Poker game with 2 reward cards that adjust paytable

An apparatus for playing a card game in which a player makes a wager to participate in the card game comprising:

• a) means for providing a modified deck of playing cards having a standard fifty-two card deck and at least two Reward Cards;
• b) means for providing an initial pay table in which payouts are based on poker hand rankings and the amount of the wager;
• c) if the player receives one Reward Card during the play of the game, means for changing the payouts in the pay table by a first amount;
• and if the player receives two Reward Cards during the play of the game, means for changing the payouts in the pay table by a second amount;
• d) means for shuffling the modified deck of cards and means for displaying a starting hand of cards to the player;
• e) means for selecting none, one or more of the cards as cards to be held;
• f) means for discarding the cards that were not selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with another card to make a final hand;
• g) means for determining the poker hand ranking of the final hand;
• and
• h) means for paying the player a preestablished amount from the pay table based on the amount of the wager if the resulting cards of the final hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.

A video poker machine configured to allow a player to play a card game in which a player makes a wager to participate in the card game comprising:

• a) providing a modified deck of playing cards having a standard fifty-two card deck and at least two Reward Cards;
• b) providing an initial pay table in which payouts are based on poker hand rankings and the amount of the wager;
• c) if the player receives one Reward Card during the play of the game, changing the payouts in the pay table by a first amount;
• and if the player receives two Reward Cards during the play of the game, changing the payouts in the pay table by a second amount;
• d) shuffling the modified deck of cards and displaying a starting hand of cards to the player;
• e) selecting none, one or more of the cards as cards to be held;
• f) discarding the cards that were not selected to be held and replacing each of those cards with another card to make a final hand;
• g) determining the poker hand ranking of the final hand;
• and
• h) paying the player a preestablished amount from the pay table based on the amount of the wager if the resulting cards of the final hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.