the method of play of the present invention can be played on a suitable live gaming poker table as shown in fig1 . the table 10 is provided with a plurality of player locations , e . g . a - f , and the dealer sits adjacent the table at location 12 . as is conventional in live gaming poker , the dealer does not play a hand , but merely deals the cards and supervises the wagering and payouts during the player of the game . many of the traditional live poker game formats can be adapted for play in accordance with the present invention . in each format , the use of antes , blinds ( big and / or small ) and a dealer button can used as would be appropriate for the poker game format being played . version 1 . the method of the present invention as applied to texas hold &# 39 ; em begins with each player receiving two hole cards from the dealer . a round of betting occurs . all bets are collected into a pot usually aggregated in front of the dealer &# 39 ; s location 12 . as is conventional , a portion of the pot is raked by the dealer as the house &# 39 ; s fee for dealing the game . next two or more distinct groups of community cards are dealt in which all of the community cards in each group are distinct from all of the community cards in each of the other groups . in the example shown in fig1 - 3 , five community cards are dealt face up in each group of community cards . the first group of community cards starts with a first flop of three community cards 41 , 42 and 43 is displayed in first hand 40 and the second group of community cards starts with a second flop of three community cards 51 , 52 and 53 is displayed in the second hand 50 in a suitable location such as the center of the gaming table 10 . another round of betting occurs . as shown in fig2 , a fourth community card 44 ( the turn or fourth street ) is displayed in the first hand 40 and a fourth community card ( the turn or fourth street ) is displayed in the second hand 50 . another round of betting occurs . as shown in fig3 , a fifth community card 45 ( the river or fifth street ) is displayed in the first hand 40 and a fifth community card ( the river or fifth street ) is displayed in the second hand 50 . a final round of betting occurs . the remaining player with the best five card poker hand either using the five community cards from first hand 40 plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards or using the five community cards from the second hand 50 plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards wins the entire pot . alternatively , the remaining player with the best five card poker hand using his two hole cards and the five community cards from the first hand 40 wins half the pot . the remaining player with best five card poker hand using his two hole cards and the five community cards from the second hand 50 wins the other half the pot . if the same player has the best poker hand from both the first hand 40 and the second hand 50 , that player wins the entire pot . if more than two groups of community cards are used , then the player with the best hand from among his two hole cards and one of the plurality of groups of community cards could win the entire pot or the pot could be split a plurality of ways for each winning player having the best hand using each group of community cards . version 2 . the method of the present invention as applied to omaha hold &# 39 ; em begins with each player receiving four hole cards from the dealer . a round of betting occurs . next two groups of three community cards representing a first hand and a second hand are dealt face up in the same manner as described in version 1 . another round of betting occurs . then a fourth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fourth community card is displayed in the second hand . another round of betting occurs . then a fifth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fifth community card is displayed in the second hand . a final round of betting occurs . the remaining player with the best five card poker hand either using the five community cards from first hand plus only two of the player &# 39 ; s four hole cards or using the five community cards from the second hand plus only two of the player &# 39 ; s four hole cards wins the entire pot . alternatively , the remaining player with the best five card poker hand using only two of his four hole cards and the five community cards from the first hand wins half the pot . the remaining player with best five card poker hand using only two of his four hole cards and the five community cards from the second hand wins the other half the pot . if the same player has the best poker hand from both the first hand and the second hand , that player wins the entire pot . version 3 . the method of the present invention as applied to pineapple hold &# 39 ; em begins with each player receiving three hole cards from the dealer . a round of betting occurs . each player must discard one of his hole cards at this point . next two groups of three community cards representing a first hand and a second hand are dealt face up in the same manner as described in version 1 . another round of betting occurs . then a fourth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fourth community card is displayed in the second hand . another round of betting occurs . then a fifth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fifth community card is displayed in the second hand . a final round of betting occurs . the remaining player with the best five card poker hand either using the five community cards from first hand plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards or using the five community cards from the second hand plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards wins the entire pot . alternatively , the remaining player with the best five card poker hand using his hole cards and the five community cards from the first hand wins half the pot . the remaining player with best five card poker hand using his hole cards and the five community cards from the second hand wins the other half the pot . if the same player has the best poker hand from both the first hand and the second hand , that player wins the entire pot . version 4 . the method of the present invention as applied to crazy pineapple hold &# 39 ; em begins with each player receiving three hole cards from the dealer . a round of betting occurs . next two groups of three community cards representing a first hand and a second hand are dealt face up in the same manner as described in version 1 . another round of betting occurs . each player must discard one of his hole cards at this point . then a fourth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fourth community card is displayed in the second hand . another round of betting occurs . then a fifth community card is displayed in the first hand and a fifth community card is displayed in the second hand . a final round of betting occurs . the remaining player with the best five card poker hand either using the five community cards from first hand plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards or using the five community cards from the second hand plus the player &# 39 ; s hole cards wins the entire pot . alternatively , the remaining player with the best five card poker hand using his hole cards and the five community cards from the first hand wins half the pot . the remaining player with best five card poker hand using his hole cards and the five community cards from the second hand wins the other half the pot . if the same player has the best poker hand from both the first hand and the second hand , that player wins the entire pot . the method of the present invention can be applied to any poker game that uses community cards . poker games that split the pot between the best high hand and the best low hand can also be adapted to the method of play of the present invention . while the invention has been illustrated with respect to its various embodiments , these embodiments should be considered as illustrative rather than limiting . various modifications and additions may be made and will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the invention should not be limited by the foregoing description , but rather should be defined only by the following claims .
each player receives two hole cards . a first group of community cards and a second group of community cards are dealt . additional community cards are dealt to each group . once all cards have been dealt , the highest ranking poker hand from using either of the community card groups is the winning hand . the betting takes place in the customary manner as appropriate for the game format being played .