Patent Application
20070241505
In the following description of embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
The order in which the steps are presented below is not limited to any particular order and does not necessarily imply that they have to be performed in the order presented. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the order of these steps can be rearranged and performed in any suitable manner. It further will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that some steps may be omitted or added and still fall within the spirit of the invention.
The present invention comprises a gaming method and an apparatus that may be used to implement the gaming method. In general, the gaming method is designed to reward players who have compiled hands that are better than the dealer's hand based on conventional Blackjack rules. Traditional Blackjack rules are used to value the cards and to determine game outcome. At least one standard deck of 52 playing cards is used in the present invention although up to eight decks of cards may be used on a Blackjack-sized table. These cards each have a numerical or letter value, and a suit associated with them. A standard deck consists of four sets (of thirteen cards each) numbered as follows: A (ace), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J (jack), Q (queen), and K (king). There are four cards of each value, one of each “suit”: spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts. As in conventional Blackjack, the suit is irrelevant for purposes of the present invention, and only the value of the card is considered. The value of the cards is computed as follows: for cards valued two through nine, they are given the value shown on the card; tens, jacks, queens, and kings are each valued as ten points; aces may be valued as one point or as eleven points, at the player's discretion.
To determine whether the player or the dealer wins a hand, the value of each card in the player's hand is added together. If the value of all the cards in a player's hand ever exceeds a score of 21, then the player “busts” and loses the hand (keeping in mind that the player may choose to value aces as one if necessary). If the player does not bust, then the person with the cards that total the highest value wins the hand. If the combined values of the cards in the player's hand and the dealer's hand are the same, then the hand is usually a “push,” wherein neither the player nor the dealer wins the hand.
As depicted in the block diagram of
For purposes of describing various embodiments herein, the terms “community cards” and “community card values” may be used interchangeably. Additionally, the term “predetermined community cards” or “predetermined community card values” are used, but they are not limited to community cards/community card values that are predetermined before the game begins. “Predetermined community cards” may also refer to community cards that are dealt at some point during the game before the player makes a decision whether to use one or more of them to form his hand. Additionally, the term “dealer” represents the “house” or the casino; or a dealer may refer to a virtual dealer in embodiments of the invention that involve computers, the Internet, and/or other forms of electronic media.
Referring now to
After the dealer shuffles the cards and the players have placed their bets, the dealer deals one face up card to each player (step 30). (The term “face up” card may be used to refer to a card that is laid out to the players and to the dealer such that the card's game indicia are visible to the players and the dealer.) The dealer also deals a face down card to himself (step 40). At this juncture, the dealer and players are not yet permitted to view the dealer's face down card. The dealer also deals three community cards face down (step 50) and then reveals a first community card (step 55)
Next, at step 60, after seeing their face up card and the first community card, each player is given the option to stand or bet. If the player decides to stand, no further bets can be made (step 70) and his hand is then comprised of only his face up card and the first community card. If the player decides to bet, he places a second bet equal to the ante to buy a second community card (step 80) so that his hand will be comprised of his face up card, the first community card, and the second community card. After the players make their second bets, the second community card is revealed (step 85).
Then, at step 90, after seeing the second community card, each player who made a second bet is given the option to stand or bet. If the player decides to stand, no further bets can be made (step 100) and his hand is then comprised of his face up card, the first community card, and the second community card. If the player decides to bet, he places a third bet equal to the ante to buy a third community card (step 110) so that his hand will be comprised of his face up card, the first community card, the second community card, and the third community card. After the players make their third bets, the third community card is revealed (step 115).
After step 55, wherein the first community card is revealed, if the player's initial two card hand (i.e., his face up card and the first community card) equals “21,” the player is an automatic winner, the player will be paid even money, and there can be no more betting for him. However, if at any time, a player's score exceeds 21, the player loses immediately and is out of the game unless he made an optional side bet (described below). If the player busts, his side bet remains in action and his card may be tucked under his side bet. The dealer will collect all bets wagered before busting which means that the last buy bet wagered will be returned to the player.
After the third community card is revealed in step 115, the dealer reveals his face up card (step 120). Then the dealer is given the opportunity to use as many community cards needed to reach at least “17” (step 130). Starting from the first community card, if the sum of the dealer's face down card and the first community card does not equal at least “17”, then the dealer uses the second community card to form his hand. If the sum of the dealer's face down card, the first community card, and the second community card still does not equal at least “17”, then the dealer must use the third community card to form his hand. If at any point, the dealer's hand reaches a soft “17” (for example, a hand comprised of (A-6), (A-4-2), (A-3-3), (5-A-A), (2-2-2-A), or (4-A-A-A), then the dealer must stand. The dealer does not ‘buy’ additional community cards like the players must do by making additional bets as described in steps 80 and 110 above. In alternate embodiments of the invention, the method and rules used by the dealer in deciding whether to use additional community cards may vary according to a predetermined set of house rules. Such house rules may vary depending on the preference of the gaming establishment.
Once the dealer has played out his hand, he will compare his hand with each player's hand (step 140) and bets are then resolved (step 150) according to a predetermined payout schedule. If the dealer's hand exceeds “21” at any point while playing his hand, then the dealer busts and loses to all remaining players; and all of the remaining players' bets are paid even money. In the event the dealer's hand ties with the player's hand, then it is a push.
In alternate embodiments of the invention, an optional side bet may be incorporated into the gaming method of the present invention. In such embodiments, when making the ante or mandatory bet to participate in the game, the player may choose to make an additional side bet before any cards are dealt to him. Such side bets may be made for the occurrence of any variety of events. For instance, the side bet may be based on the outcome of any combination of the following cards: the player's face up card, the dealer's face down card, and/or one or more of the community cards.
A player may make a side bet that their own face up card, the three community cards, and the dealer card will form a winning five-card poker hand (e.g., pair, two pairs, three of a kind, straight, flushes, four of a kind, full house, straight flush, and royal flush). In one embodiment of the present invention, a player may make a side bet that their own face up card, the three community cards, and the dealer card will form either: a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, or a pair of 6's or better. In such embodiments that incorporate a side bet, the ante bet has no bearing on the five card Bonus side bet. If the player busts or obtains a Blackjack, he is still eligible to win on his side bet (his side bet remains in action and his card may be tucked under his side bet). In one embodiment, the payout schedule to resolve the side bets may be as follows:
In a further embodiment of the invention wherein a player may make a side bet that their own face up card, the three community cards, and the dealer card will form either a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, or a pair of 6's or better, the following payout schedule may also be used:
It can be realized from the embodiments described herein that the present invention provides a modified Blackjack game that adds new excitement and larger rewards than traditional Blackjack games. The above-described embodiments of the present invention have many advantages. For instance, the embodiments that incorporate a side bet and utilize the payout schedules presented above may provide the player with games that are more rewarding (for both players and gaming establishments). In conventional Blackjack, a player may earn one-and-a-half times his original bet on a “blackjack,” but otherwise he is limited to winning the amount that he wagers (even by splitting or doubling down, the player must double his original bet for a chance to win only that doubled amount). In contrast, the present invention offers the possibility for a player to make side bets for an opportunity to win up to five hundred times his original side bet (see TABLES 1 and 2). Thus, the present invention offers the possibility of huge payouts for the players.
The present invention retains some of the features and advantages of Blackjack while also providing the player with more control of the cards dealt to him and the dynamics of a side wager and additional betting opportunities for enhanced player anticipation and enjoyment. A player may feel like he has more control because the present invention provides him with options. For instance, in the present invention, the player has the option of making additional bets to buy additional community cards.
The invention therefore benefits the player who desires a novel variation of Blackjack as well as the player who does not want to have to learn new rules for valuing cards and scoring hands, but desires some variety. Additionally, with the incorporation of a side bet and additional betting opportunities, the invention provides gaming establishments with the potential of generating more revenue. Nonetheless, it is advantageous to offer Blackjack players some variation in the game to maintain their long-term interest.
Additionally, various embodiments of the present invention have reasonable odds for both the player and the house. This is another advantage of the invention because, to be a viable casino game, the gaming method should provide opportunity for a reasonable return for both the house and the player.
It is to be understood, that although some advantages of the present invention are described herein, it is not necessary that all the advantageous features and/or all the advantages need to be incorporated into every embodiment of the invention.
Referring now to
Gaming layout 60 includes a plurality of player positions 62A-G, which is adapted to distinguish each player's bets and cards from those of the other players. Although seven player positions 62A-G are depicted in
Gaming layout 60 further includes a dealer position 64 which may include a chip tray to store gaming chips 66, a card dispensing apparatus such as a dealing shoe 61, and a discard holder 63 for discarded cards. The dealer may place the cards dealt to himself in any designated area of the gaming layout per the casino's preference. For example, the dealer may deal his face down card and place it on card position 68. Gaming layout 60 also includes a community card area 91 somewhere in the center area of the table.
Referring now to
Also, the amount of community cards incorporated into the game is not limited to three community cards. For instance, in other variations of the invention there may be two, four, or more community cards. Naturally, in such embodiments, the amount of additional betting positions correlate with the amount of community cards used in the game.
The player position depicted in
Referring now to
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, community card position 92 may be labeled “1” to indicate that the first community card should be placed thereon; community card position 94 may be labeled “2” to indicate that the second community card should be placed thereon; and community card position 96 may be labeled “3” to indicate that the third community card should be placed thereon.
Of course, locations, and designs of the player's betting positions and/or community card positions may be adjusted as desired so long as they remain within reasonable access and view for the player and the dealer. Also, any designation (any combination of colors, patterns, designs, words, numbers, logos and/or other symbols) may be included within the betting locations and/or community card positions so long as the meaning of the designation is clear to the players and dealer. Other features may be included within the gaming layout 60 such as payout schedules/tables, rules of play, logos, trademarks, casino name, designs and/or various artistic elements.
Although the present invention has been described above in considerable detail with reference to certain versions thereof, other versions are possible. For example, the gaming method described above is not limited to being played as a table game. The gaming method may be played as a board game or by using computers or electronic devices having audio and video outputs. Thus, the term “cards” as used in this application refers to traditional cards made of paper stock having traditional game indicia, such as numbers (2-10), suits (diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs), and characters (aces, jacks, queens, and kings). The term “cards” is also used to refer to electronic images of traditional cards. The term “dealer” may be an actual person distributing the cards. It is noted that the dealer may also be a player, and the dealer does not have to be associated with a business entity having a stake in any profits derived from operating the game. The term “dealer” may also be used to refer to a virtual dealer that is programmed through an electronic device or computer.
The invention can be readily implemented in a wide variety of additional forms and media including, 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. Furthermore, the invention can be readily implemented in software, which can be stored on a disk (e.g., magnetic disk, compact disc (CD), USB memory stick, etc.) and used with a computer system. In one embodiment, the gaming method of the present invention may be implemented as a computer game that may be executed via disk or downloaded from the Internet and played using a computer, gaming console, or an electronic handheld device (e.g., personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile phones, etc.). Such embodiments may be played individually or may be played with other players. In another embodiment, the present invention may be played as an interactive online gambling game wherein the player may play against the dealer individually or with other players via the Internet. The dealer may be an actual person or a virtual dealer. Similarly, the other players may be actual people or they may be computer generated virtual players. In other embodiments of the invention, the gaming method may be played against a casino or wagering establishment from a remote location via the Internet.
Some steps of the gaming method described herein may be added, omitted, modified, or performed in various sequences. Additionally, some of the steps described in the various embodiments herein are for illustrative purposes, and as such, some of the steps may be modified, added, or omitted without departing form the scope of the invention. Nonetheless, the various embodiments of the invention which are described herein may be incorporated in a variety of contexts as mentioned above.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority from the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,138, filed Apr. 15, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11404138 | Apr 2006 | US |
| Child | 11554826 | US |
