Patent Application
20100273551
The invention relates to a betting system for games of chance or skill
It is often desired to increase a bet during the course of a game as a competitor's position and perceived prospects of winning are perceived to change from move to move, such increases even being written into the rules of games such as backgammon in which a ‘doubling’ dice is provided for that purpose.
However, the increases are rather limited as there are only six faces on the dice, while the dice itself is rather small and may be difficult to spectators to see at a glance.
It would be desirable both to significantly improve the opportunity of increasing the size of the bet during the progression of the game and to improve the visibility of a changing bet
According to one aspect, the invention provides a method for making and displaying, selectively, small and large bets in a game comprising:
providing first and second betting tokens respectively designated as 1 and 10 and readily visually distinguishable to bettors;
providing a series of betting token placement positions numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and, 9;
making small bets by:
placing the 1 value token on any one of positions 0-9 to indicate bets varying/increasing in value at single unit intervals from 0 units(no bet)-9 units, respectively,
placing the 10 value token on any one of positions 1-9 to indicate bets varying/increasing in value at 10 unit intervals from 10 units-90 units;
and so that when both tokens are placed on token placement positions of the series, values corresponding to the tokens cumulative individual betting units are indicated; and,
making large bets by
designating the position numbers as unitary parts of exponents applied to the tokens;
placing the 1 value token on any one of positions 0-9 to indicate bets varying/increasing exponentially in value at unitary exponential intervals from, respectively, 20=1 unit-29=500 units, approximately, such that movement of the 1 value token to an adjacent position doubles a previous bet;
placing the 10 value token on any one of positions 1-9 to indicate bets varying/increasing exponentially in value at approximate deca exponential intervals from 210=1000 unit-290 units, respectively, indicating 10 doubles-90 doubles, respectively,
and so that when both tokens are placed on token placement positions of the series, values corresponding to the tokens cumulative individual betting units are indicated;
Thus, the size of bet can be increased greatly, as desired by a player in a winning position.
Preferably, sequentially numbered token placement positions are at remote locations from each other so that movement of a token from a token placement position of one number to a token placement position of a next number can be easily seen.
According to another aspect, the invention provides betting apparatus comprising:
means defining a game playing area;
a betting token;
means providing token placement positions numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and, 9;
wherein consecutively numbered token placement positions are at remote locations from each other so that movement of a token from a token placement position of one number to a token placement position of a next number can be easily seen.
It is further preferred that token placement positions numbered, 0, 2, 4, 6, and, 8 are located adjacent one side of a playing area and the positions numbered 9, 7, 5, 3, and, 1 are located on an opposite side of the playing area so that a minimum change in a bet is made by moving a token across the playing area from one token placement position to a next token placement position in full view of players and spectators.
As shown in
Players use tokens marked with 1, 10, 100 and of distinctly different shapes, as shown in
One token is placed on the position numbered zero. This indicates that there is no bet. Players, at their turn, may increase the bet by one unit and indicate the increased bet by moving the marker from its current position to the next higher numbered position. For example, the one marker is moved from zero to one. This indicates a bet of one unit. A unit may be one point, a dollar, a euro or, other denominations. The movement of the one marker from position one to position two indicates that the player intends to bet two units on the outcome of the game. Should an opponent not accept the bet, the opponent resigns and pays the previous amount (e.g., one unit). At each stage a player whose turn it is to make a move may have the option of increasing the bet by one unit. A nine-unit bet is indicated by the one marker on position nine . A ten-unit bet is indicated by the ten marker on position one and the one unit placed on position zero, or the unit marker off the betting area. Thus, indicating one ten-unit bet and no one-unit bets. A bet of 123 would have a 100-unit marker on the one, a ten marker on the two and a one-unit marker on the three position. However, a bet of 122 would be indicated by having a 100 marker on the one position and both the ten marker and the one marker sharing the two position.
Thus, in the first embodiment for small style betting, each position number functions as a simple multiplier of the face value of an individual marker placed thereon, the numerical value of the resulting product providing a betting unit and the total bet is the sum of the values of the betting units obtained from the placement of all individual markers.
Upon Agreement by the Players to Proceed with Large Style Betting, the Markers and the Positions have the Following Functions:
The position numbers function as a unitary parts of exponents or powers applied, sometimes in an approximate manner, to the one marker.
A one marker in the zero position indicates that a bet of one unit is offered by a player. This is equivalent to 20=1. If a player moves the marker to the next higher number (e.g., position one) the value of the bet is 2, 21=2. A one marker on position 2 equals a bet of 4 units, 22=4. This process continues through positions 3, 4, 5 and, 6 thus indicating, respectively, bets of 8, 16, 32 and, 64. Thus, movement of a one marker simply doubles the previous bet
For the convenience of players and observers, when the marker is placed on position seven, the value is not 27=128, instead, the value is 125. A one marker on position eight is then 250; position nine is then 500.
Thus, 20=1 unit, 21=2 units, 22=4 units, 23=8 units, 24=16 units, 25=32 units, 26=64 units, 27=125 units, 28=250 units, 29=500 units
However, a ten marker indicates the deca part of the exponent or power applied to the one marker (to the first three significant figures). Thus, a ten marker on the one position is equal to 1,000 (10 approximate doubles). If the ten marker is on the one and the one marker is also on the one, this indicates that there are approximately 11 doubles of the original one-unit bet. Therefore the value is 211=2,000 units, Similarly, if the ten marker is on the one and the one marker is on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, respectively, the value of the bet is respectively: 212=4,000 units, 213=8,000 units, 214=16,000 units, 215=32,000 units, 216=64,000 units, 217=125,000 units, 218=250,000 units, 219=500,000 units, respectively. The next higher bet would move ten bet from one to two, indicating that there were approximately 20 doubles. Thus, this indicates a bet of 1,000,000 units—twice the previous amount as indicated by the ten on the one and the one marker on the nine. Players may increase the wager to astronomical amounts. A ten marker on the three indicates approximately 30 doubles or 1 billion units; a ten marker on the four indicates a bet of 1 trillion units. The amount bet can be determined at a glance, for example, if the ten marker is on a two and the one marker is on a five, the amount bet is 32,000,000 units.
A player who moves the marker at his/her turn indicates that the player has offered a bet to the other player(s). If an opponent makes a move following the offered bet that bet is considered accepted by the opponent. As an alternative, the opponent may resign and thus pay the previous wager, as half the amount indicated by the position of the marker(s) on the numbered spaces.
The game board can be constituted by, or comprise, an electronic display.
In a card game, a strip with the following arrangement of numbers also produces a large, visible manoeuvre to increase the bet: 0, 8, 4, 6, 2, 7, 5, 3, 9, 1.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US09/30055 | 1/2/2009 | WO | 00 | 6/16/2010 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61019145 | Jan 2008 | US |
