Methods to provide an enhanced likelihood of winning an award and to provide enhanced awards based upon the appearance of symbols on free paylines or free hands of cards. In one embodiment base paylines and a free payline are defined using the same symbol matrix and same reel strips. The free payline is an additional payline with same frequencies of wins and losses as the base paylines. The player wagers upon any number of base paylines. The player receives a free payline if a designated number of base paylines are wagered upon. A multiplier enhances the award for winning symbol combinations appearing on the free payline, with the multiplier value equal to the total wager. In another embodiment, a player wagers upon any number of displayed poker hands. The player receives at least one free hand if a designated number of hands are wagered upon.