referring to fig1 a player begins the game by placing a bet which is stored in the computer &# 39 ; s memory 2 . this is accomplished by inserting coins or betting credits into the video poker machine . the computer then reduces the player credits by the bet size 4 , displays the bet size and five card backs on the screen 6 and highlights the appropriate column in the payoff table which is continuously displayed on the screen 8 . as the table below shows , the payoff increases linearly as more coins or credits are bet by the player ; although bonus payoffs or progressive jackpots are certainly also within the scope of this invention . this payoff table will yield approximately a 99 % long - term player return , which is consistent with other video draw poker games when employing expert play . the table would be easy to tailor if state law , for example , required lower payoff percents , since returning the player &# 39 ; s bet for &# 34 ; three sevens or better &# 34 ; would subtract about two percent from the overall return . moving up to &# 34 ; three eights or better &# 34 ; would subtract another two percent , etc . ______________________________________sample payoff table coins bet 1 2 3 4 5______________________________________royal flush ( no 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000wild cards ) four wild cards 200 400 600 800 1000royal flush ( 1 or 25 50 75 100 125more wilds ) five of a kind 15 30 45 60 75straight flush 10 20 30 40 50four of a kind 6 12 18 24 30full house 5 10 15 20 25flush 3 6 9 12 15straight 2 4 6 8 10three six &# 39 ; s or bet - 1 2 3 4 5ter ( 6 &# 39 ; s thru a &# 39 ; s ) ______________________________________ after the player presses a &# 34 ; deal &# 34 ; button 10 , the machine then randomizes the card deck 12 and selects five cards from the deck 14 . the machine then randomly selects which one of the five cards , by position , will be the wild card position 16 . once determined , a brightly colored frame with the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; inscribed in the frame appears around the wild card position 18 . referring to fig2 the machine then proceeds to display the first card on the screen 20 . the computer then checks to determine if the first card position is the wild card position 22 . if it is the wild card position , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the card in the upper right corner 24 and the machine then proceeds to display the second card on the screen 26 . if the first card position is not the wild card position , the computer proceeds to display the second card on the screen 26 . referring to fig3 the computer now checks to determine if the second card is in the wild card 28 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the second card 30 and the first card is checked to determine if it matches the wild card value 38 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the first card 40 . the machine now displays the third card on the screen 42 . if the second card is not the wild card position 28 , the computer checks to determine if the first card position is the wild card position 32 . if this is true , the second card is checked to determine if it matches the wild card value 34 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the second card 36 and the machine then displays the third card 42 . if the check of the first card position determines it is not the wild card position 32 ; or first card position is the wild card position but the second card does not match the wild card value 34 , then the machine proceeds to display the third card on the screen 42 . referring to fig4 the computer now checks to determine if the third card is the wild card 44 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the third card 46 and the previous cards are checked to determine if any of them match the wild card value 54 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on those cards determined to be wild 56 . the machine now displays the fourth card on the screen 58 . if the third card is not the wild card position 44 , the computer checks to determine if any of the previous card positions are the wild card position 48 . if this is true , the third card is checked to determine if it matches the wild card value 50 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the third card 52 . if the check of the previous cards determines none of them to be the wild card position 48 ; or one of the previous card positions is the wild card position but the third card does not match the wild card value 54 ; then the machine proceeds to display the fourth card on the screen 58 . referring to fig5 the computer now checks to determine if the fourth card is the wild card 60 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the fourth card 62 and the previous cards are checked to determine if any of them match the wild card value 70 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on those cards determined to be wild 72 . the machine now displays the fifth card on the screen 74 . if the fourth card is not the wild card position 60 , the computer checks to determine if any of the previous card positions are the wild card position 64 . if this is true , the fourth card is checked to determine if it matches the wild card value 66 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the fourth card 68 . if the check of the previous cards determines none of them to be the wild card position 64 ; or one of the previous card positions is the wild card position but the fourth card does not match the wild card value 66 ; then the machine proceeds to display the fifth card on the screen 74 . referring to fig6 the computer now checks to determine if the fifth card is the wild card 76 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the fifth card 78 and the previous cards are checked to determine if any of them match the wild card value 86 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on those previous cards 88 . the machine now tabulates the number of wild cards in the hand 90 . if the fifth card is not the wild card position 76 , it is checked to determine if it matches the wild card value 82 . if this is true , the word &# 34 ; wild &# 34 ; is displayed on the fifth card 84 . if the fifth card does not match the wild card value 82 , then the machine proceeds to tabulate the number of wild cards in the hand 90 . referring to fig7 the computer then finds all winning hand combinations 92 . then the highest ranking of the winning hands is selected for payoff 94 . the rank of this hand is displayed on the screen 96 . the payoff is then determined from the payoff table 98 stored in the computer &# 39 ; s memory , using the bet value 2 and the hand rank 94 as indices to the table . the payoff message is displayed on the screen 100 and the payoff table on the screen is highlighted appropriately 102 . finally , a &# 34 ; game over &# 34 ; message is displayed on the screen 106 until the player places the next bet .
an improved stud poker game which requires no decisions from the player after the initial bet is placed . each hand has one guaranteed wild card that appears at a card position which is predetermined , and shown to the player , before the player &# 39 ; s cards are dealt . in addition to the one guaranteed wild card , all like - valued cards in the hand are also wild . also , there are a number of novel and entertaining ways to determine the wild card position . the game is adaptable to both video play and table play formats .