in the following detailed description , a method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described in conjunction with its application to a casino environment , thus incorporating wagers , payouts , etc . those of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend alternative applications of the present invention outside a casino environment , and the invention is not meant to be limited to the described application . for example , the game may be embodied in a video game that is played for entertainment purposes against a computer or the like . alternatively , players may play the game without wagers in a head - to - head format with one player acting as a dealer , with the players simply keeping track of wins and losses . with reference to fig1 triple hand poker according to the present invention may be played on a blackjack style or poker style table with a dealer also acting as a banker in the house banked version . typically , a standard 52 - card deck of playing cards is used . the playing surface or table layout 10 includes a playing area 12 for each player , each with three primary wager areas for high 14 , mid 16 and low 18 . the playing area 12 also includes two secondary wager areas for a copy wager 20 and a pair wager 22 . three card hand areas are provided for each player for a high hand 24 , mid hand 26 , and low hand 28 . a dealer area 30 similarly contains three card hand areas for a high hand 32 , mid hand 34 and low hand 36 . rules and payoffs are displayed at 38 . in a preferred operating mode , to play the game , each player places three equal compulsory wagers at wager areas 14 , 16 and 18 . each player may also place optional wagers at either or both secondary wager areas 20 , 22 . each player and the dealer receive five cards in rotation . in this context , by dealing only five cards to each player and the dealer , up to seven players may play the game at one time . each player and the dealer then create three hands with the five cards being two hands of two cards each and one hand of one card . the players &# 39 ; two - card high hands are placed at hand area 24 , the two - card mid hands are placed at hand area 26 , and the one - card low hands are placed at hand area 28 . after all players have acted , the dealer cards are exposed and set into three similar hands of two cards , two cards and one card and placed respectively at card hand areas 32 , 34 and 36 . in the operating embodiment , the high hand must be better than the mid hand , and the mid hand must be better than the low hand for all players and the dealer . the exact method of dealer hand set depends on the version in operation , which can be set according to casino - specific rules . for example , in one playing embodiment , only pairs and high cards have rank value . in this embodiment , a preferred standard house way of setting hands is provided according to predetermined hand - forming rules as follows : ( 1 ) with a hand of two pair , the high hand is a high pair , the mid hand is a low pair , and the low hand is an odd card ; ( 2 ) with a hand of one pair , the high hand is a pair , the mid hand contains a high card and a low card , and the low hand is an odd card ; and ( 3 ) with a hand of no pair , the high hand is a highest card and a lowest card , the mid hand is a second highest card and a second lowest card , and the low hand is a third highest card . in an alternative “ no pair ” forming rule , ( 3 ) the high hand is a highest card and a second lowest card , the mid hand is a second highest card and a lowest card , and the low hand is a third highest card . this provides a simple fixed house way capable of being implemented by any dealer . additionally , the player perception is that the house is restricted in playing strategy . in another playing embodiment , a two - card straight flush , a two - card straight and a two - card flush also have rank value . with these additional hands , the manner of setting the dealer hands can be varied significantly according to house rules . in either playing mode , a rule may be established that pairs in the dealer hands are never split . the dealer then evaluates each player hand in rotation . the respective dealer and player high hands 24 , 32 are compared , the mid hands 26 , 34 are compared , and the low hands 28 , 36 are compared . each wager at wager areas 14 , 16 and 18 independently either wins a fixed payout ( such as 1 to 1 ) or loses based on the specific comparison . the comparison is made based on poker combinations and rules inasmuch as such rules are applicable with hands of two cards , two cards and one card , respectively . the payout may be altered either in the player &# 39 ; s favor or the casino &# 39 ; s favor , and the invention is not meant to be limited to the described example . in an alternative playing mode , the three primary wager areas 14 , 16 and 18 are replaced with a single wager area , wherein if the player wins two or three of the hands , then the wager wins a payout of , for example , 1 to 1 . if the player loses two or three of the hands , then the wager is lost . in the event of an exact same hand , for example , a hand having an equal poker rank , this specific hand is regarded as a copy , and house rules apply accordingly . preferably , the house wins a copy hand wager . the rules for resolving copy hands can be altered , however , to modify the casino house advantage . for example , although the house may win one copy , the player may win two - or three - copy hands . odds above 1 to 1 could apply in this instance . another example is that the house wins a copy on an exact nominated hand ( e . g ., low ) but the player wins a copy on either of the other exact nominated hands ( in this case , high and mid ). if a player places one or more secondary proposition wagers , these wagers are paid appropriately during the dealer &# 39 ; s evaluation of each player &# 39 ; s hands . a copy proposition wager at secondary wager area 20 wins an appropriate payoff upon the occurrence of a copy hand between the player and the dealer . the payoff may be increased as the number of copy hands increases , providing different payoffs , or there may be a composite payoff . similar rules apply with respect to the pair proposition wager at wager area 22 . the pair proposition wager wins a payoff upon the occurrence of a pair in one of the two two - card player hands . the payoff may increase as the total poker rank increases , or the wager may be awarded a composite payoff . dealer hand pairs etc . may also be incorporated into the pair proposition wager . in yet another operating mode , there are additional competition wagers that may be placed by the players . a hand not being played by a player is designated as an empty hand or dragon hand , and a player may also wager on the dragon hand against the dealer hand . with fewer cards used , there is the possibility of a minimum of two dragon hands . alternatively , the dealer may have as many as three hands that the players can wager against . thus , a first competition wager option is that all players may bet against the dealer hand on any hand that does not have a designated player . a second competition wager option is that the player hand is bet against any hand that does not have a designated player , with these hands deemed to be dealer hands for this purpose . as would be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art , the invention can be embodied in a wide variety and forms of media such as , but not limited to , single player slot video machines , multi - player slot video machines , electronic games and devices , lottery terminals , scratch - card formats , software , as well as in - flight , home and internet entertainment . in addition , the invention can be readily implemented as a computer program product ( e . g ., floppy disk , compact disk , etc .) comprising a computer readable medium having control logic recorded therein to implement the features of the invention as described in relation to the other preferred embodiments . control logic can be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by a central processing unit ( cpu ) to perform the operations described herein . in this context , referring to fig2 a block diagram is illustrated showing the components of an apparatus configured for playing the game according to the invention . the apparatus includes a display 40 , a player interface 42 , and circuitry 44 for effecting game play and including structure for receiving wagers , dealing hands and resolving wagers according to the game rules . that is , a processing circuit 44 is programmed to effect game play according to the rules of the game , enabling players to selectively form high , mid and low hands and automatically forming dealer hands according to hand - forming rules . the system resolves competition wagers based on a comparison of the player high , mid and low hands with the respective dealer hands , and resolves proposition wagers according to game rules . the triple hand game according to the present invention enables a number of advantages not previously recognized in existing games . the incidence of pushes , which occurs often in conventional double hand poker , has been eliminated . the calculation and collection of commission has been eliminated , thereby also eliminating the associated errors and collection problems . the house way may be set to eliminate any variation and subsequent potential dealer error . an alternative house way allowing variation from standard set in certain situations offers only minimal opportunity for strategy variation and subsequent potential dealer error . the simplicity of hand setting also enables ease of player and dealer acceptance . the wager embodiment of three wagers is attractive to players . this creates more wagers on the table and a higher payoff frequency , although one of the payoff situations is an overall player loss . the proposition wagers of copy and pair both have sufficient frequency to appear to be accessible and allow rewarding odds payoffs . the extra wager options on additional hands is beneficial where there is a low player table occupancy . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments , but on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .
in a card game , each player and the dealer are dealt five cards to form two two - card hands and one one - card hand , corresponding to a high hand , a mid hand , and a low hand . the player high , mid and low hands are compared with the respective dealer hands to determine a game result . in one operating mode , players can make a wager for each of the three hands , and the wagers are paid or taken separately depending on the respective comparison results . alternatively , players may make a single wager that wins if the player wins at least two out of the three hands . the game also includes provisions for proposition wagers such as a copy wager and / or a pair wager as well as an empty hand or dragon hand concept . the three hand game is more exciting than existing multiple hand games and provides a perception of higher payoff frequency .