Ultimate X with MultiDraw - Thoughts and Feedback

After talking with the Wizard and getting his permission to post it in the forums, I wanted to get some feedback on an idea that I had to combine an already great video poker game, Ultimate X, with one of my video poker concepts, MultiDraw.

Before I get into explaining the idea, I want to make sure I'm clear by stating that I do not have any affiliation with the creators of Ultimate X and my intentions are not to infringe upon their great video poker game. I'm simply exploring an idea that, in my opinion, would make Ultimate X an even greater game by taking it to an even higher level by offering more excitement. I have reached out to the company to show them my idea and I will keep that conversation confidential. What I'm looking for from this great community is their thoughts, opinions, feedback (positive and negative), and any other concerns they have about the idea.

Some of you have seen my video poker game called MultiDraw as I have posted about it and discussed it here in the forums for a few years. If you are unfamiliar with the game, it basically adds a MultiDraw card (MD card) to the standard deck of cards on the draw of the game. The MD card may be drawn into any of the open card positions in the hand where the player has not held a card from the opening deal. If the MD card appears in one of those positions, it will randomly select a number of cards (currently 1-5) to deal into the hand in the card position occupied by the appearance of the MD card and deal them into a stack. Dealing the cards into the stack will create variations of the hand and basically create new hands and more opportunities to win. I did a more thorough write up for an article on LinkedIn if you would like to read more. LinkedIn MultiDraw Article

I have a number of pictures to help explain the concept of combining both games into one. To begin, the first picture shows a player holding a pair of threes after a previous winning hand in Ultimate X.


On the draw of the game, the MD card is added to the remaining deck of cards and has the possibility of appearing in the hand. In the following picture, the player received two MD cards in two separate hands. The bottom hand is going to stack a total of two cards in the spot occupied by the MD card in that hand and the top hand is going to stack a total of three cards in the spot occupied by the MD card.


The MD cards are then removed from the hands and a reminder of the number of cards that will be drawn into the games are displayed on the right side of each hand. After removing the MD cards the first hands are finalized as shown below. Each final hand uses the active multipliers from the Ultimate X concept.


Continuing with the MultiDraw feature, the bottom hand gets another card drawn into the hand to provide a variation to the existing hand. The player obtained a three of a kind in the bottom hand after getting two pair with the first MD card. The player also gets a card in the top hand as a result of the MD card which resulted in a full house following the previous three of a kind.


The MD card feature finishes after the last card is awarded to the player in the top hand. The game drew a three of spades in the hand which resulted in a four of a kind with a kicker. The beauty of the win is that it is multiplied by three from the Ultimate X feature so the player won 2400 credits on the last draw. The other wins are displayed to the left of the hands and each takes advantage of the multipliers created by the Ultimate X feature.


A few other notes about combining the games:

-obviously the math has to be worked out and I'm sure an additional wager would be required in order to have the possibility of obtaining the MD card.

-to increase the appearance of the MD card in the hand, more than one MD card may be added to the remaining deck, but only one may appear in a single hand.

-the game could use 1-5 cards as the reward for obtaining the MD card, or any number needed to make the math work.

-instead of stacking the cards on the screen which could confuse the player, the game could "cycle" through the cards that were dealt into the stack.

-the strategy to play the game would probably stay the same since the MD card can only appear on the draw of the game.

-there is no need for additional multipliers that are attached to the MD card since the game would use the Ultimate X multipliers.

-if the player is awarded a MD card, any winning hands would not create another multiplier for the next hand (multipliers would be removed after a MD card appears).

-this game variation will probably make the Ultimate X "vulture" community happy as left over multipliers would be very valuable!

Overall, that explains the concept. I would really welcome all forms of feedback. Ultimate X has been my favorite game since it first hit the casinos and now I feel that the game could go to the next level. What does everyone think?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

*I updated the pictures to show the correct discarding after the initial deal and the holding of the 3's.

Interesting concept, RG. I might just give it a try if I see this in a casino in the future.

It looks like there a couple of technical things you might want to look at:

First, in the screen shots of the game, it appears that the Qc is discarded from the bottom row of the initial deal. However, it re-appears in the same spot after the draw. Should the drawn card have been the Qs or Qh?

Quote: RealizeGaming

-the game could use 1-5 cards as the reward for obtaining the MD card, or any number needed to make the math work.

Shouldn't this be "2-5 cards?" A 1-card "multi-draw" doesn't make sense to me.

Also, it looks like the suit data gets buried for "multi-drawn" cards. I think you may want to shift the cards so that the suits of the "underneath" cards are visible.

EDIT: I missed the part where you would cycle through the MC's. That would solve the "buried suit" problem I mentioned.

I personally don't like the part that it removes multipliers. What if I am dealt 2233MC. First MC is 2 for FH. That 2 probably would have been there anyways but now I lose a 12x.

On the other hand I could be dealt 4 to a royal and a chance for 3 shots at the royal.

If it is only 1 extra credit i may play but if it is anything more then probably would not.

I like the concept but my concern is raising the cost of the hand. I would look at reducing the multipliers and not raise the bet.

I said this privately, so forgive me for repeating myself.

In my opinion a new game concept should have no more than one humdinger. I think Ultimate X still counts as a humdinger so tacking on the multi-card feature makes two.

That said, I would apply the multi-card idea to conventional video poker and charge an optional 6th coin for it. Of course, ask for everything, in the patent application but you have to be careful what you actually present to the public.

If you remember just one of my ten commandments for game inventors it should be "keep it simple."

Quote: Joeman

Interesting concept, RG. I might just give it a try if I see this in a casino in the future.

It looks like there a couple of technical things you might want to look at:

First, in the screen shots of the game, it appears that the Qc is discarded from the bottom row of the initial deal. However, it re-appears in the same spot after the draw. Should the drawn card have been the Qs or Qh?

Thanks Joeman. Yes, you are correct the queen and two of clubs should be different cards after holding the 3's. It gets very confusing cutting and pasting from different screens.

Quote: RealizeGaming

-the game could use 1-5 cards as the reward for obtaining the MD card, or any number needed to make the math work. Shouldn't this be "2-5 cards?" A 1-card "multi-draw" doesn't make sense to me.

Yes, it should in this case. We have it in the patent as " n +1" where you get the draw to finish the hand and the MD card shows the additional cards provided in the hand. So, a MD card of 3, would technically show a total of 4 cards in the stack.

Quote: GWAE

I personally don't like the part that it removes multipliers. What if I am dealt 2233MC. First MC is 2 for FH. That 2 probably would have been there anyways but now I lose a 12x.

On the other hand I could be dealt 4 to a royal and a chance for 3 shots at the royal.

If it is only 1 extra credit i may play but if it is anything more then probably would not.

GWAE, what to do with the multipliers from the wins in the stack of cards is the interesting scenario. I think from a math standpoint it would be best to say the player had n number of opportunities to take advantage of the previous multiplier. I've also thought about a "Mega Multiplier" that would add all the newly acquired multipliers from the stack together to produce one single multiplier. Can you imagine playing the next hand with a multiplier of x48 if you had a MD card and somehow got 4 full houses? It definitely would interest me to play a game like that, but I have a feeling the gaming companies would laugh me right out the door!

Great point on the having four to a royal. Having a few extra changes to pick up a royal, along with using any existing multipliers would add to the excitement!

I've had a few conversations with companies saying the MD card is too powerful, so I'm assuming they think it will cost more than one extra coin to activate it.

Thanks for the feedback GWAE.

Quote: DRich

I like the concept but my concern is raising the cost of the hand. I would look at reducing the multipliers and not raise the bet.

I never thought about that DRich! It is actually a functional idea to consider if there were problems trying to combine both games. Since Ultimate X is so popular and well-known, I wanted to keep that game intact without messing with the gameplay in order to appeal to players. Since MultiDraw is new, I tried to adjust my game to fit Ultimate X.

Quote: Wizard

I said this privately, so forgive me for repeating myself.

In my opinion a new game concept should have no more than one humdinger. I think Ultimate X still counts as a humdinger so tacking on the multi-card feature makes two.

That said, I would apply the multi-card idea to conventional video poker and charge an optional 6th coin for it. Of course, ask for everything, in the patent application but you have to be careful what you actually present to the public.

If you remember just one of my ten commandments for game inventors it should be "keep it simple."

I agree Wizard. Simplicity is the best way to go and keeping the game to one "humdinger" is probably the best practice when creating new games. However, my boredom with simplicity is what always keeps me thinking about the next humdinger of a game. I want the unknown and the excitement of new gameplay in video poker.

It is very interesting that you say charge an optional 6th coin for the MD feature. I wouldn't think that would be enough to "pay" for the feature in a stand alone MD game. I do believe the whole MD concept would be a perfect stand alone game. Who knows, that may happen in a few months!!!!!!

The original MD game also features multipliers and I have it in both patents for the game. We just received the second MD patent and we are working on a third to include a few more features. I wish I had an updated demo to show the game, but with trying to finish my existing patent filings, needing to file four additional poker games, and 6 new slot game patents, I have been limited on time. If anyone wants to try the old demo, you can download it from this link. It is an older program and may ask you to run the application, but it does actually work. Old MultiDraw Demo It may provide people with a better understanding of the game. Just to be clear, the patent states that the game can award a random multiplier with the MD card, but in the demo the game will always use something in the format of
+2 X2, +3 x3, +4 x4, +5 x5.

To make it easier to follow the flow of the game, I've updated the opening post with the correct pictures.

I like the game, it is fun and Interesting.
Good luck with it.

Quote: MrCasinoGames

I like the game, it is fun and Interesting.
Good luck with it.

Thanks MrCasinoGames!