USOO6102402A United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 6,102,402 Scott et al. (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 15, 2000 54) BAD BEAT STUD 57 ABSTRACT 76 Inventors: Mark Scott, 3878 Biltmore Bay St., Each player makes an initial ante wager and then each player Las Vegas, Nev. 89117; Bruce and the dealer receive five cards face down. The player Henderson, P.O. Box 5047, Carefree, makes a “first' wager to See a Sixth card and a "Second Ariz. 85377 wager to See a Seventh card. The Sixth and Seventh cards are each community cards used by each player and the dealer. 21 Appl. No.: 09/163,805 Each player's hand is analyzed to See if the player has a 1-1. qualifying hand of at least a pair of Deuces or better. If the 22 Filed: Sep. 30, 1998 player does not qualify, all wagers are lost by the player. If Related U.S. Application Data the player's hand does qualify, all cards of the dealer's hand 60 Provisional application No. 60/064,670, Oct. 14, 1997. are turned face up and each player's hand is compared to the dealers hand using conventional poker hand ranking to 51 Int. C.7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A63F 1/00 determined whether the players hand has a higher ranking 52 U.S. Cl. ............................................. 273/292; 273/274 five card poker hand than the dealer's hand. Each player also 58 Field of Search ..................................... 273/292, 274; optionally may make a side bet wager to be eligible for 463/12, 13, 16 Special payouts, including a “bad beat' payout. The Special payout can take either of two forms: 1) the player wins 56) References Cited preSelected payout amounts for poker hand rankings of at least a Four-of-a-Kind if the player's hand beats or ties the U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS dealers hand, or 2) the player wins other preselected and 4,836,553 6/1989 Suttle et al.. much higher amounts for poker hand rankings of at least a 5,657,993 8/1997 Merlino et al.. Straight or higher that the player achieves but the player's 5,810,354 9/1998 Banyai hand loses to the dealers hand. Alternatively, the dealer's 5,845,906 12/1998 Wirth. hand is analyzed to determine whether the dealer has a 5,901,958 5/1999 Andrews. qualifying hand. Primary Examiner William M. Pierce Attorney, Agent, or Firm John Edward Roethel 18 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets Dealer - so 82-16 TURN RIVER 84 U.S. Patent Aug. 15, 2000 Sheet 1 of 4 6,102,402 09 o | | 79 9 | U.S. Patent Aug. 15, 2000 Sheet 2 of 4 6,102,402 UACKPOT N COO 54 PLAYER 38 CARDS 32 FG-2 U.S. Patent Aug. 15, 2000 Sheet 3 of 4 6,102,402 EINV ON 6,102,402 1 2 BAD BEAT STUD amount, say S1,000.00. The jackpot can remain as a fixed amount until won by a player or the jackpot can be a CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED progressive amount which increases in each hour or day until APPLICATIONS won. The progressive jackpot can also increase based on the This application is based on and is a Continuation-in-Part amount of play occurring at the poker table. For example, a of application Ser. No. 60/064,670, filed Oct. 14, 1997, portion of the "rake' can be used by the operator to increase entitled “Bad Beat Stud', now pending. the progressive amount of the "bad beat jackpot. In order to win the “bad beat jackpot, a player must have This application relates to a casino card game, and more a high ranking poker hand, but lose the regular game pot to particularly to a casino card game based on Seven card Stud another player. Typically, to be eligible for the “bad beat” poker. The method of play involves a dealer's five card hand, jackpot, a player must have at least Aces Full of Tens (a Full one or more player's five card hands and two community House with three Aces and two Tens or better) and then lose cards. The playerS also have the opportunity to win Special the regular pot. Even though the player may have lost the payouts for having a “bad beat' hand. regular pot, the player wins the “bad beat jackpot which BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15 could be several thousand dollars. Often this “bad beat' jackpot is divided among all of the players at the table, with Seven card Stud poker has been played for many years. the player holding the “bad beat' hand winning the major Each player receives Seven cards and makes the best five portion of the jackpot. card poker hand from these Seven cards. The ranking of AS casino gaming proliferates throughout the United poker hands in Seven card Stud uses conventional poker hand States and into foreign countries, there continues to be a rankings: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full need for more live casino games to attract and keep the House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair interest of the players. In order to be Successful, live casino and Highest Card. games must be easy to play, but nevertheless exciting and Poker games using community cards have also been should also provide the player with the opportunity to win a played for many years. These games generally fall into the 25 large payout. family of games known as "Spit-in-the-Ocean' games. In It is the object of the present invention to provide a new, these games each player is dealt one or more cards and the live casino table game that is easy to play, that will appeal rest of the players hand comes from community cards to playerS and that offers the opportunity for a player to win available to all players. a large jackpot. Perhaps the most popular community card game is Texas It is a feature of the present invention that each player Hold-Em because of the large number of players who can plays a Seven card Stud poker hand against a dealer's Seven play at one time and the fast action and large pots that are generated. The game is fast because only two cards are dealt card Stud poker hand. Each player and the dealer have their to each player, with the remaining cards being dealt to a own five cards and two community cards are shared by each 35 player and the dealer. Each player makes multiple wagers to “flop” which forms the community cards from which each continue to participate in the play of the game. If the player player makes up the rest of his hand. Each hand, however, has a high ranking hand and Still loses to the dealer, the has a single Set of community cards which all players use as player can win a "bad beat' payout. part of their poker hand. Therefore, the winning hand comes from that player whose two cards best fit with the commu It is an advantage of the present invention that the Seven 40 card Stud game used in the method of play is easy to nity cards. understand by most players and utilizes traditional poker There are also many casino games which add to the hand rankings to determine winning card combinations. The conventional game an additional Side bet So that a player can use of multiple wagers during the play of the hand allows the be eligible for a large jackpot. In CARIBBEAN STUD(R) player the opportunity to fold on poor hands and to increase Poker, a player can make a separate Side bet wager to be 45 his wager on better hands, thereby allowing the player to eligible for Special payouts. If the player has made the side engage in money management techniques to improve his bet wager and is dealt a Royal Flush, the player wins 100% chance of winning. The “bad beat” feature also provides the of a progressive jackpot amount. This Side bet feature is player with the opportunity to win a large jackpot amount in described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041, the disclosure of which a situation in which the player would otherwise have only a is incorporated herein. AS described in this '041 patent, this 50 losing hand. Side bet feature can also be applied to Twenty-One, conven tional Draw Poker and other casino games. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In live poker room gaming, a plurality of playerS compete Each player makes an initial ante wager and then each against one another. The house or game operator provides a player and the dealer receive five cards face down. The dealer, the cards and a table to play the game. Typically, a 55 player makes a “first' wager to See a sixth card and a Small percentage of each pot (the "rake') is collected by the "Second' wager to See a Seventh card. The Sixth and Seventh game operator as the fee for providing the dealer and the cards are each community cards used by each player and the facilities. dealer. After all Seven cards are dealt, each player's hand is Operators of live poker room gaming have used different analyzed to See if the player has a qualifying hand. In order types of inducements to encourage player participation. 60 for a players hand to qualify, the player must have a Besides free coffee and donuts, many operators also provide minimum ranking hand which is to be determined math what is known as a “bad beat jackpot.