewing their original two cards, the players are given the option of “raising” their Lo-Hand bets by posting an equal amount in the second yellow betting spot immediately behind the first wager.
  • 7.1. If the player's two cards are a pair, the Lo-Hand is an automatic loss, so the player may turn them over and relinquish the wager. The Dealer will spread them out in front of the betting area.
• 8. After each of the players with LO-Hand bets have exercised the option to “raise”, they will tuck their cards beside the Lo-Hand betting spot.
  • 8.1. Once cards are tucked, they must remain tucked until the Lo-Hand is played out.
• 9. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the center of the layout.
• 10. Starting with the first hand on the Dealer's right, the dealer will turn over the player's two cards and fan them out in front of the betting area.
• 11. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community cards, the player will win providing his hand does not contain two cards equal in rank.
• 12. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card value
  • 12.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets
  • 12.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights & flushes, which are not considered)

	High Card	Pays
	K to 10	1 to 1
	9 or 8	2 to 1
	7	4 to 1
	6	7 to 1
	5	15 to 1

Tennessee Two Bet

• 13. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will discard the three community cards.
• 14. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide a third card so that it is in front of the first two cards.
  • 14.1. If the two cards are face up, the dealer will turn them over and place them on top of the third card.
• 15. All three cards are then handed back to each of the players.
• 16. Each player will discard one of the three cards by tossing it in front of the betting area.
• 17. The player will tuck the remaining two cards next to the Tennessee Two betting spot.
  • 17.1. Once cards are tucked, they must remain tucked until the Tennessee Two Bet is played out.
• 18. The dealer will then place all of the player's discarded cards into the discard rack.
• 19. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the Tennessee Two Strategy, will discard one of these three cards.
• 20. The dealer will place the discarded card into the rack and slide the remaining two cards toward him.
• 21. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three more community cards.
• 22. Starting with the first hand on the Dealer's right, the Dealer will turn over the player's two cards.
• 23. Each player's 5 card hand comprised of his two cards and the three community cards will be compared to the dealer's 5 card hand comprised of the Dealer's two cards and the three community cards and each T2 bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher than the dealer's hand.
• 24. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.
  • 24.1. Hands are considered ties only when “Hand Rank” and card values are identical. When both hands are the same Hand Rank, the individual card values will determine the winner based on high card(s) per normal poker hand rankings.
• 25. Hands Rank as follows:
  • 25.1. Straight Flush
    • 25.1.1. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight Flush
  • 25.2. 5 of a Kind
  • 25.3. 4-of-a-kind
  • 25.4. Full-House
  • 25.5. Flush
    • 25.5.1. Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is made
    • 25.5.2. The higher flush is determined by high card, regardless of pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, etc.
  • 25.6. Straight
    • 25.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight
  • 25.7. 3-of-a-kind
  • 25.8. 2 pair
  • 25.9. Pair
  • 25.10. High card

Tennessee Two Strategy - (House Way)

26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited)	Discard any
27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited)	Discard unsuited
28. Three-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	Discard 1st card on dealer's right
29. Pair	Discard odd card
30. No-pair	Discard lowest card

Tennessee Two Bonus Table (Optional)

• 31. Player's five card hand automatically wins the original bet and is paid an additional bonus if it qualifies as one of the following:

	Hand	Additional Bonus
	Five-of-a-kind (Suited)	1000 × Wager
	Straight Flush	100 × Wager
	Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)	20 × Wager
	4-of-a-Kind	1 × Wager

• 32. The Casino may elect to post an aggregate maximum payoff for these outcomes.

In yet further embodiments, the first and second winning criteria may be varied. When the winning criteria comprises a low poker hand rank, the poker hand of the player may be required to be lower than a designated poker hand, for example a pair, a pair of a certain magnitude, some other designated poker hand rank, or a poker hand rank of the hand of the dealer. Similarly, when the winning criteria comprises a high poker hand rank, the poker hand of the player may be required to be higher than a designated poker hand, for example a pair of a certain magnitude, three of a kind, some other designated poker hand rank, or a rank of a poker hand of the dealer.

In practice, the game described herein can be played usual actual cards on a poker table surface, or alternatively, virtual cards may be displayed on a suitable display monitor in an electronic version of the game. The steps of dealing the cards and wagering remain identical regardless of the use of actual or virtual cards. In each instance, the equivalent of a plurality of decks are used. Furthermore, in each instance a low ranking poker hand is generally understood to comprise an unranked poker hand or a poker hand having a rank which is among the lower ranks of a conventional poker hand ranking system. Similarly, a high ranking poker hand is generally understood to comprise a poker hand having a rank which is among the upper ranks of a conventional poker hand ranking system, or which is better than the ranks of other players or the dealer in any given round of play. In the event that a player's hand and a dealer's hand have the same rank, the hand having cards which are greater in magnitude will be considered higher in rank according to conventional poker ranking rules for purposes of determining if the high poker hand wager should be paid the second winning amount.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.