Patent Application
20090061977
Games of chance exist in a variety of forms and, in many instances, are implemented electronically. For example, Video Poker is a common casino game based on five-card draw Poker that is played on a computerized console. Video Poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a solid state central processing unit. The earliest models appeared in the mid-1970s when personal computers were produced. Although the technology used to implement those games was fairly primitive, the game itself has not significantly changed and is fairly popular to this day. Part of the reason for the popularity is due to the less intimidating nature when compared to actual card playing games.
In Video Poker, the game generally begins by placing a bet of one or more credits (e.g., money deposited with the machine) and then pressing a “deal” button to draw cards. The player is then given an opportunity to keep certain cards and discard others in exchange for new cards from the same virtual deck. For example, Video Poker machines are generally programmed to deal random card sequences. A series of cards is generated for each play in which five cards are dealt straight to the player's hand with the option of up to five more cards being dealt to the player if the player requests them. To obtain the additional cards, the player must discard a number of cards corresponding to the number of cards requested.
After the draw, the Video Poker machine offers a “payout” if the hand matches one of the winning hands in the posted pay schedule. Typically, a payout occurs when a player obtains at least a pair of jacks. Pay tables allocate the payout for hands based partially upon how rare they are, and also based upon the total theoretical return the game operator chooses to offer. For example, “full pay” Video Poker machines offer the typical maximum payback percentage for that game type. Payback percentage, on the other hand, expresses the long-term expected value of the player's wager as a percentage. In this regard, a payback percentage of 99% would indicate that, for each $100 wagered, the player would expect to lose $1.
Payback percentages on full-pay games are often close to or even in excess of 100%, assuming error-free perfect play. For example, a full-pay “Jacks or Better” Video Poker machine may offer a payback percentage of 99.5% when played with perfect strategy. However, a “Royal Flush” and other improbable hands are also part of that percentage. Therefore, the player generally has to play perfectly many thousands of hands to get “even”, including attaining a Royal Flush.
Generally, the systems and methods (i.e., the “utility”) provide for enhanced gaming during a game of chance. For example, the utility may provide the player with the opportunity to make a more educated decision when wagering sums of money in the game of chance. In this regard, the utility may observe a player's game elements (e.g., playing cards) and determine a “best strategy” for the player to employ on subsequent cards. In other words, the utility may show the player the best achievable hand that could be attained based on the player's present hand and any other visible cards that have been dealt. And, as such, the utility may enable the player to play perfectly (e.g., to obtain the highest expected value payout).
To illustrate, a player may be dealt a certain five card hand during a draw Poker game. The utility may read the player's five card hand and assist the player by informing the player of which cards to discard. In this regard, the utility may determine the player's current hand and calculate the best or most likely possible hand the player could obtain when discarding certain cards and receiving new cards on the next draw.
The game of chance, however, is not intended to be limited to simply five card draw Poker. Rather, the game may be extended to other games of chance requiring a certain level of decision-making. For example, in Blackjack the player's cards are visible as is one of the dealer's cards. The utility may observe all of the visible cards and calculate the odds of winning the hand based thereon. In this regard, the utility may advise the player to hit, stand, split, “double down”, or even surrender the player's hand based on the calculated expected payout.
The utility itself may be an optional feature. For example, some players may not require assistance when making a decision on subsequent cards. Accordingly, the utility is at the player's disposal. In this regard, the utility may be offered to the player as a sort of side wager. For example, when a player is dealt a certain hand and decides to employ the utility, the player may wager or pay a sum of money to receive the assistance from the utility. In one embodiment, if the player loses a hand in which the utility was employed, the utility may be offered for free on the next hand or at some other point in time so as to encourage the player to wager more money. Alternatively or additionally, the utility may be offered to a player free of charge when the player matches some predetermined betting threshold (e.g., making a bet equal to the game's maximum allowable bet).
In one embodiment, an advisory system for use in gaming includes a detector that detects elements of a user's game (e.g., playing cards) that are present at a first duration and a response module that is communicatively coupled to the detector to analyze the elements of the user's game and provide a response to the user that recommends an action to be made by the user.
The user's game may be an electronic game of chance or a physical game of chance. In a physical game of chance, the detector may include an optical recognition module for recognizing the user's playing cards. In the electronic game of chance, the detector may electronically process information pertaining to the user's playing cards.
The advisory system may further include a storage element that stores software instructions used in implementing the detector and the response module and a processor that, when directed by the software instructions, implements the detector and the response module. The storage element may include a lookup table that uses information pertaining to the elements of the user's game that are present at the first duration to locate a second set of game elements. Alternatively or additionally, the storage element may include an algorithm that uses the elements of the user's game that are present at the first duration as an input to determine a second set of game elements.
The advisory system may further include a display unit communicatively coupled to the response module to electronically display the response to the user. The response module may be configured for providing the response to the user on a first portion of the display unit. In this regard, the display unit may be further configured to provide the elements of the user's game in an electronic game of chance.
The response module may further be configured for computing the probability of attaining a predetermined set of playing cards. Alternatively or additionally, the response module may be further configured for computing the expected value based on a user's set of playing cards at the first duration. The advisory system is configured with an electronic gaming device used for implementing a game of chance and wherein the game of chance is configured for presenting the user with the response after the user wagers a predetermined amount of money or provides a payment to the advisory system. The game of chance may be further configured for presenting the user with a second response, in response to the user failing to attain a particular set of playing cards and in response to wagering the predetermined amount of money. For example, the particular set of playing cards may be a non-losing set of playing cards or a recommended set of playing cards.
The advisory system may further include a network interface configured for communicating with a server. The network interface may transfer information to the server pertaining to a sum of money apportioned to a use of the advisory system. In this regard, the sum of money may be maintained in a progressive jackpot account.
In another embodiment, a method of operating a game of chance (i.e., an electronic game of chance or an actual game of chance) includes providing a decision based game of chance to a player, providing a first set of game elements of the decision based game of chance to the player, and, with a detector, recognizing the first set of game elements provided to the player. The method also includes computing a second set of game elements based at least on the first set of game elements and providing information to the player that indicates a decision to be made by the player prior to obtaining the second set of game elements.
Providing information to the player may include configuring the information as optional information. Computing the second set of game elements may include using the first set of game elements to locate the second set of game elements within a lookup table. Alternatively or additionally, computing the second set of game elements includes using the first set of game elements as an input to a software algorithm.
The method may further include requiring payment by the player for receiving the information. In this regard, the method may further include retaining the payment within a progressive jackpot account that is payable to a winner after a predetermined period of time or upon occurrence of a certain event. The method may further include guaranteeing the information by offering a second opportunity, without payment, for receiving information indicative of a decision to be made by the player.
Recognizing the first set of game elements provided to the player may include detecting the first set of game elements with an optical recognition device in a physical game of chance. In this regard, recognizing the first set of game elements provided to the player may include processing information pertaining to the first of game elements in an electronic game of chance.
In another embodiment, a game of chance advisory system includes a processor that processes information of a player's first set of game cards in a game of chance (e.g., an electronic game of chance or a physical game of chance, such as Blackjack or Poker) to determine and provide advisory information to the player prior to receiving a second set of game cards. The advisory system also includes an interface communicatively coupled to the processor to communicate the advisory information to the player, wherein the game of chance advisory system is provided to the player under the control of a game of chance operator.
The advisory system may further include a detector that detects the player's first set of game cards. In this regard, the processor and the interface are configured with a server that receives electronic data from the detector, wherein the electronic data is representative of the player's set of game cards.
The advisory system may further include a network communications infrastructure that provides communications to the server from a plurality of games of chance. The advisory system may further include a detector that detects the player's first set of game cards, wherein the processor and the interface are configured with a standalone electronic game of chance computer terminal.
The advisory system may further include an account information reception means that authorizes use of the game of chance advisory system when account information is received. For example, the account information may be selected from a group consisting essentially of: player card information; bank account information; and credit card information. Generally, at least a portion of the account information includes a monetary sum, at least a portion of which may be transferred to a progressive jackpot account that is payable to a player after a duration of time or upon a happening of an event.
In another embodiment, a method of providing advisory information to a player in a game of chance is done so under control of a game of chance operator and includes observing a first set of cards that are dealt to the player in a game of chance, observing a second set of cards that are visible during the game of chance, and, based on the first set of cards and the second set of cards, automatically determining a decision for the player that provides a third set of cards to the player. The decision is then provided to the player. The method may further include observing a third set of cards that are visible during the game of chance and, based on the first set of cards, the second set of cards, and the third set of cards, automatically determining a second decision for the player that provides a fourth set of cards to the player. The second decision may then be provided to the player. Such may occur in games of chance where more than one decision is required, such as multiple hits in Blackjack and multiple bets in Texas Hold 'Em and the like.
Observing the first and second set cards may include optically detecting the first and second sets of cards. Alternatively, observing the first and second sets of cards may include electronically detecting the first and second sets of cards.
The method may further include providing the advisory information within a client/server architecture.
The method may further include requiring payment for the advisory information. In this regard, the method may further include transferring at least a portion of the payment to a progressive jackpot account.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.
Turning now to the drawings,
Generally, the advisory system 10 needs to know the number of decks in play to make the right decisions. For example, Video Poker is a 1-deck game thus the advisory system would be automatically configured with knowledge that the game is being played with a single deck. Blackjack, on the other hand, can use any number of decks including 1 deck, 2 decks, 6 decks, 8 decks or more. Accordingly, the advisory system 24 would be configured with the number of decks being used in the Blackjack game. Additionally or alternatively, the advisory system 10 may evaluate a Blackjack hand based on its composition, not just its total value. For example, a hand of 16 made of a Jack and a Six may be treated differently than a 16 made up of eight Twos because the possible game outcomes will occur with different relative frequencies due to the different distributions of card denominations among the cards remaining in the shoe.
The advisory system 10 may be configured with an electronic game of chance or with a physical game of chance. For example, the advisory system 10 may be configured with a Video Draw Poker game so as to offer the player advice (e.g., discard certain cards) that enables the player to play perfectly (e.g., to play with the highest expected return), relatively speaking. In this regard, the processor 11 may also be used to implement the game of chance 17. That is, in the Video Poker game example, the game may be configured as a general purpose computer that operates to provide the game of chance 17 (e.g., Video Poker) and advisory information pertaining to the game of chance 17 via the software modules detector 13 and response module 14.
In this electronic game of chance embodiment, the advisory system 10 may also be configured with an interface 16 that may include various interface components. For example, the interface 16 may include an input interface 18 (e.g., a touchscreen, buttons, etc.) that allows a user to select various video playing cards for holding or discarding. The interface 16 may also include a display interface 19 that provides the advisory information to the user. For example, in a Video Poker game, playing cards are displayed to the user through a graphical user interface viewable via a computer monitor or other video means. The detector 13 may detect those cards such that the response module 14 can inform the player as to which of those cards to discard. Once a player decides which cards to discard, the player may make those selections via the input interface 18. In one embodiment, the response module 14 automatically selects or highlights the recommended cards for the player.
Additionally, the interface 16 may be configured with a network interface 20 that allows a plurality of games to be networked. In this regard, the advisory system 10 and/or the game of chance 17 may be operable on a server that delivers such software applications to a computer terminal as part of a client/server architecture. Such a feature may also be used to implement a progressive jackpot. For example, a player may be required to pay for the use of the advisory system 10. This money may be transferred to a progressive jackpot account and paid to a winner after some duration or upon the happening of a certain event (e.g., a Royal Flush hand).
In a physical embodiment, the advisory system 10 may be configured as a personal computer device. However, in such an embodiment, the game of chance 17 would not be configured as a software module within the advisory system 10. For example, a player sitting at a Blackjack table may have a handheld device (e.g., PDA, cell phone, Blackberry, or the like) that offers advisory information to the player as described hereinabove. In such an embodiment, the Blackjack table may be configured with some sort of optical character/image recognition (e.g., an “intelligent shoe”) to recognize visible playing cards such that the detector 13 may process information pertaining to those cards and the response module may calculate a decision to be made by the user (e.g., stand, hit, double down, split, etc.). Optical character/image recognition and intelligent shoes are explained in greater detail below in
Similarly, other specific embodiments, such as Video Poker and video Blackjack are explained in greater detail below. The invention, however, is not intended to be limited to any particular embodiment. Rather, the various embodiments are merely provided to illustrate how an advisory system may be configured to provide gaming information to the player when a decision is necessary. In this regard, the various features and utilities of the advisory system 10 may be extended to virtually any type of game, electronic or otherwise, where a decision may be necessary.
The advisory system 24 electronically detects the player's playing cards 211 . . . 5 to determine which of those cards to keep and discard. In essence, the advisory system 24 provides the player with a “perfect play”. In other words, the advisory system 24 provides the player with playing card selection information in the display area 22 such that the player may attempt to obtain the highest expected value payout on the subsequent game stage. In this embodiment, the advisory system 24 recommends discarding the Ace of Diamonds, in the display area 22, even though the pair of Aces is a guaranteed win.
While the advisory system 24 is not guaranteed to predict such hands every time, the advisory system 24 calculates the odds of every hand the player may attain based on his present cards to thereby determine which is the best hand to attempt. However, to encourage the player to use the advisory system 24, the advisory system 24 may guarantee the information presented to the player. For example, use of the advisory system 24 may, in some embodiments, require that the player pay an additional monetary sum (e.g., similar to a side bet). If the advisory system 24 recommends a particular strategy to the player and that strategy fails to win or obtain some desirable outcome, the advisory system 24 may allow the player to use the advisory system without additional payment on one or more subsequent hands. In other embodiments, however, the advisory system 24 may be simply given to the player at no additional cost such that the player may choose at his or her option to use the advisory system. Alternatively or additionally, the advisory system 24 may be offered to a player free of charge when the player is maximizing a betting opportunity or matching some predetermined betting threshold.
Returning now to the particular Video Poker game of chance embodied in
Note the gap between the payout for a Royal Flush played with 4 credits vs. one with 5 credits. The payout schedule for most Video Poker machines has a gap like this, such that players who do not play with the maximum number of credits at a time are playing with a smaller theoretical return.
Other variations of the basic five card draw Poker may include games such as “Deuces Wild”, where a Two serves as a “wild card” (i.e., a substitute for any card in the deck) and a jackpot is paid for four Deuces or a Natural Royal. In Deuces Wild, the payout for a Four of a Kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payout percentage of the game, and a Four of a Kind occurs on average approximately every fifteen hands. Some Deuces Wild games offer a theoretical return as high as 100.762%, when played with perfect strategy.
“Bonus Poker” is another Video Poker game that is suitable for configuration with the advisory system 24. Bonus Poker is based on Jacks or Better and generally offers a higher payout percentage for Four of a Kind. The player is dealt five cards and can then choose which cards to keep or discard. New cards are dealt accordingly. The final hand must consist of a pair of Jacks or higher in order to win. “Double Bonus” Video Poker is another variation of Jacks or Better with a bonus payout for four Aces. This variation offers up to a theoretical return of 100.1725%, when played with perfect strategy. “Double Double Bonus” Video Poker is yet another variation of Jacks or Better which offers bonus payoffs for different “Four of a Kinds”. Full pay Double Double Bonus can be found with pay schedules that offer up to a theoretical return of 100.067%, when played with perfect strategy. Multi-play Poker is yet another example, where the player starts with a base hand of five cards and each additional played hand draws from a different set of cards with the base hand removed.
The players1 . . . N may be part of a networked game that allows players to play within the same Blackjack game. In this regard, each player may have a personal Blackjack terminal (e.g., cellular telephone, Blackberry device, PDA, etc.) for use in interacting with the network-based Blackjack game. A central computer system (e.g., a server) would, in such an embodiment, likely serve as the dealer. The advisory system 24 may, in such an embodiment, be a software application that is configured on the server so as to deliver advisory information to each player that desires it. Alternatively, the advisory system 24 may be configured directly with the players' personal Blackjack terminals.
Regardless of the configuration, the advisory system 24 is illustrated as providing information to player N during this particular hand. As in typical Blackjack games, player 1 has already attained a winning hand because the player attained a Blackjack and the dealer is only showing a 5. The advisory system 24 may take into account information pertaining to player N's cards as well as the dealer's 5 and player 1's Blackjack. For example, the advisory system 24 may provide information that varies from a typical Two/Ace combination when a dealer shows a 5 because the odds of attaining a winning hand may change based on knowledge of other visible cards. In this embodiment, the advisory system 24 recommends in the display area 22 that the player N double down and stand.
The central processor 49 may be configured for providing advisory information to each of the players 41 seated at the table 46. For example, the central processor 49 may observe all of the visible cards on the table 46 and compute advisory information for the players 41 according to their individual hands 42. In this regard, the central processor 49 may be configured with software instructions 50 used for computing the decisions for each of the players 41 (e.g., should they desire to use such information). The software instructions 50 may employ a lookup table that includes precalculated information based on visible cards and the number of decks being used in the shoe 44. An example of such is illustrated in tables 60 and 61 of
In
The central processor 49, after computing the advisory information, may convey the information to the players 41 via display devices 481 . . . N. For example, the display devices 48 may be devices configured as input/output “pucks” that are physically embedded within the table 46 so as to electronically receive the advisory information from the central processor 49 through radio or network communication means for display to a player 41. These input/output pucks may also be configured to receive information directly from the player regarding the player's hand. Alternatively or additionally, the devices 48 may be personal communication devices, such as a cell phone, PDA, or the like, that become communicatively connected to the central processor 49 once within range of the central processor. In this regard, the advisory system may include software that is delivered to the personal communication devices of the players to communicate information between the central processor 49 and the personal communication device.
The invention is not intended to be limited to any type of communication scheme for the physical Blackjack game embodied in
Regardless of the means of detection, the advisory system calculates a decision for a player based on observed game elements, in the process element 73. For example, a response module, such as the response module 14 of
In the process element 75, the advisory system determines whether the player actually did accept the decision. If the player did not accept the decision (e.g., the advisory information), the game of chance may proceed by providing a second set of game elements to the player, in the process element 78. For example, if the player chose to employ his own strategy, a second set of playing elements may be provided to the player. In Draw Poker, this would mean that the player has made the decision as to which cards to discard. In Blackjack, this would mean that the player has made the decision to hit, stand, split, double down, etc. without the assistance of the advisory system. Thereafter, it is determined whether the player attained a preferable set of game elements (e.g., a winning hand or some other hand such as a hand corresponding the information of the advisory system hereinabove), in the process element 79.
If, on the other hand, the player chooses to accept the assistance of the advisory system, the player acts accordingly to the advisory information and a second set of game elements is provided to the player, in the process element 76. In one embodiment, the advisory system may require payment for the use of the advisory system, as described hereinabove, for various uses, such as a progressive jackpot. After receiving the advisory information and the second set of game elements, the advisory system may observe additional visible game elements of the game of chance, in the process element 77. For example, the advisory system may detect the playing cards of the player's hand on the subsequent game stage. Thereafter, the process 70 moves to the process element 79 to determine whether the player attained a preferable set of game elements and potentially to the process element 71 to present the player with another round of the decision based game of chance.
If it was determined that the player did not attain a preferable set of game elements, such as a winning hand or the hand recommended by the advisory system, the advisory system may offer the advisory information on a subsequent game of chance. In this regard, the process 70 may proceed to the process element 71 to again present the player with a decision based game of chance. Alternatively or additionally, the advisory information may be offered to a player free of charge when the player matches some predetermined betting threshold.
The process 70 as mentioned previously may be implemented in an electronic game of chance, such as Video Poker or video Blackjack, or other physical casino games of chance. The process 70, therefore, is not intended to be limited to any particular configuration for a game of chance. Nor is the process 70 intended to be limited to the process elements hereinabove. For example, alternative or additional features may be configured with the process 70 that complement the utility of the advisory system described herein. In one embodiment, the utility also provides for the implementation of the progressive jackpot account, as described below.
In this embodiment, the advisory system 82 is configured to provide advisory information to players 881 . . . N to assist the players in their respective games of chance 811 . . . N as described hereinabove. Additionally, however, this embodiment illustrates how the players 881 . . . N may wager on their respective games of chance 811 . . . N while also providing payment for use of the advisory system 82. In this regard, the players 881 . . . N may wager on their respective games of chance 811 . . . N using player card information, account information, and/or wager information. For example, casinos often provide player cards to their casino players. These player cards are often used as rewards cards that reward a player after a certain amount of gambling. A player 88 may enter a player card into a game of chance 81 (e.g., a video game machine). The central processor 83, communicatively connected to the game of chance 81, may identify the player card and determine how many times and/or the amount of money the player has wagered on the game of chance 81. The central processor 83 may present the player 88 with certain rewards (e.g., complimentary rooms, complimentary drinks, complimentary meals, etc.) after a certain level of wagering has been attained by the player.
These player cards may also be configured with monetary account information that allows the player 88 to deduct money from a personal monetary account (e.g., a bank account, credit account, or the like) such that the player 88 may wager on the game of chance 81. This monetary information is transferred to the central processor 83 via an interface 85 that is configured with the central processor. The processor 84, among other things, then determines the amount of money wagered by the player. The invention, however, is not intended to be limited to a particular type of wagering. For example, many video gaming machines additionally or alternatively allow players to insert various forms of currency that may be implemented in this embodiment.
As mentioned above, the advisory system 82 may require payment from the player 88 for access to the advisory information therefrom. For example, a player 88 may wager a monetary sum on a game of chance 81. To assist the player 88 in a particular game of chance 81, the player may use advisory information provided by the advisory system 82. The advisory system 82 may require payment in exchange for the information. The player 88 may then provide the monetary sum to the central processor via the game of chance 81 to receive the information.
In one embodiment, the money provided for the advisory information is used in a progressive jackpot. For example, the central processor 83 may include a progressive jackpot account 86 that is used to retain a portion of the proceeds from gambling throughout the various networked games of chance 81. All or a portion of the payment for use of the advisory information from the advisory system 82 may be deposited into the progressive jackpot account 86. The progressive jackpot account 86 may pay to a player 88 of a game of chance 81 after some period of time or upon some event (e.g., a player who attains a certain card hand, such as a Blackjack, Royal Flush, or the like).
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character. For example, certain embodiments described hereinabove may be combinable with other described embodiments and/or arranged in other ways (e.g., process elements may be performed in other sequences). Accordingly, it should be understood that only the preferred embodiment and variants thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
